Typography

Typography

Distilled from Butterick's Practical Typography (practicaltypography.com). Master criterion: good typography reinforces the meaning of the text — it conserves the reader's finite attention. Body text first: most of any page is body text, and four decisions dominate it — point size, line spacing, line length, font. Every rule here is a range with many right answers, and a benchmark rather than a gate: deviate for a reason, never from habit, and when in doubt move toward the benchmark.

Scope — rules attach to text roles

The big-four ranges are calibrated for body text at reading distance. Other roles have their own numbers; applying body ranges to display or slide type is itself a violation.