Selecting the Right Typefaces

If you've ever seen a type chart, you already know that thousands of typefaces are available, each with a different feel. Matching the typeface's feel to the effect that you want for your document is a trial-and-error process. Until you are experienced at using a wide variety of typefaces (and even then), experiment with different typefaces on a mock-up of your document to see what works best.

Defining a standard set

We recommend that you take the time necessary to define a standard set of typefaces for each group of publications . You may want all employee newsletters in your company to have a similar feel, which you can achieve by using common body text and headline typefaces, even if layout and paragraph settings differ . The key to working with a standard set of typefaces is to avoid limiting the set to only a few typefaces. Selecting more typefaces than any one document might use gives you enough flexibility to be creative, while providing an obviously standard appearance. You also can use the same typeface for different purposes. For example, you might use a newsletter's headline typeface as a kicker in a brochure. A consistent ‚ but not constrained ‚ appearance is a good way to establish an identity for your company.

Some basic guidelines

If you're feeling confused about which typeface is right for you, here are some basic guidelines:

Use a Roman medium or book weight typeface for body text. In some cases, a light weight works well, especially for typefaces such as Bookman and Souvenir, which tend to be heavy in the medium weights.

Understanding typeface names

The many variants of typefaces confuse many users, especially because most programs use only the terms normal (or plain), italic (or oblique ), bold, and bold italic (or bold oblique) to describe available variations. When a typeface has more than these basic variations, programs usually split the typeface into several typefaces.

For example, in some programs, Helvetica comes as Helvetica, with medium, oblique, boldface, and boldface oblique faces; Helvetica Light/Black, with light, light oblique, black, and black oblique faces; Helvetica Light/Black Condensed, with condensed light, condensed light oblique, condensed black, and condensed black oblique faces; Helvetica Condensed, with condensed medium, condensed oblique, condensed boldface, and condensed boldface oblique faces; and Helvetica Compressed, with compressed medium and condensed oblique faces. When there are this many variations, you have to choose from among several Helvetica typefaces, and you have to know that, for example, selecting bold for Helvetica Condensed results in Helvetica Condensed Bold type.

For some typefaces, the variants are even more confusing. For example, in text, Bookman is usually printed in light face, which is lighter than the medium face. So when you select plain, you really select Bookman Light. And when you select bold, you really select Bookman Demibold. Bookman Medium and Bookman Bold are too heavy for use as body text, which is why the typeface comes in the light/demi combination of faces. Fortunately, the issue of what face a program designates as plain, italic, and the rest rarely comes into play. You usually encounter a problem only in one of the following situations:

When you are exchanging files between PCs and Macs ‚ because some vendors use slightly different names for their typefaces on different platforms. The Type ‚ Find Font option lets you correct this problem by replacing one typeface name with another in your document.
When you are working with a service bureau that has typeface names that are different, or whose staff uses the traditional names rather than the desktop-publishing names.
When you are working with artists or typesetters to match a typeface. Typically, the problem is a lack of familiarity with the different names for a typeface. The best way to reach a common understanding is to look at a sample of the typefaces being discussed.

You may have noticed that many people use serif typefaces for body copy and sans serif typefaces for headlines, pull-quotes, and other elements. But there is no rule you should worry about following. You can easily create engaging documents that use serif typefaces for every element. All-sans-serif documents are possible, but they are rare because sans serif typefaces tend to be hard to read when used in many pages of text. (Exceptions include typefaces such as News Gothic and Franklin Gothic, which were designed for use as body text.) No matter which typefaces you use, the key is to ensure that each element calls an appropriate amount of attention to itself.

Output some samples before deciding on a light typeface for body text because many light typefaces are hard to read when used extensively. Also, if you intend to output publications on an imagesetter (at 1,270 dpi or finer resolution), make sure that you output samples on that imagesetter because a light font may be readable on a 300- or 600-dpi laser printer but too light on a higher-resolution printer that can reproduce thin characters more faithfully than a laser printer. (The laser printer may actually print a light typeface as something a bit heavier: Because the width of the text's stroke is not an even multiple of the laser printer's dots, the printer has no choice but to make the stroke thicker than it should be.) Although 1,200-dpi laser printers are increasingly common, and make more accurate proofs than a 300- or 600-dpi model, note that imagesetters are still more accurate, since they use smooth paper, which allows less distortion than the standard bond paper used in laser printers.
Use a heavier typeface for headlines and subheads. A demibold or bold usually works well. Avoid using the same typeface for headlines and body text, even if it is a bolder variant. On the other hand, using the same typeface for subheads and headlines, even if in a different variant, helps ensure a common identity. (And if you mix typefaces, use those that have similar appearances . For example, use round typefaces with other round typefaces and squared-off typefaces with other squared-off typefaces.)
If captions are long (more than three lines), use a typeface with the same weight as body text. If you use the same typeface as body text, differentiate the caption visually from body text. Using a boldface caption lead-in (the first words are boldface and act as a title for the caption) or putting the caption in italics distinguishes the caption from body text without being distracting. If captions are short (three lines or fewer), consider using a heavier face than body text or a typeface that is readily distinguished from your body text.
As a general rule, avoid using more than three typefaces (not including variants) in the main document elements (headlines, body text, captions, pull-quotes, and other elements that appear on most pages). However, some typefaces are very similar, so you can use them as a group as if they were one. Examples include Helvetica, Univers, and Arial; Futura, Bauhaus, and Avant Garde; Times and its many relatives (including Times New Roman and Times Ten); Galliard and New Baskerville; Souvenir and Korinna; Benguiat, Americana, Garamond, Stone Serif, and Cheltenham; New Baskerville and Esprit; and Goudy Old Style and Century Old Style. You can treat the individual typefaces within these groups almost as variants of one another, especially if you use one of the individual typefaces in limited-length elements such as kickers, pull-quotes, and bylines.
Use italics for kickers, bylines, sidebar headlines, and pull-quotes.