I was on the editorial side of things in my first job in publishing, but I well remember people on the graphics side moaning about how terrible it was that computers were making it so easy for “just anyone” to think they could design a page of type. In fact, their fears had merit, and untrained people had a ball combining more than just a couple typefaces on a page, selecting typefaces that did a poor job of reflecting the tone of the content, and allowing paragraphs of type to annoy readers in subtle but powerful ways.
If you know anyone who is currently trying to lay out a newsletter, for instance, who has had no training in the fine points of typography, you may want to give them a copy of the book I recently reviewed called Type Matters! (see the Book Reviews tab in the menu above).
Caveat: The book is a product of England and therefore includes some minor oddities in terminology and spelling, but it’s still a nice gift book for newbies to typography.
Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
