Learn to love typography

Perhaps you’ve been neglecting a love affair with one of the most powerful elements in design: typography. That’s right – it’s time you fell in love with an element of design which will undoubtedly improve your design skills. Learning how to successfully use type doesn’t just miraculously occur as you design. As Kristy noted in her comment in the “10 Tragic Typefaces” article, “too many people new to design and typography think that figuring out how to apply the basics of design and typography is just going to dawn on them one day while they’re clicking and dragging…” Typography is often one of the biggest weaknesses of most students nearing graduation. Understanding elements that make typographic design successful is key to becoming a better designer. New media designer, Cameron Moll notes, “Typeface selection is one of the most transparent ways of detecting good — and bad — design.”

So it’s time you found a place in your heart for typography. Your portfolio will reap the rewards of your new found obsession. Go learn why auto leading is a turn off. Oh, and learning to kern type isn’t something I invented, it’s really the space between a pair of letters. I could go on, but I know you’re dying to learn more about your new found love. So we’ve put together together a few resources to help you learn to love typography.

For a good read (online articles)

• Know your type: Starting points for typographic inspiration
• Designing {with} typography
• Five simple steps to better typography
• The non-typographer’s guide to practical typeface selection
• The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web
• Upper & Lower Case Magazine
• Typographic History at a Glance

Stay in tune with the typography community

• Typographica. A Journal of Typography.
• Typeradio (typography related podcasts)
• Typophile
• Typographer.org
• Type Director’s Club
• AIGA Typography Forums
• SOTA: The Society of Typographic Aficionados

For a good read (books)

• Typographic Design: Form and Communication
• The Elements of Typographic Style
• Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces
• Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop
• Type-One: Discipline and Progress in Typography
• Logotypes & Letterforms
• Fonts & Logos
• Experimental Typography: Working with Computer Type
• Watching Words Move
• Grid Systems
• Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students

Enjoy! So go submerge yourself in this stuff – your design skills depend on you mastering typography.

And if you can’t get enough of this stuff there are many more typography resources in my blinklist tagged under typography.

Have another informative typography resource to share?

Note: I take no responsibility for any failed relationships that occur as a consequence of falling in love with typography.