
Thinking with Type: A Primer for Deisgners A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students
Reviews

Onboarding to fonts, brings overview, history, AA, how to use typography while sending message, tweaking right amount of text, less is more nuance. Seems great intro but not any deep dive. ≥The bottom line is that when typography is used in a creative and sensible way, it adds value to the words and gives them structure, allowing the meaning to be conveyed in a more concise and impactful manner. ≥Text positioning is, therefore, vitally important in terms of the overall look of your work. ≥When positioning text correctly, a process called “kerning” needs to be used. This helps the designer manually adjust the space between each letter and ensures that letters that don't sit next to one another naturally can be tweaked to look more visually pleasing. ≥You also need to make sure that you’re not using too many words to get your message across. A message can often be communicated effectively with fewer words, and readers don’t need to be confused with excess bulk. Try getting to the point with fewer words and focus on being concise. ≥Just as designers should avoid filling up space with arbitrary visual effects, writers should remember that no one loves their words more than they do.

From time to time I buy resource books and out of all of my purchases this may be the most handy. Besides being beautifully laid out and a pleasure to read, there is a wealth of information for designers of all experience levels. Thinking with Type provides a nice overview of the history of typography starting with the first typefaces to desktop publishing. From type the subject matter shifts to basic design principles and there is also a nice intro to grids. To top it off there is an excellent appendix full of wonderful resources: proofreaders marks, keyboard shortcuts, the correct usage of dashes, and lastly, worthy advice on all things design. Fantastic.

Essential reading for anyone who deals with words on a page or screen.




















