By Marko Dugonjić CHAPTER 9

Chapter nine · by marKO dUGOnjić

The neXT STePS foR

web TYPogRaPhY

t’s a cliché, but nevertheless it’s true — for many Web designers,

this is a time of extreme excitement and personal reward, whether

through pioneering new methods and techniques, using technology

to automate previously manual processes (where they were possible at all),

or establishing new rules and standards. In some respects it’s an adventure

into the unknown. And do you know what? We are not even halfway there!

To be able to design and optimize for each and every angle and perspective

known today is next to impossible. There are so many new discoveries

about us as individuals and collectively in the fields of biology, psycholo-

gy, sociology and evolution, that the sentence “There are so many things

that have to be done” takes on a completely new meaning. No Web design

project is ever complete and there’s always room for improvement, wheth-

er it’s fixing minor usability issues, conversion tweaking or optimizing

performance.

Typography is no exception. Indeed, we inherited a lot from our sister

field, graphic design, but there are also a myriad of options that haven’t

been possible until recently. Pardon my enthusiasm, but for me — both

as a Web user and as a Web producer — these times are quite exciting!

I