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(continued from previous page)
 Type In Use
is organized in the logical fashion of designing any communication. After the pep
talk -- a superb pep talk - you follow through headlines, subheads, breakouts, captions,
department headings, covers, and then delve deeply into the architecture of publications,
dealing with content and intent. The second edition even added a whole new section
on Web typography. (You self professed Web designers need to come up with the price
for this book! And be prepared to unlearn some of the myths you've come to call the
law.)
... My favorite chapter is the one titled HEADLINES.
I can read the few pages of introduction and be revitalized to tackle the next project.
I love fonts and typefaces, and working with large display type. But like most designers
I get quickly involved in crafting the type for the pure pleasure of doing so, and
am distracted away from my prime directive. A slap in the face brings me back to
reality to remember that display type and headlines have a single goal in life. (Thanks,
Alex. I needed that.)
Headlines are (to quote Alex)
"...
intended to stop the reader
and persuade him or her to look at
the secondary and tertiary levels
of typography."
It's always a great shot-in-the-arm to refresh our understanding of the difference
between type and typography. Why would we use an oblique face rather than an italic
one? Why is it necessary to maintain a condition of clear "normalcy" about
our typography if we want it to succeed? You see, there are issues that come to play
on the relative readability of your next type project that the new-wavers don't know
and can't tell you, but Alex can.
... Is it any wonder then that my next favorite chapter
should be the one titled SUBHEADS?
"If
headlines are the enticing worms that persuade the casual browser to stop by, subheads
are the hooks that ensure the reader risks valuable time by reading the first paragraph
of text. Subheads are important tools that can convince the reader to continue by
expanding upon and explaining the headline."
Do you know the difference between subheads and breaker heads? Do you know when to
use internal subheads and when to use external subheads, and what each of them causes
your reader to do?
... The thing I like about typecrafting with Alex is
he also sheds insights into what the words should be. Most of the time the client
will bring you copy that is either very boring or inappropriate for the job of headline.
I'm working on a Web site like that for a major client right now. They've provided
me with all the copy, exactly the way they want it presented, with headlines and
all. While Alex is too gracious to come right out and insult you or your client,
I'm not. This client's headlines produce huge snoring sounds! No matter what I do,
I can't craft handsome headlines out of this stuff. But Alex quickly helps me through
my mental block... "Choose provocative wording" he writes, "for a
lead-in, or the result will be the same as an inherently meaningless initial cap:
a mere focal point on which the eye may land. " I read further into my client's
text. Voilà! Hidden in the third sentence lies a most scrumptious phrase! I
pull it into the light of day, as a lead-in, and suddenly all snoring stops. The
client's contrived copy is no longer important... or even remembered.
This is what Type In Use is all about.
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