introduction

articles/lectures

web typography
style and design
functions of type
usability
interaction
composition
webstyles
conclusion
bibliography
links

Traditional Graphic designers have typographic knowledge but in most cases they are educated to design for print and follow conventions and design methods that are meant for those media.

They (Many young Web designers) mistake Style for Design, when the two things are not the same at all. Design communicates on every level. It tells you where you are, cues you to what you can do, and facilitates the doing. Style is tautological; it communicates stylishness. ... Style is an underground language, from one peer to another, having nothing to do with the site's visitors or purpose. Indeed, this stylistic appliqué can interfere with the site's purpose. A lot of this is because as designers we approach the Web as a visual medium - instead of as a structural and transactional medium that can have styles applied to it. We think like print designers and create our sites accordingly. (Jeffrey Zeldman2)

Style is a –very important– attribute to design that often tends to overwhelm clear communication. Graphic design and typography needs to represent content, because it is content that the average user relates to, not design. Many designers work intuitively, which only leads to efficient designs if the 'artist' knows basic typography and usability rules. But webdesign is not art. In most cases it is meant to communicate without the glorification of the creator. The traditional purpose of type was to reflect the content as accurately as possible. What are the current functions of typography?

2 Adobe Web Feature
2001, Zeldman.



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