How to get a readable text in graphic design?
A picture paints a thousand words, really? Only need to look at social networking sites to check that the image has won the battle to the word. Today, we communicate through images: easier, cooler and faster.
But, Would it be appropriate to put aside the words in graphic design? The truth is that text is another piece of the design and, therefore, must be looked after and not leave it in the background.
For example, imagine that we created an amazing design, share on social networks and becomes viral. Cool right? But one day we began to receive criticism for inadequate readability or misspellings. My goodness! How easy it would have been spending a little time on this aspect.
Keep you hair on! From Freepik not want such an error can ruined all the effort required to create authentic designs from the beginning, no copy and paste,always original. So, in this post we review some basics about using text in graphic design.
The first thing to know is that a text should be readable, if we create a text easy to read, certainly the message we want to be caught without problems. Do no forget: everything that is important should be legible. Thus, to get a good readability we must consider the following visual elements:
Play with fonts. Do you have a mega design, you know, and you have to give it to your boss and you decide not spend much time in choosing the right typography, so we opted for Times New Roma. Is there no problem? Failed! You just presented an incomplete project because surely that your design has nothing to do with the personality of the typography.
If you choose a default typeface we are sending to our team, the boss and the whole world that we have no idea that there are more options. We can not allow it! Our creations talk about us. To get you familiar with the universe of sources, Fontspace offers an extensive catalog with very fun options.
More than one font. Depends on the design, but the fact is that a lot of text projects ideally, more than one source. First, to avoid that feeling of monotony that appears when we read a text with a single typeface. And second, because it is a way of differentiating concepts. Imagine that design has header and body, we can choose two different font types.
Tip: Use two different typeface family sources, to create contrast, or if we want to be of the same family, have to play with bold and italics. If you want to dig a little deeper with typeface families visit Fonts .
Shift and size. If you can avoid it, do not use much the shifts for two reasons: in communication, when we use the shifts seems we’re screaming, and nobody likes that right? And in terms of design, the text loses its shape and looks like a neutral, characterless box. As for the size, it depends on the design, but it is important to use a size that facilitates reading, so use a size less than 12 points. It’s not a good idea, unless we use a magnifying glass!
And the small caps? If we use that are original,that is to say, dismisses the idea falsify them because is tatty and unprofessional. You should choose always original caps and lower case and are more integrated into the text.
Look out! Dash line break! Once we have found that awful dash line with a line break. And they are so anti aesthetic.We must be careful with it that generates enough visual noise and hinders reading. A good alternative? Opting for the automatic configuration of our design program, which makes it great.
Punctuation marks. Another way to draw attention to the message is properly used punctuation marks.It is important to know the meaning of each sign and remember that each language has its own guidelines.Use it, but very carefully because a simple overeating can change the direction of our message completely. To learn more about this, visit Edufind.
Color balance. Who dominates the psychology of color has a ninety percent success secured in their creations. Therefore, we must not forget that to get good readability, we have to balance the three properties of color: tone, value and intensity. Obviously, we’ll find a strong contrast between letters and background and to do not forget make clear combinations, avoid mixing reversed colors: red and blue, It is not cool! Create combinations and enjoys the tool Color Palette Software.
Care with spelling. It is an important aspect of any text because a simple oversight can break our work completely. Having good spelling is synonymous with respect for people who see our work as it is a project lovingly and perfectly done. Sometimes we not give importance to spelling, and is a great mistake. Also, we have no excuse because we have programs with typographical correction, although it is preferable review our personalized texts and with great care.
After this brief review of the universe readability of text in graphic design, we hope you have served for help and inspiration. Besides, there are some tools to check the degree of readability of your texts at the level of understanding them like Redability Test Tool.
