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Selecting text type
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Selecting text type 0269
1. Pick a typeface with similar character widths
For the smoothest appearance, an alphabet’s charac-
ters should have similar widths. Reading has a nat-
ur
al rhythm; an alphabet such as Futura (below, top)
with widely varying character widths disrupts it.
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Widely varying widths
Futura Light
aef jsrm
Similar widths
Times ew Roman
2. Medium height-to-width ratio
We identify letters by their physical characteristics—
stems, bars, loops, curves and so on; the clearer
they are the more legible the letter. As letters are
compressed (or expanded), these features get dis-
tor
ted—diagonal strokes, for example, become quite
vertical—and so are harder to identify.
Medium height-
to-width ratio
ITC Stone Serif
Compressed
height-to-width
ratio
Racer
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