CHAPTER 9 The Next Steps for Web Typography
Think about the responsive nature of any particular web experience as a
continuum of being. Along this continuum, on one axis, the experience can
grow wide or narrow. Along a different axis, it can be near or far. Along a still
different axis, it can be coarse or fine. There are many axes.— Tim Brown, “Breakpoints and range rules”^3Simple Multifaceted Model
If we are only concerned with the medium and content, we can then type-
set along the basic seven axes that describe the device itself and the basic
connection between the device and the reader. These axes are:- reading distance (viewing
distance) - screen dimensions (viewport
width and height) - content hierarchy
- information density
- pixel density (resolution)
- device orientation
- screen aspect ratio
If you think this is already too much, don’t worry — that is a normal
reaction and you are a completely normal person. Don’t let this discourage
you, though, and take it as a sign of professional evolution. We should be
happy that there’s a new toy in our sandbox every morning! It is possible
to typeset for the Web within this model. It can be done. We can account
for the extremes and provide appropriate solutions to create satisfactory
results. For the purpose of this journey, we can call this set of methods:
Responsive Web Typography.3 http://nicewebtype.com/notes/2012/01/27/breakpoints-and-range-rules/