four rules for combining typefaces
These days, everyone works as a graphic designer. From blogs to Powerpoint presentations, the personal computer has given the individual user the power to control how information is presented like never before. But as my Uncle Ben (not the rice proprietor) once told me, with great power comes great responsibility. As myspace proves, the majority of people don’t wield it well.
One of my personal pet peeves is the unnecessary and reckless use of too many typefaces. For most intents and purposes, two fonts (with their associated weights) will suffice. But with so many fonts readily available, making an appropriate selection can be difficult. Jupiter Images has a nice design brief entitled 4 Rules for Combining Typefaces that gives a good overview of this problem and how to tackle it.
Other favorite discourses on this topic are Erik Spiekermann’s Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works and Robin Williams’s The Mac is Not a Typewriter.
April 22nd, 2007