For TYPE sake
How do we manage to commit such crimes? Does it happen on its own? Was it intentional? Unintentional? Or was it just a typo? Majority of us will say it was an unintentional mistake, get over it. But what about the user? Poor them they get misled by these small crimes. On the other hand, it also affects our personal, professional and social image and we all dearly care about these. Right? But unknowingly we end up making that one silly type-crime that makes our designs look really weak.
Here are some type-crimes making our designs ugly and visually disturbing.
Smart or Dumb? You decide!
Are you dumb enough to fall for this trap? No! You are smarter than this, just keep these rules in mind while using them in your designs and never make your designs look dumb.
Similarly, while using an apostrophe in your designs, always trust the Trull’s Law of apostrophes.
The burden of widows & orphans
Designers, not paying attention to widow and orphans can make your designs look none other than a widow and an orphan. Always get rid of them and never mess up with the reader’s flow.
Everyone needs space
Yes! Even your designs, but in an adequate amount. Never put two spaces in between sentences, it is uncalled for and ends up ruining your designs. See it for yourself.
Stick your punctuations inside the quotes
Always remember this ‘period’ and ‘comma’ go inside the quotation marks. They are never used outside the quotation marks.
Similarly, putting too many punctuations will ruin your designs too. Yes, it’s true too much of anything is bad.
Don’t get high on hyphens
We mean it, don’t get high on them. They are too dangerous and confusing for both grammar and your designs. Be careful when you are using them. When you are confused, read about it a little, trust us it will work wonders for you.
Know what you want to emphasize
In the name of emphasis or otherwise, never use the entire body text in uppercase. It will be a disaster. You’ll strain so many eyes.
Avoid designs that will give your users a headache
Be cautious when you pick colors, especially a combination like white text on black background often strains the reader's eye.
Justify what is right
Your text shouldn’t flow like a ‘river’, because a poorly justified text will get you nowhere. You’ll often find this in newspapers. Don’t take it as an example.
Rags to ridicule
There is always a way to fix your paragraph alignment, trust us it’s not that tough. Just focus that your text shouldn’t look uneven and end up making an ugly wedge shape.
Verticle text for type sake
Generally, you’ll see these on the spine of books. If you see closely they are not stacked one on top of each other. Instead, they are beautifully designed to be consumed seamlessly.
No negativity in letterspacing, please.
Look, how it will damage your designs.
Make your designs bulletproof
But don’t go overboard and bullet everything to emphasize things. Instead, stop and reflect when and where to put it.
Many signals can ruin your designs
It’s true, too many signals confuse the hell out of your user. Why give them hell when you can give them heavenly designs.
Correct spacing for type sake
Sometimes your auto spacing can give your designs an uneven look. Whenever possible adjust them to make it seamless and beautiful. Don’t blindly rely on auto spacing every time.
Don’t mix up too much
Mixing too many typefaces can make your designs look indifferent. Mix your typefaces wisely.
Italics ≠ slanted letters
Never slant your letters to make them look like italics. They are not slanted letters. Let them take their proper distinct form even when certain fonts make them look slightly upright.
Use proper accent
Accent marks are essential, never leave them behind. Give your type, proper accent it needs.
Margin is crucial
Don’t trap your type in a tightly designed box, give them enough breathing space, because proper margin for type is crucial.
Abbreviation can be confusing
Here is an example for you.
Concluding word
After this long list, we don’t think it’s appropriate to ask you all what’s your type-crime. For type, sake keep these in mind and never go wrong again.
