Working on my portfolio at this moment and wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what to take into consideration when going about typography and such; maybe something that really helped you when setting up your portfolio.
Hmm. Are you talking about selecting fonts, or about your placement/use of type? or both?
As far as font selection: keep the variety of fonts to a minimum - use two, maybe three, and make sure that they look very different from one another and their respective uses are very clear. I don't really subscribe to the theory that you have to use an understated, neutral font like Helvetica - to an extent the reader will get used to whatever font you select. [Some call this heresy but there are some serif typefaces that I really like.]
As far as placement goes - consistency is key. The easiest way to do it is, of course, going to be lining things up on a grid of some sort - when you're setting out your grid size/page layout, make sure that you look at it with titles of projects, blurbs, etc. at varying lengths, so that you're not stumped by trying to fit "Cleveland Museum of Absolutely Heartbreaking Sports Failures and Mixed Use Complex" into the space you intended to fit "Joe's Diner."
Of course you can deviate from the grid / not have a grid. Just keep in mind what the purpose of the grid is: it's to make the whole piece a cohesive composition[duh] and to ensure that the reader knows where to look for what information on each page. There are a lot of ways you can accomplish that without the grid [color, symbols, etc...some are more effective than others].
The thing I would keep in mind about varying your layout page-to-page [if you're considering it] is that when the overall shape of a page is constantly changes, then the overall massing of the page [what you see if you squint at it] is going to stay in the forefront of the reader's mind, rather than just being accepted as a standard and overlooked in successive pages. It's certainly a much more difficult challenge to undertake, but if you've got a really good reason to do it [or you're just stubborn] it can be done successfully.
Above all, seek lots of feedback. You get accustomed to something when you're working on it for hours on end and sometimes you just won't see the glaring error or the obvious opportunity. Good luck.
Go to the library and find a copy of Thinking With Type. I've found it to be the most helpful introductory level typography book out there, and people here who have bought a copy based on my recommendation have said they found it very helpful as well.
Visit Typophile to see just how far down the typographic rabbit hole it's possible to go, and browse the discussions to see what issues people are getting concerned about and learn from the feedback.
And if you're looking for high-quality free fonts, take a look at the ones listed here. I'm a graphic designer, and have actually used a couple of these on serious projects.
Typography Resources
Working on my portfolio at this moment and wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what to take into consideration when going about typography and such; maybe something that really helped you when setting up your portfolio.
Hmm. Are you talking about selecting fonts, or about your placement/use of type? or both?
As far as font selection: keep the variety of fonts to a minimum - use two, maybe three, and make sure that they look very different from one another and their respective uses are very clear. I don't really subscribe to the theory that you have to use an understated, neutral font like Helvetica - to an extent the reader will get used to whatever font you select. [Some call this heresy but there are some serif typefaces that I really like.]
As far as placement goes - consistency is key. The easiest way to do it is, of course, going to be lining things up on a grid of some sort - when you're setting out your grid size/page layout, make sure that you look at it with titles of projects, blurbs, etc. at varying lengths, so that you're not stumped by trying to fit "Cleveland Museum of Absolutely Heartbreaking Sports Failures and Mixed Use Complex" into the space you intended to fit "Joe's Diner."
Of course you can deviate from the grid / not have a grid. Just keep in mind what the purpose of the grid is: it's to make the whole piece a cohesive composition[duh] and to ensure that the reader knows where to look for what information on each page. There are a lot of ways you can accomplish that without the grid [color, symbols, etc...some are more effective than others].
The thing I would keep in mind about varying your layout page-to-page [if you're considering it] is that when the overall shape of a page is constantly changes, then the overall massing of the page [what you see if you squint at it] is going to stay in the forefront of the reader's mind, rather than just being accepted as a standard and overlooked in successive pages. It's certainly a much more difficult challenge to undertake, but if you've got a really good reason to do it [or you're just stubborn] it can be done successfully.
Above all, seek lots of feedback. You get accustomed to something when you're working on it for hours on end and sometimes you just won't see the glaring error or the obvious opportunity. Good luck.
Go to the library and find a copy of Thinking With Type. I've found it to be the most helpful introductory level typography book out there, and people here who have bought a copy based on my recommendation have said they found it very helpful as well.
Visit Typophile to see just how far down the typographic rabbit hole it's possible to go, and browse the discussions to see what issues people are getting concerned about and learn from the feedback.
And if you're looking for high-quality free fonts, take a look at the ones listed here. I'm a graphic designer, and have actually used a couple of these on serious projects.
typography for web design, but many of the principles apply to print:
http://www.papress.com/other/thinkingwithtype/index.htm
http://www.alistapart.com/topics/design/typography/
http://new.typographica.org/
http://www.subtraction.com/search/?cx=005794356726363419020%3Amq1sdd86pfu&cof=FORID%3A9&q=TYPOGRAPHY&sa=Go#958
you guys are amazing.
just wanted to know what i was getting into before just tagging three random fonts into my portfolio and calling it a day.
thanks a ton.
typophile is amazing.
i'll be getting thinking with type tomorrow.
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