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).

Word of the Week 12/08/08

x-height

In typography, the x-height or size refers to the distance between the baseline and the mean line in a typeface. Typically, this is the height of the letter x in the font (which is where the terminology came from), as well as the a, c, e, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, and z. However, in modern typography, the x-height is simply a design characteristic of the font, and while an x is usually exactly one x-height in height, this is not always the case. The x-height is a factor in typeface identification and readability. Typefaces with a tall “x-height” tend to be easier to read at smaller point sizes and generally appear larger.

Lowercase letters whose height is greater than the x-height either have descenders which extend below the baseline, such as y, g, q, and p, or have ascenders which extend above the x-height, such as l, k, b, and d. The ratio of the x-height to the body height is one of the major characteristics that defines the appearance of a font. So if a typeface looks too fat, it might not be the weight of the font it might just be the x-height.

A Designer’s Journey

There are some really special people who have made design their life’s work. In their quest, they have somehow gone beyond the ordinary world to transform their thinking and discover new ideas.



Pat Taylor—everyone’s hero—A truly inspirational story of a special person

Word of the Week 12/02/08

Usability

Often usability refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process. It is also the study of the principles behind an object’s perceived efficiency or elegance. The qualitative attributes which define an object, interface, device or document and the assessment of how easy they are to use and qualify them as actually being “useful.”

The preferred method for ensuring usability is to test actual users on some aspect of the working system. The most basic and widely known method for studying the usability of something is called user testing.

This kind of testing or research is also a great way to ensure your own assumptions don’t get in the way. Better yet, some of the best design strategies will come directly from the users themselves.

Of course, usability research doesn’t come without some rules and risks. Asking your brother-in-law and the guy in the cubicle next to you doesn’t qualify as research. It must be conducted on a large enough sample of people that matter, ideally your target audience, to generate reliable findings. And because there’s nothing people enjoying giving more than their opinions, be prepared to do some sifting in search of the consistent and persistent perspectives that will ultimately provide the foundation for a successful design strategy.