The ten Commandments of Typography

The

Ten

Commandments of

Typography

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Words by Paul Felton

Designed by Renee Rolewicz

Dedication ..................................................................

“I sometimes think that good readers are poets as singular, and as awesome, as great authors themselves...

Reading, meanwhile, is an activity subsequent to writing-more resigned, more civil, more intellectual.�

Jorge Borges, Buenos Aires, 1935

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

Preface ..................................................................

The Commandments are a rock where you can find safety.

When designing, call on the mighty laws and you shall be delivered from any problems. When the bonds of Barnbrook tighten around the Lord’s words, “Happy is the man who does not take the wicked for his guide, nor walk the road that the sinner’s tread.” Why are designers in such turmoil?

Why do typographers hatch their evil plots? The modern kings of graphic design, Frost, Keedy, VanderLans, stand ready and conspire together against the Lord and His rules.

"Let us break their fetters!" they cry. "Let us disregard legibility!" But when judgement comes on their work, their wicked will not stand firm. The Lord watches over the world of design and typography and guides the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is for ever doomed.

God speaks thus to the wicked typographers; “What right have you to recite my rules and make so free with the words of my holy alphabet, you who hate correction and turn your back on my laws when designing? If you meet illegibility, you choose it as your friend, you make common cause with the unstructured, you charge your design with chaos and harness your type to disarray. You are forever thinking against the rules, stabbing the very constitution in the back. But pixel by pixel I will rebuke your design to your face. Think on this, you who forget God and His mighty laws.”

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

Contents ..................................................................

Preface v

Introduction ix

Matthew Carter xi

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE COMMANDMENTS I. Magazine Layout, New York Times magazine layout p.13

II. Newspaper Layout, Chicago Tribune p.15

III. “Mrs. Eaves” p.17

IV. Poster, Contemporary Musician p.19

V. Signage p.21

VI. Three Statements p.23

VII. Robert Kennedy Memorial p.25

VIII. Agamemnon Quote p.27

IX. Lincoln Address p.29

X. Lines not too short or too long p. 31

Introduction ..................................................................

In the beginning God created type and the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type�, and there came structure, order, and legibility, and God saw that this was good. But type could not exist without man, so God created man. From His race of men He chose twelve of the worthy to be his type disciples and to spread the laws of typography to others. The Lord then spoke to His disciples and gave them ten rules by which every typographer must abide, to gain passage to type Heaven. The laws helped typographers and designers produce endless amounts of beautiful work. They became known as The Ten Commandments of Typography.

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Paul Felton

The Ten Commandments of Typography

Matthew Carter

On Typography

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How important do you think the main typographic ‘rules’ are, should they always be followed?

The advantage of rules is that they can prevent mistakes; the disadvantage is that they can prevent discoveries. When I started work in a type foundry fifty years ago my efforts as a learner consisted entirely of mistakes. This was pretty discouraging, but an experience workman told me, “Always look carefully at a mistake before you discard it- it might be better than you intended”. I think there’s more to the design process than simple trial and error, but errors are often the price paid for successful trials, rules learned by rote are valuable only if they are constantly questioned.

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As someone who is predominately a type designer, are you often saddened to see your typefaces used in the wrong context or applied badly?

I may be more forgiving about this than many type designers: I reckon I might as well accept what I can’t police.

Overall, the experience of seeing my typefaces in use has been a good and encouraging one, but there are obviously examples from time to time of a typeface being put in a situation where it has to fail, and that’s annoying. On the other hand, type designers learn from seeing their work in use out there in the world. When a typeface is put through the paces in exactly the way its designer intended, that can be very rewarding, but it’s not particularly informative.

Seeing it used in an unexpected way- good or bad- can be a much more revealing lesson.

From a mail to Paul Felton

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Paul Felton

The Ten Commandments of Typography

I. Thou shalt not apply more than three typefaces in a document.

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Always remember that simplicity reigns over the disarray and confusion that the use of many typefaces causes.

In the beginning God created type.

HEADLINE - BAUER BODONI BOLD, 14 PT.

And the world was without form, and void.

SUBHEADER - AMAZONE, 11 PT.

And the darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type:, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.

BODY TEXT - GARAMOND ROMAN, 8PT

New York Times Magazine Article Demonstration of using only three tyoefaces.

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

II. Thou shalt lay headlines large and at the top of a page.

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Raise the headline to a windy height, roar out your summons, and beckon with considerable type size.

In the beginning

God created type HEADLINE - BAUR BODONI BOLD, 20PT AND 26PT

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type�, and God saw that this was good.

Chicago Tribune Newspaper Layout Demonstration of newspaper layout using proper headlines.

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Paul Felton

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

III. Thou shalt employ no other type size that 8pt to 10pt for body copy.

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The Lord will not leave unpunished he who disregards this rule.

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.

GARAMOND ROMAN, 8PT WITH 11PT LEADING

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.

GARAMOND ROMAN, 9PT WITH 12PT LEADING

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.

GARAMOND ROMAN, 10PT WITH 13PT LEADING A Letter to Mrs. Eaves Demonstration of employing correct type size.

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Paul Felton

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

IV. Remember that a typeface that is not legible is not truly a typeface. ..................................................................

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The dingbats and the disordered fuse fonts that foundries hold sacred are all worthless, and cursed are all who make them their delight.

Poster of Contemporary Musicin: You Me At Six Demonstration of the sin of illegibility.

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

V. Honour thy kerning, so that white space becomes visually equalized between characters.

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Kerning will save the reader time in deciphering writings.

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Armitage +20

Jn Si og

WITHOUT KERNING

Jn Si og WITH KERNING

-20

+20 -20

-20

Sedgwick Chicago -20 -20

-20

Armitage Sedgwick Chicago AFTER MANUAL KERNING

Signage Demonstration of correct kerning of Chicago ‘L’ stop signs.

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Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

1600N 400W

-20 -20

-20

-20

2000N 1000W

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

800N 300W

VI. Thou shalt lay stress discreetly upon elements within text.

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The glory of God is to keep things hidden, but the glory of the foolish typographer is to over-emphasize them.

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A typographic hierarchy expresses an organizational system for content, emphasizing some data and diminishing others.

A hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be spatial (indent, line spacing, placement on page) or graphic (size, style, color of typeface). Infinite variations are possible.

FONT WEIGHT

A typographic hierarchy expresses an organizational system for content, emphasizing some data and diminishing others.

A hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be spatial (indent, line spacing, placement on page) or graphic (size, style, color of typeface). Infinite variations are possible.

A typographic hierarchy expresses an organizational system for content, emphasizing some data and diminishing others.

A hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be spatial (indent, line spacing, placement on page) or graphic (size, style, color of typeface). Infinite variations are possible.

ITALICS

ITALICS AND FONT WEIGHT

Three Statements Demonstration of emphasizing and laying stress on specific elements.

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Paul Felton

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

VII. Thou shalt not use only capitals when setting vast body copy. ..................................................................

Let thine eyes be fixed on the ascenders, bowls and finials of lowercase type.

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED TYPE. AND THE WORLD WAS WITHOUT FORM, AND VOID, AND DARKNESS WAS UPON THE FACE OF LEGIBILITY. GOD SAID, “LET THERE BE TEN RULES TO GOVERN THE USE OF TYPE”, AND THERE CAME STRUCTURE, ORDER AND LEGIBILITY, AND GOD SAW THAT THIS WAS GOOD. UPPERCASE TEXT Robert Kennedy Memorial Demonstration of using all capital letters in a vast amount of body copy.

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

Paul Felton

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest of wall of oppression and resistance.

-Robert Kennedy, South Africa 1966 UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE TEXT

UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE TEXT

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IT IS FROM NUMBERLESS DIVERSE ACTS OF COURAGE AND BELIEF THAT HUMAN HISTORY IS SHAPED EACH TIME A MAN STANDS UP FOR AN IDEAL OR ACTS TO IMPROVE THE LOT OF OTHERS, OR STRIKES OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE, HE SENDS FORTH A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE, AND CROSSING EACH OTHER FROM A MILLION DIFFERENT CENTERS OF ENERGY AND DARING THOSE RIPPLES BUILD A CURRENT THAT CAN SWEEP DOWN THE MIGHTIEST OF WALL OF OPPRESSION AND RESISTANCE. -ROBERT KENNEDY, SOUTH AFRICA 1966 UPPERCASE TEXT

VIII. Thou shalt always align letters and words on a baseline.

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The Lord designed letterforms to coexist side by side on an invisible line, so thou shalt give them a straight path to follow.

“In our sleep, f

pain a

l

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“In our sleep,

which cannot forget

f alls

which cannot forget

l

pain

d

r

o

p by

s

d

r

drop by drop upon the heart until,

o

p upon the heart

until, in our despair, against our will,

comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

Agamemnon Quote

in our

d e s p a i r,

against our w i l l , comes w i s d o m

through the awful grace of

God.”

Demonstration of poetically aligning words on various baselines.

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Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

IX. Thou shalt use flush-left, raggedright type alignment.

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Renounce the use of other alignments, for they bring extra torment upon already busy eyes.

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot gave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

-Abraham Lincoln, First Inagural Address 1861 -FLUSH-LEFT, RAGGED-RIGHT TEXT

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot gave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

- Abraham Lincoln , F i rst In ag u r a l Ad d re ss 1861 JUSTIFIED TEXT

We are not enemies , but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot gave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

-Abraham Lincoln, First Inagural Address 1861

We are not the enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. They mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot gave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell and the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

-Abraham Lincoln, First Inagural Address 1861

FLUSH-RIGHT, RAGGED-LEFT TEXT

CENTERED TEXT

Lincoln Address Demonstration of using various type alignments with your body copy.

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Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography

X. Thou shalt not make lines too short or too long.

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I command you to trust in an utmost of seventy characters per line, while a minimum of forty shall suffice.

If you want to build a ship don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

-Antoine Saint-Exupéry

If you want to build a ship don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

-Antoine SaintExupéry

TEXT JUST RIGHT

If you want to build a ship don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

-Antoine Saint-Exupéry TEXT TOO LONG

TEXT TOO SHORT

Lines Not Too Short or Too Long Demonstration of setting 40-70 characters long in three versions.

Renee Rolewicz, Chicago, 2013

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The Ten Commandments of Typography