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The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

A practical guide to web typography

Define the word space to suit the size and natural letterfit of the fontJune 14 2005

If text is set ragged right, the word space (the space between words) can be fixed and unchanging. If the text is justified (set flush left and right), the word space must be elastic. In either case the size of the ideal word space varies from one circumstance to another, depending on factors such as letterfit, type color, and size. A loosely fitted or bold face will need a larger interval between the words. At larger sizes, when letterfit is tightened, the spacing of words can be tightened as well.

Don't stretch the space until it breaksJune 27 2005

Lists, such as contents pages and recipes, are opportunities to build architectural structures in which space between the elements both separates and binds. The two favourite ways of destroying such an opportunity are setting great chasms of space that the eye cannot leap without help from the hand, and setting unenlightening rows of dots that force the eye to walk the width of the page like a prisoner being escorted back to its cell.

Choose a comfortable measureJune 16 2005

Anything from 45 to 75 characters is widely regarded as a satisfactory length of line for a single-column page set in a serifed text face in a text size. The 66-character line (counting both letters and spaces) is widely regarded as ideal. For multiple column work, a better average is 40 to 50 characters.

Set ragged if ragged setting suits the text and pageJune 20 2005

In justified text, there is always a trade-off between evenness of word spacing and frequency of hyphenation.

Narrow measures – which prevent good justification – are commonly used when the text is set in multiple columns. Setting ragged right under these conditions will lighten the page and decrease its stiffness.

Many unserifed faces look best when set ragged no matter what the length of the measure. And mono-spaced fonts, which are common on typewriters, always look better set ragged.

Use a single word space between sentencesJune 20 2005

In the nineteenth century, which was a dark and inflationary age in typography and type design, many compositors were encouraged to stuff extra space between sentences. Generations of twentieth century typists were then taught to do the same, by hitting the spacebar twice after every period [full stop]. Your typing as well as your typesetting will benefit from unlearning this quaint Victorian habit. As a general rule, no more than a single space is required after a period, colon or any other mark of punctuation.