childish. Something annoying which every designer will
understand is when a client would like to switch the
copy of your typography masterpiece. When you finally
have created your beautiful heading and the client
changes the text you can basically start all over again.
So I verify the text a few times before I start and explain
the consequences of an alteration to the client.”
But you shouldn’t feel battered by the twin cudgels
of readability and legibility. For, as van Delft continues,
“the basic principles of typography still exist, but they
have faded a little. The fonts we use nowadays are a bit
more exciting than they used to be, but strange kerningNovice designers often
make type too big. Of courseyou have to design for specific
situations and people, but when Iam struggling with a text layout, it
nearly always comes down to mytracking being too tight and type
size being too large
SETH MACH / WWW.SETHMACH.COMLOOK AT SHAPES AND FORM, NOT JUST LETTERS, ADVISES SETH MACH,
WHO EXPLAINS THAT KERNING IS ABOUT RHYTHM AND IS RARELY
CORRECT IF LETTERS ARE EVENLY SP ACEDKERN A FONT IN PHOTOSHOP
01
CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON
Although bitmap images are “not the
most conducive to viewing or editing
letterforms”, as Mach puts it, there are times
when you’ll have to type directly and kern in
Photoshop. “Select the Horizontal Type tool (T)
and hover over a spot where the letter-spacing
looks optically incorrect. Click between the
letters. There should be a blinking cursor. Here
the space between the P and H is too tight, while
the space between the T and the O is too loose.”03
EVALUATE YOUR WORDS
“To exit the Type tool, press Esc and then
V to get back to the Move tool. After kerning, the
type may have to be realigned in the design due to02
EDIT AWAY
“Hold down the Alt/Opt key and use the
left and right arrow keys to nudge the letters
together or apart. The left arrow key decreases
spacing and the right arrow key increases
spacing.” Mach also suggests you “Track out the
type a bit. A little secret is that more letter-
spacing overall hides kerning mistakes between
specific letters. Because the human eye
recognises relationships between forms, letting
each letter breathe can save time and look better.
But be careful of this practice with body copy.”shifting. Lastly, read the words again. It is easy to
be so focused on the technical aspects of kerning
that misspellings can slip through.”or goofy fonts as body text are still a no go.” For Steve
Simpson, it’s like any skill, “you need to learn the rules
before you can choose which ones to work with and
which ones to discard. I think it’s the same with
illustration, there are certain things you always do and
certain things you never do. These make your work
look a particular way and give it a style.”
Beginning to feel confident in your own style is the
one of the things that establishes an artist. And when
you do, you can really start testing the technical rules,
pushing the boundaries of legibility, and even getting
down and dirty with the letterforms themselves.© Seth Mach© Janelle Cummins© Steve SimpsonRunning Squirrel:
Janagrees that elle Cummins
typography is full of rules, saying
“but because I have a better
understanding of these rules, I am
able to choose when to use them
and when to break them”Stillis:Seth Mach, “but more of a singular feeling because of its structure. “The best typefaces do not really convey a meaning,” says
It is the graphic designer who ends up using the finished typeface to take on the job of creating a mood and meaning through type
size, hierarchy and layout”Raglan Road: overall feel of the piece I“My choice of lettering style is dependent on the ’m working on,” says Steve Simpson. “I
soI want to get. Imetimes mix in a few different styles depending on the effect t’s similar to drawing features on a face; it’s all
about the expression”Pro type techniques
The Professional Photoshop Book 149
144-155 New Type Rules Feature.indd 149 06/10/2015 15:29