Does this paragraph make me look fat?

Updated talk for GIANTConf 2015 in Charleston, SC.

Note: everyone in attendance was incredible.

Transcript

1. Does this paragraph make me look fat? A Conversation on Typography
2. What We’ll Cover • Why care • Typeface categories • Choosing typefaces • Getting a list of workhorse typefaces • Building a hierarchy • Pairing Typefaces • Readability
3. Two typefaces, Papyrus and Comic Sans walk into a bar
4. The bartender says “We don’t serve your type.”
6. Why care?
10. Some Helpful Terms • Typeface • The design of a collected set of characters • Font • A specific version of a typeface (e.g. Times New Roman, Bold, 12pt) • Family • A collection of typefaces
11. Typeface Categories
12. Typeface Categories
13. Choosing Typefaces
14. What’s the tone? • Is this more playful and approachable? • Is this more reserved? Choosing Typefaces
15. Multiple Languages • Free fonts are out • You want support for character set like “á é î ö ü” and so forth Choosing Typefaces
16. Font Weights • At least 4 weights • Regular • Italic • Bold • Bold Italic • But for real, as many as possible Choosing Typefaces
17. Oldstyle Figures Choosing Typefaces
18. Oldstyle Figures • Useful with running text • Regular-style numbers are like capital letters, try not to overuse them • If your typeface doesn’t have old-style characters, consider making numbers a little smaller Choosing Typefaces
19. Serif or Sans? • Serif or sans serif? • SO MANY ARGUMENT OH MY GOSH Choosing Typefaces
20. Serif or Sans? Choosing Typefaces
21. Contrast Choosing Typefaces
22. Contrast Choosing Typefaces
23. milliliter milliliter milliliter milliliter
24. milliliter milliliter milliliter milliliter
25. Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
26. Proxima Nova Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
28. Meta Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
29. Knockout Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
30. Tisa Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
31. Chaparral Get a List of Workhorse Typefaces
33. Pairing Typefaces
34. By Designer Pairing Typefaces
35. The Serif-n-Sans Party Pairing Typefaces
36. Historically-similar Pairing Typefaces
37. Building a Hierarchy
39. *Enlarged to show texture
40. Build Yer Own Hierarchy Building a Hierarchy
41. Readability
42. –Stephen Coles of Typographica The term readability doesn't ask simply “Can you read it?” or “How fast can you read it?” It also asks “Do you want to read it?"
43. Line Length Readability
44. Line Length Readability
45. Line Height (aka leading) Readability
46. Faux Characters Readability
47. Fantastic Fonts and Where to Find Them
48. Sudtipos http://sudtipos.com/ Fantastic Fonts and Where to Find Them
49. Hoefler & Co. http://typography.com/ Fantastic Fonts and Where to Find Them
50. Mark Simonson http://marksimonson.com/ Fantastic Fonts and Where to Find Them
51. Other Good Spots • YouWorkForThem • MyFonts • FontFont • Typekit • Fontshop • Ten Dollar Fonts • Lost Type Co-op • Google Fonts Fantastic Fonts and Where to Find Them
52. Wrap-up
53. Helvetica had to go to the doctor because it pulled a ligature.
54. The doctor said it was grotesque.
56. Resources • Typophile type guidelines • WhatTheFont identifier • Typoguide • Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces? • Typewolf type trends • Typekit: Pairing Typefaces • Hoefler & Co. typography techniques • A Pocket Guide to Combining Typefaces
57. How Can I Help? • Twitter • @joshuamauldin • Email • hello@joshuamauldin.com