Typography is the arrangement and style of typeset material. Typography is a skill that ensures type is readable, visually appealing, and stylized in a way that is appropriate to the substance and medium of the content.
Typography may sound like something only designers need to be versed in, but anyone who formats text (e.g. for presentations, websites, social media captions, or even emails) can benefit from knowing some typography rules, because attention to these details can greatly enhance readability and professionalism in writing.
The three typography rules below are simple to implement, help tighten up writing and text formatting, and do not require any special design skills or software.
Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes are too often used interchangeably. Here’s a breakdown of where each dash should be used and how to type them on a keyboard:
Hyphen (-): The hyphen is the shortest of the dashes and is used to join two or more words to create an adverbial descriptor, as in "like-minded business owners," or "up-to-date legal contracts." It’s also the dash used for line breaks in the middle of a word. To type a hyphen, simply press the hyphen key on the keyboard.
En dash (–): Slightly longer than the hyphen, this dash is used to denote ranges, usually of time or quantity. For example, "Thursday–Saturday," or "10–15 dollars." To type an en dash on a Mac, hold down the option key and then press the hyphen key. On a PC, hold down the control key and then press the minus key on the numeric keypad.
Em dash (—): The em dash is the longest of these three dashes. It is used to indicate a pause in speech or a grammatical break in a sentence. Is also often used as a sign off or citation mark, such as when noting the author of a quotation. To type an em dash on a Mac, hold down the option and shift keys and then press the hyphen key. On a PC, hold down the alt key and then type "0151" on the numeric keypad.
If you’re editing a formatted document, there may be a different amount of line space between paragraphs than within paragraphs. When this is the case, it's important to be mindful of what kind of break you create when moving to the next line of text. To create a line break, hold down shift while pressing return. To create a paragraph break, simply press return.
To help with readability, a paragraph should not be too wide or too narrow. A good rule of thumb is around 50–75 characters wide. Additionally, with the exception of responsive website copy, avoid having the last word of a paragraph sit on its own line. To fix this, move the second to last word down onto the last line as well. Be sure to hold shift while hitting return to make sure you create a line break and not a paragraph break.
One simple ways to make a design look more polished is simply to use fewer fonts. For most projects, one or two typefaces are plenty: one for body copy and perhaps another for headings. You can also use different weights or styles within the same font family to create hierarchy without introducing a new typeface.
Negative space, used intentionally, is a powerful design element. Rather than trying to fill every available space, giving text room to breathe can make designs feel much more refined. To give your text a little more breathing room, try increasing the space between lines, paragraphs, headings, and other elements. This can help with readability as well as visual interest.
Learning a few basic design principles can help you create better day-to-day marketing materials, but typography is an important part of your visual brand identity, and having a professionally designed brand guide can help define a typography system that is unique to your business, with rules for consistent implementation.
Your fonts, colors, logo, imagery, and graphic style should all work together to create a brand that feels cohesive and recognizable. If you're ready to develop a visual identity that gives you a clear foundation for your marketing, I'd love to help.
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