Word of the Week 12/15/08

type hierarchy

The essential function of type and design is to get your point across. Sounds simple, right? Not always. As the amount of information you have to present increases, it can be more challenging to have the reader read your content in the right sequence and with the right emphasis. A typographic hierarchy is an organizational system for content, which emphasizes some data and diminishes others. A hierarchy aids in readability, giving the reader visual cues of where to enter and exit and what to read first, second and last. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be the placement of a word or phrase or graphic (size, style, color of typeface).