Typography

9/25/08 TYPOGRAPHY Characteristics of Type Type family: Group of type designs that reflect common design characteristics Share common base name Referred to as a type face Font refers to the entire type family ? not the individual characters used Italic/condensed/light/bold = styles Not all styles should be used with each family Case Title case: choosing to capitalize main words; not ?linking words? (in, on, or, of, per, by, for, the, over) used for titles, subtitles, legend headings, legend definitions, labels, etc sentence case: used for formal sentences like textual descriptions and explanation Uppercase Sometimes used in titles and areal labels Should be used sparingly (tiring to read) Lowercase Majority of type should be in title case Baseline Shift Good for roads to maintain spacing above ?baseline? (or road, river, etc) Use standard ?positive baseline shift? to ensure consistency in labeling Curves can be problematic Serif-Sans Serif Serif: short extensions at the end of letter strokes Sans-Serif: no extensions Serifs are preferred in the context of written documents because of a horizontal guideline that allows the eye to read the letters together. Easier on the eye. Serif vs. sans often used to differentiate categories of features Letter spacing/word spacing Space between each letter/space between words Minimal spacing is easiest to place Slightly increasing spacing results in easy reading Don?t adjust words/letter spacing individually to make something fit Letter and word spacing should be constant within individual blocks of type Spacing should be consistent for feature types Tracking is the alteration of space between both letters and words ? no indpeendant adjustment of letter/word spacing Leverage type to ensure legibility Kerning Variation of space between two adjacent letters Kerning varies by letter to letter combination to maintain visual consistency Ex: space between WA is wider than between MN Kerning is digitally encoded, but is manually controllable Measured by the unit ?em? ? equal to the point size of the type being used Leading Line spacing Vertical space between lines of type according to their baselines Altered to move lines of text closer or farther apart Point size (type size) Measured in points One point = 1/72 in Actual size is not consistent Ex: Times New Roman vs. Palatino Functions of Lettering Ways type is used on the map: Literally: ?river? Locative symbol: ?Mississippi River? (uses type to show where the river is; its path) Nominal symbol: ATLANTIC OCEAN vs. Lake Michigan Visual cue of color Ordinal symbol Size is used to show a sense of order Ex: Chicago point size is bigger than Madison point size to show population difference Sense of order can be population, or another focus of the map Methods for encoding nominal and ordinal differences: size, case, form (regular vs. bold), width, lightness, saturation General typographic Guidelines Avoid decorative type family Good choice of style reduces need for bold: certain type faces are bold enough alone and are therefore easier to use Use italics sparingly ? water or data source only Use only 2 type families max. Consistent implementation of the type families is suggested When using more than one family, choose two distinct families ? often one serif and one sans serif All types must be readable Lower limit = 4 pt font AAA maps use sans-serif, uppercased 3.2 font for congested areas Small fonts should be tested for readability before final production Type Size Differences Type size should correspond with the size or importance of map features Type size should differ of 2 points or greater Don?t passively accept size type defaults ?Illustrator? default font = Myriad Pro, so if maps have ?Myriad Pro?, others assume that the cartographer didn?t think about font type Illustrator gives you power over type that you should exert Spell check and review for offensive or controversial names, politically and culturally Types should be oriented horizontally, unless curved parallels are in graticule Exception: type should represent the orientation of features on the land Watch for overprinting Don?t leave ambiguity in what?s being labeled Label biggest type first, then progress to the smaller type Iterative process Point Features Optimal: label is up to the right of the point, followed by: Up and to the left Down and to the right Above Below Don?t allow anything to get between the point and the label and its point Masks, halos, leaders, and line breaks when no position is available Choose between repositioning and breaking features Ex: put label on top of road, come to #4 position, or break road to make space for label Multiple lines of text: use justification s to create hard edge on label Left justified for left of point Center for above point Symbols on a coast: label completely on land or completely on water Don?t exaggerate spacing for point features Consistent spacing between labels and features