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Typographic Checklist for Top Notch

Typography
by Ilene Strizver 6 Comments

One of the challenges of setting type, a major

component of most design work, is getting all of
the details just right. These seemingly small yet
important aspects of setting type are what
separate the amateurs and novices from the pros,
and can make or break a job as well as a job
interview (via your portfolio).
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In today’s digital environment, designers are
charged with doing their own typesetting – a skill that in pre-digital times, took many years to
master. In the days of type shops sta ed with experienced typographers (which is how it was
done in my early days), it was their exclusive job to set type, both text and display, and to know
all of the rules of professional typography. Now that ‘professional’ typesetting is done either by Newsletter
the designer, production person, or web master, one is expected to know everything that the
seasoned typesetter of the previous days did, and in most cases, without proper training to do Sign up to our weekly newsletter:

this. With all of the typographic rules, dos and don’ts, as well as the robust (and sometimes
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frustrating and counter-productive) features of today’s design software, it can be challenging
get it all right!
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A great way to learn (or refresh) your knowledge of the rules and guidelines of setting
professional type, as well as to review typeset copy, is with a typographic checklist. This can Submit
keep you from committing type crimes, and assist you in nessing your typography for the
most professional results. Here is a listing of what I consider the most important, as well as
most frequently overlooked elements of setting type. You might want to save or print this list
and review for each and every job, click on the links to learn more about each topic, or even
Top 10 Articles
make your own customized checklist from the topics below.

 Adding Bleeds and Crop Marks in

Typographic Typos Photoshop
 Round Corners Quickly in Illustrator
Just say no to these common typographic faux pas:
 Fill Text with Images in Photoshop
 Is Mac or PC Better for Graphic Designers?
Eliminate double word spaces between sentences
 20 Free Scripts for InDesign Users
Replace dumb quotes and apostrophes
 How to Create an E ective Product Label
Check for correct use of hyphens, en- and em- dashes
 Moving Vectors with InDesign, Illustrator
Do not apply fake scaling, bolding, and slanting
and Photoshop
Avoid computer-generated (fake) small caps
 Copying Pages Between InDesign
Beware of all cap swash settings
Documents
 InDesign Preferences You Must Change
Spacing and alignment Today
 How to Make Amazing Halftone E ects
Balanced spacing and alignment play a major role in professional-looking type.
with Photoshop

Avoid poor justification

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1/1/2020 Typographic Checklist for Top Notch Typography - CreativePro.com
Make sure kerning is even and tasteful Sponsors
Apply hung punctuation / optical margin alignment
Check for proper vertical and horizontal alignment
Use tracking appropriately, as necessary
Check for appropriate word spacing and adjust as necessary
Align initial letters properly

Finessing Your Type

The devil is in the details, so take heed of these important points:

Adjust bad rags and hyphenation

Avoid widows and orphans
Use appropriate figure style and spacing
Use diagonal fractions if possible, especially in OpenType
Fine-tune size, position, and spacing of bullets
Fine-tune position and spacing of ®, ™ and © symbols
Adjust glyph positioning as necessary

Feel free to share this article  with your colleagues, students, or anyone else who might bene t
from its use!

Categories: Design, Print Design & Layout, Typography, Web Design & Layout

Tags
type checklist typography

Posted on: July 2, 2019

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Ilene Strizver
Ilene Strizver, founder of The Type Studio, is a typographic consultant,
designer, writer and educator specializing in all aspects of visual
communication, from the aesthetic to the technical. Her book, Type Rules!
The designer’s guide to professional typography, 4th edition, has received
numerous accolades from the type and design community.

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6 Comments on Typographic Checklist for Top Notch Typography

https://creativepro.com/typographic-checklist-for-top-notch-typography/ 2/5
1/1/2020 Typographic Checklist for Top Notch Typography - CreativePro.com
Thank you, thank
you! This is a

Melody
handy one-stop
list that I can
July 3, 2019 at 2:24 pm
wave under
people’s noses
(ahem,
respectfully share with colleagues) to maybe
get them to back o about some of the weird
conventions that they have developed because
they misunderstand a tenet of
design/layout/typesetting.

Reply
This is a great list
and all are topics

Kerry Gonzales
I cover in my
beginning type
July 3, 2019 at 2:49 pm
and layout class.
However, there
are a few
changes I would make as to the usage of type
in this article. The subheads are oating. They
will look better if you pull them together a bit
more and put more space between groupings:

Typographic Typos
(Close this up!)
Just say no to these common typographic faux
pas:
(And bring this closer to the bulleted list.)

Thanks for the list!

Reply
Hi Kerry- You’re
right. It’s just a

Mike Rankin
limitation of the
site’s current
July 4, 2019 at 10:32 am
design.

Reply

An excellent
article, I would

Derek Cross
add: the column
width, choice of
July 3, 2019 at 2:57 pm
font, font size
and leading mix
are also vital
ingredients to the “art that conceals the art”.
(anon)

Reply
Great list; Ilene
knows her stu .

John D. Berry
One addition I
July 3, 2019 at 7:31 pm
would make:
after “Replace
dumb quotes
and apostrophes,” add “Make sure that
apostrophes at beginnings of words are facing
the right way.”

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1/1/2020 Typographic Checklist for Top Notch Typography - CreativePro.com
And I would *not* recommend using hanging
punctuation in text. It’s distracting, most of the
time.

Reply
Yes, the list is
very good. Basic

C.A. Savage
and classic rules
to live by type-
July 4, 2019 at 3:45 pm
wise. However,
there have been
times (I am not
proud to say) when I have slanted a typeface at
9° or 12° because and italic version did not
exist and It Had To Be Done. The world did not
end. It printed ne and the client was very
happy.

Reply

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