Chapter 17: Specifying Character Attributes

Overview

Type is the visual representation of the spoken word. A typographer is a person who designs with type. As a user of InDesign, chances are you're going to be making lots of decisions about the appearance of the text in the publications you produce. You are, whether you consider yourself one or not, a typographer. And not only are InDesign users typographers, they're typographers who have an extensive arsenal of text formatting tools that let them tweak and polish their type in a nearly infinite variety of ways.

Of all the decisions an InDesign user makes when designing a publication, decisions about type are arguably the most important. Why? Because a publication can't be effective if the text is hard to read. The difference between good typography and bad typography is the same as the difference between clear speaking and mumbling. The intent of a clear speaker and a mumbler may be the same, but the effect on the listener is quite different. In publishing, the printed words are the containers in which the writer's message is transported to the reader. As the caretaker of those words, you hold great power. Whether or not the message is successfully transported depends largely on your typographic decisions.

As you learn to use InDesign's powerful type formatting features, you should always remember the cardinal rule of typography: Type exists to honor content. By all means, you should take full advantage of the available tools, but sometimes knowing when not to use a fancy typographic feature is as important as knowing how to use the feature in the first place.

Cross-Reference ‚  

This chapter focuses on modifying character-level typographic formats; Chapter 18 focuses on modifying paragraph-level formats. Chapter 28 offers a broader look at using InDesign to design with type.