Initially presented during the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, this presentation takes typography beyond the surface layer. Structure, Process, Macro and Micro typography are all covered in detail to help you improve the typographic quality on your site, service or product.

1. Better Typography
Mark Boulton

2. markboulton.co.uk
markboultondesign.com

4. mark@markboulton.co.uk

5. 1. Structure
2. Process
3. Macro typography
4. Micro typography

6. Typography and Web 2.0

7. seduced
art & sex
from
antiquity
to
now

8. seduced
art & sex
from
antiquity
to
now

14. A world of
Verdana and Arial

15. typography
1 the art or process of setting and arranging types and
printing from them. 2 the style and appearance of printed
matter. 2

16. typography
1 the mechanical notation and arrangement of language.

17. Typography is not...

18. ...deciding which is best,
Verdana or Arial.

19. ...just a designers responsibility.

20. STRUCTURE

21. ‘Typography has one plain duty before it and
that is to convey information in writing.’
Emil Ruder

22. Information is language

23. words → sentences
sentences → paragraphs
paragraphs → groupings
groupings → sections
sections → document

24. Documents have a
conceptual structure.

25. Author’s
Conceptual
Structure

26. Author’s Reader’s
Conceptual Conceptual
Structure Structure

27. Designer
Author’s Reader’s
Conceptual Conceptual
Structure Structure

28. Content & Presentation

34. Designer
Author’s Reader’s
Conceptual Conceptual
Structure Structure

35. Designer
Author’s Reader’s
Conceptual Conceptual
Structure Structure
HTML

36. P RO C E S S

37. Elements of User Experience
Jesse James Garrett

38. visual design
surface
skeleton information design
structure interaction design
scope requirements
strategy user needs / site
objectives
For a much better diagram go to: http://www.jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf

39. A linear process?

40. visual design
surface
skeleton information design
structure interaction design
scope requirements
strategy user needs / site
objectives
project lifespan?

41. typography
visual design
surface
skeleton information design
structure interaction design
scope requirements
strategy user needs / site
objectives

42. typography
visual design
surface
skeleton information design
structure interaction design
scope requirements
strategy user needs / site
objectives

43. typography
visual design
surface
skeleton information design
structure interaction design
scope requirements
strategy user needs / site
objectives

44. *
‘Can you design a theme for me?’
* Interchangeable with ‘skin’

45. Content & Presentation
...again!

46. Greybox wireframes

48. Greybox Methodology: http://www.jasonsantamaria.com/archive/2004/05/24/grey_box_method.php

51. Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain: http://31three.com/

52. Look at typographic design
earlier in the process.

61. M AC RO T Y P O G R A P H Y

62. The big stuff

63. Creating spacial relationships

64. Golden Section

70. b
a

72. a b

73. a b

74. a a a

75. a a a

76. a a a

77. Grids

78. A way of organising stuff

79. Provide a visual language

80. Answer layout questions

86. Sign in • Register • Read today’s paper • Jobs
comment is free... Search
Home This week Contributors Subjects A-Z Editor’s blog Dan Chung Steve Bell About us Audio Webfeeds Other blogs
Blogs Editor’s picks
Space cadets
Dan Kennedy
05:00pm: Is seeing a UFO any
more crazy than believing God
Created the universe in six days> It
is if you are running to be
president of the United States.
Comments
A bankrupt hotchpotch
Ed Vaizey Nov 06 07, 04:40pm
The Queen’s speech: Big on
short-term tricks, and lacking in
long-term vision just about sums
up the government’s new
legislation
Comments State of emergency by Steve Bell
If Ball wants better schools, he
End of mutual respect
Derek Wall Nov 06 07, 04:20pm
must scrap faith selection
As the Respect party splits in two

87. Sign in • Register • Read today’s paper • Jobs
comment is free... Search
Home This week Contributors Subjects A-Z Editor’s blog Dan Chung Steve Bell About us Audio Webfeeds Other blogs
Blogs Editor’s picks
Space cadets
Dan Kennedy
05:00pm: Is seeing a UFO any
more crazy than believing God
Created the universe in six days> It
is if you are running to be
president of the United States.
Comments
A bankrupt hotchpotch
Ed Vaizey Nov 06 07, 04:40pm
The Queen’s speech: Big on
short-term tricks, and lacking in
long-term vision just about sums
up the government’s new
legislation
Comments State of emergency by Steve Bell
If Ball wants better schools, he
End of mutual respect
Derek Wall Nov 06 07, 04:20pm
must scrap faith selection
As the Respect party splits in two

88. Sign in • Register • Read today’s paper • Jobs
comment is free... Search
Home This week Contributors Subjects A-Z Editor’s blog Dan Chung Steve Bell About us Audio Webfeeds Other blogs
Blogs Editor’s picks
Space cadets
Dan Kennedy
05:00pm: Is seeing a UFO any
more crazy than believing God
Created the universe in six days> It
is if you are running to be
president of the United States.
Comments
A bankrupt hotchpotch
Ed Vaizey Nov 06 07, 04:40pm
The Queen’s speech: Big on
short-term tricks, and lacking in
long-term vision just about sums
up the government’s new
legislation
Comments State of emergency by Steve Bell
If Ball wants better schools, he
End of mutual respect
Derek Wall Nov 06 07, 04:20pm
must scrap faith selection
As the Respect party splits in two

93. M I C RO T Y P O G R A P H Y

94. The little stuff

95. Hyphens are not dashes

96. Britain’s workers improve their
lives - by doing nothing

97. Britain’s workers improve their
lives -- by doing nothing

98. Britain’s workers improve their
lives—by doing nothing

99. Britain’s workers improve their
lives – by doing nothing

100. - hyphen Müller-Brockmann
– en dash 3–6 April; 25–30 mm
a phrase marker – thus – with spaces
— em dash a phrase marker—thus—with no spaces
— Doesn’t sound much like a bee to me.
— It’s a bloody aardvark!
− minus 4−1=3

104. Never negatively space lowercase

105. Y O U C A N S PA C E C A P S

106. &
HEADINGS SUBHEADINGS

107. {HOME} NOTEBOOK WORK PUBLICATIONS ICON SHOP ABOUT CONTACT
LATEST FEATURED WORK
Hand-crafted pixels & text. MTV.com
SimpleBits is a tiny web design studio founded by XHTML/CSS development
designer and author Dan Cederholm. We create simple,
Cork’d
readable interfaces balanced with a standards-based
Creative Director
methodology. Learn more
TravelPost.com
Logo + interface design
RECENT NOTEBOOK ARTICLES & QUICKBITS
SPEAKING EVENTS
Planet Microformats
A giant master feed of anything and everything tagged with “microformats” SXSW Interactive
from Brian Suda. {02.20.07} March 9-13, 2007 ~ Austin, TX
An Event Apart Boston
March 26-27, 2007 ~ Boston
Web Directions North @media 2007 (America)
May 24-25, 2007 ~ San Francisco
I’ve returned from several days in Vancouver, and the first-ever Web
@media 2007 (Europe)
Directions North. It was a great trip, a great conference, and my second
June 7-8, 2007 ~ London
attempt at snowboarding in the last 20 years.
I’ll first say congrats to Maxine, John, Dave and
Derek for putting on what was an oustanding
www.simplebits.com

109. <h1>Hand-crafted pixels
<span class=quot;ampquot;>&amp;</span> text.</h1>
span.amp {
font-family: quot;Goudy Old Stylequot;,
quot;Palatinoquot;, quot;Book Antiquaquot;, serif;
font-style: italic;
font-size: 110%;
}

110. Framing navigation

111. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

112. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

113. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

114. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

115. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

116. Registration
About
Conference
Expo

117. Framing tables

118. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

119. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

120. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

121. Text numerals like these—23, 48,
192 and 2096—belong in text
Lining numerals like these—23, 48,
192 and 2096—are better in tables.

122. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

123. Barry Island 0533 0600
0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0620 0648
0552

124. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

125. Barry Island 0533 0600 0600
Rhoose 0540 0610 0612
Llantwit Major 0550 0612 0622
Bridgend 0552 0620 0648

126. 1. Structure
Language; Conceptual models; Content Presentation.
2. Process
Greybox wireframes; Typography earlier in the process.
3. Macro typography
The big stuff. Composition Grids.
4. Micro typography
The little stuff. Typesetting.

128. ‘...It is not surface, it is not the last thing that
needs to be considered, it is the thing itself’
Stephen Fry

129. Thank you
Slides and resources at : http://www.markboulton.co.uk/present/web2berlin/