The Overlooked Leading in Typography

Intro

Leading, as a typography element in graphic design, measured in the same unit as font size – point(pt) precisely. As one of the specifications in typesetting, leading is subjected to be adjusted for better reading experience for a unique layout. Same with other design elements like color and typeface, there is no solid guideline to define a perfect setting on leading. Also, it is worth to note that leading is aim on content text, not for display text which can go much further with a magic touch from designers like Herb Lubalin.

Leading types

Leading is setting on the distance between two adjoining baselines. The term came from the process in type setting when strips of lead were used to adjust space between lines of type from the past, when there was more hand-on processes with machinery.

Three styles of leading are defined by their settings comparing to the type sizes. They are positive, negative and solid leadings.

Some designers call positive leading open leading, this style happens when the leading applied is more than the font size. Positive leadings are good for content text. It helps improving readability and controlling type color. However, if it goes too far, texts with big positive leading will be hard for the readers to follow the texts’ continuity, which will cause fatigues and put a dent on readability.

When leading applied is smaller than the font size, it is called negative leading. Negative leading is a preference for the headings and capital types. There is less words in headings in most cases, which means less chances on ascendent and descendent overlapping. On the opposite, it is not a good idea to use negative leading in content text. There, negative space can cause the words cramped or camouflages their shapes, recognition reduce. It is not suggested for good reading legibility.

The concept of solid leading might sound weird to designers. When the leading is set to the same as the point size of the type, that is solid leading. The dissatisfied part of this leading is that there is no extra space between baselines, which might be end up with less room for the words to breathe, similar issues happened to the negative leadings.

Leading feature

Although it is easy to be overlooked, but the leading feature should never be underestimated. Leading direct the reading direction and helps eyes scanning. It can also be used to adjust the reading speed, and maintain the reading rhythm. Its variation in typesetting can enhance the hierarchy decisions as well.

Ideal leading

In most of the layout programs, leading does come with the auto option in default setting with each type size, which is 120 percent of the type size. This scale is said to provide the maximum readability. For example, 10 pt Minion Pro comes with 12 pt of leading while 12 pt comes with 14.4 pt of leading.

However, there is no perfect formula to set the leading for every layout. Tight leading leads to unity but can buries baselines, while loose leading slows reading time. It is important to keep the leading consistent on each design(print or screen). Like limiting the number of typeface used, the consistency on leading can be helpful to bring in a sense of wholeness on texts.

Check on the types, pay attention to the overall look of the design, then fix the problem you can find. After all, experience it, and learn from it.

How does grid help?

I remember that afternoon I was waiting for the metro-link train on the station platform of UMSL-North station and had a brief conversation with a classmate about grid. It was right after a class which introduced the “grid” concept, both of us were still carrying the new term/concept and to me, I enjoy exchanging ideas in design every now and then.

“I would never use grid in my work.” He said it loud with confidence. I understood his frustration and replied with “I hear you,” I assumed that he considered the grid, like an obstacles in design, and grid is blocking his creativity as designer. I hope I didn’t get it wrong since we hadn’t get a chance to talk about it later that day as the metro-link train was approaching to us. “It is helpful in content organizing,” my voice came out of somewhere. And that short conversation sparked a conflict on my mind, and it paves a road in my career to accept that there are different opinion in the design world.

Design is a pretty free direction profession, you can go with different ways to get the jobs done, but it also comes with disciplines and guidelines. And grid, like styles, is one of those guidelines which set limits on where your types should stop, and what your graphics should be aligned with to support the goal. The disciplines stand on your ways in idea developing, they remind you that we have rules to follow, which insidiously construct processes in graphic design and help designer to identify the purpose of each step in design.

If one of the core values in design is to organize the content for better transferring the message, grid is a tool to support that, to build better reading experience.

Grid helps building up hierarchy, it also helps creating structure in every piece of design work, big or small. With grid, we align types and graphic, build up visual clarity. Along with style setting, the content would be organized and in orders. One of the examples, grid helps layout to maintain columns, gutter and margins, these are the first aesthetic impression in a publication. It helps setting up a canvas to help readers walk through the content in an orderly fashion.

It is interesting that a conversation like that could remain on my mind, and naturally, design elements links knowledge and memory on every designer’s mind. To me, grid, like other design tools, has its important role in field. It helps setting up a canvas for designer and help reader walk through the content in an orderly fashion, and it helps creativity.

Optical Margin Alignment

The good thing about today’s technology is that it helps our work easier, and one of the examples here is the optical margin alignment in typesetting.

The purpose of the optical margin alignment is to create a neater text horizontal alignment, which is more about aesthetic consideration than a solid true or wrong guideline in typography.

Since the negative space contained in the punctuation type block can create an uneven margin than other blocks, this function is to squeeze out those extra space to help designers creating a more visually compelling layout.

What does this feature do is basically extending the text line horizontally to avoid vertical alignment between text and punctuations like quotation marks on different lines inside text boxes, the benefit is more obvious when the texts are set in justified or flush left.

Considering how much work to take to approach this in the manual type setting days, you will appreciate more about this helpful feature.

The Optical margin alignment option is available in both Adobe InDesign and Illustrator. You can find it under “Type/Story” in InDesign and “Type” in Illustrator.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Re-design the Concordia Journal

The Concordia Journal, a theological publication for North America Lutheran society, is published quarterly by Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis. And it has contributed its effort on helping senior seminary students, pastors and church workers on subjects related to their services to their churches.

structure & elements list
This article starts with why does the Journal need a new look, and the answer is simple. The old Journal had its text-heavy problems. Beside the lack of image on the pages, single style of texts were set on all the pages. Although we understand the text domination is normal in journals, but a better visual treatment does serve its purpose in publications. A re-design of the Journal became necessary.

After a introduction meeting with the editorial team, my design process started with the re-evaluating the structure of the old Journal. There, with a variety of text sections including publishing credits, author credits and subscription were grouped in limited space on a page, they neither came with a visual hierarchy to guide readers through, nor got their own spots on page layout. And you did not find clear visual elements to help section dividing, which could cause confusion for readers in content browsing.

To fix that, my next step is to deal with the clutter of text, assure a better organizing of the content. My first try is to separate text groups and make arrangement into different groups on pages, then build indication elements for each section, make each department visual existed. The concept is the simple, everything has its own spot and similar items are well grouped.

start with composition
The purpose of this approaching in layout is to please the reading experience. Beside the right choice of typefaces, the new layout is to help guiding content and to confirms enough white space to help easy reading. For the white space on pages, margins are increase, thumb space are also added to increase note taking area.

all about types
From the designer’s point of view, Journal publishing can’t be compared with other publications like magazine, which you can add fancy elements like illustration, color graphics on to the pages, the resource for the Journal is limited, the main playground for graphic designer in this case is typography.
And this is what my focus on. For its elegant style and the short and neat x-height, Adobe Garamond pro regular is picked for the main text, which helps on wider line space and a lighter text color on the page.

The first solution comes on my mind to solve the text heavy issue is to lighten up the over all text color on the page, creating more white space onto the page, solutions include increasing main copy leading and space between headers and main copies.

With an understanding that the style limiting can contribute to a text-heavy reputation. Variety in type styles also come with contrast to gain attention. Along with styles for quotation, number list, end-note… four different headers in Gotham, Garamond and Myriad Pro are created to help better guiding of different sections for each article. Further, to breakdown the boredom of a all text page, a BIO section is set under the main title of each article. There, texts are set with the San Serif Myriad pro to be distinct from the main text, author’s head shots are tailored with bio text inside the box area, which increases the visual attraction for each article.

grid system is here
Grid in design is about alignment and visual guiding. The grid system used here is to approach for a better visual system. Combing the techniques of aesthetics and algorithm in type setting, the alignment of text lines on spread pages creates extension and visual harmony from page to page, which helps organizing elements on the publication.

designing the covers
Beside the main test, the next big thing for a publication is its cover.
Every good book starts with a good cover. The seminary dark green color scheme had been on the Journal covers for years, which did match the seriousness of the theological topics, and those are what the Journal about. However, a fresh look of the cover on every issue is sure to attract a wider group of readers, light-heart images/photos also help readers to get into serious topics easily. New masthead design, plus a full image to wrap up the the front and back covers help changing the reserved feel on the cover, plus a thicker card stock with a soft touch aqueous on material, the cover does help bringing a new life to the Journal in this case.

It brings me unique experience
The re-design process got started from September 2016 to March 2017, I had worked very close with the editorial team and got continue support from the creative service. Presentations, catch-up meeting, production meeting and the lonely days on designing and thinking, all of these bring me unique experience in the design processes which is invaluable.

Plus a reward lines from the editor about the new Journal, “People are loving it.”