5 Variables to Set a Typographic Hierarchy for Your Website
Are you ready to elevate your website's typographic game? In the bustling world of online presence, standing out is crucial. That's where typographic hierarchy swoops in to save the day.
Picture this: captivating headlines drawing in your audience, seamlessly guiding them through your content with clear, easy-to-read fonts. Intrigued? You should be! Here’s our guide on setting up a typographic hierarchy for your web design in Perth. From font sizes to spacing, we've got you covered with 5 essential variables to master.
What is a typographic design?
Typographic design is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing. It encompasses various elements, all working harmoniously to convey a message effectively —
- Font selection
- Sizing
- Spacing
- Alignment
Think of it as the visual voice of your content, setting the tone and guiding the reader's experience. When you understand these elements, you will be able to develop a much more advanced online experience through your web design in Perth.
How can typographic hierarchy help?
Using a typographic hierarchy helps designers organise information visually, making it easier for people to understand. By arranging text in different levels of importance, designers can guide readers through content smoothly. This makes the design look better and helps users find what they need quickly.
For example, with clear differences between headings, subheadings, and other text elements, don’t you think the design becomes easier to follow, looks more put-together, and ensures the message gets across effectively?
5 Variables in Designing a Typographic Hierarchy
Now, let's dive into the core of designing a typographic hierarchy. The five essential variables explored below can shape the visual organisation of your text, ensuring clarity, readability, and aesthetic appeal throughout your design.
Go over each of the following details with your provider of web design services in Perth. It’s worth the time!
1. Typeface
Traditional typographic scales offer a starting point for designers, but they're not set in stone. Designers can experiment with different font weights and styles, deviating from traditional scales.
The classic typographic scale from The Elements of Typographic Style is commonly used, starting from 6 and increasing in increments. Other typographic scales exist, following various mathematical equations for size progression. Designers often default to a 12-point body text size, but increasing it to 14 or 16 can enhance readability, depending on the typeface.
So, before finalising the scale, you should choose the typefaces carefully, as different typefaces may appear larger or smaller at the same size.
2. Coordinating Typefaces
Combining typefaces is the next key aspect of professional design. It's both an art and a science, with some guidelines to help. Mixing serifs (like Times New Roman) with sans serifs (like Arial) is easier than combining two of the same type. But it's not just about picking any serif and any sans serif. Designers must think about the mood of their design—light and fun or serious—and choose typefaces that match.
Contrast is important, too, like pairing thin and thick fonts. Typefaces with similar x-heights (the height of lowercase letters) and similar kerning and shapes work well together. So, experiment and practice combining typefaces to find what works best for your web design in Perth.
3. Type Styles and Weights
After picking the final typefaces, trying out different styles and weights can add more hierarchy levels without needing huge main headings. For instance, keeping typefaces about the same size but bolding the important heading and italicising the less important one makes a clear visual hierarchy.
4. Colour Accents
Colour can also help in creating a visually interesting typographic hierarchy for your web design in Perth. Using an accent colour for a subheading makes it stand out more than if it's the same colour as the body text. So, it can be hugely beneficial to experiment with different colours in subheadings to highlight important text without just relying on size.
5. Font Space
Spacing is another trick you can pull to emphasise hierarchical structure in your web design. For example, adding a little bit of extra space around headings makes them more noticeable compared to the body text.
Similarly, subheadings with the same spacing as body text look less important. Even spacing between letters can create a hierarchy. Spacing out letters and capitalising them can make a line more prominent. But designers should be careful not to use this too much, as it might make the design look unprofessional.
So, seek your provider’s help and try different combinations to see which options suit your website. With enough trials, you will surely find the perfect options that will boost your site’s experience.
Final Word:
All in all, typography stands as a prominent feature in websites. Learning to wield it well is an indispensable process if you want to elevate your web design to new heights. The outlined points in this article do give you a great start with the typography of your website. But if you have doubts even after reading this detailed guide, we encourage you to hire a professional for web design in Perth, such as Make My Website.
From selecting the perfect typefaces to crafting visually stunning layouts, the experts at MMW power up your ideas effectively, leaving a lasting impression. So, without hesitating too much, get started with your typographic web design.