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®
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What

goes with that?

How to pick a typeface that
complements a graphic. Continued

Continued  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After ®
BAmagazine.com i U X

What typeface goes with that?

The key to coordinating type and graphic is to find what they have in common

Y
You’ve found the graphic you want and need a typeface to go
with it. How do you choose?
We think of type as something to read, but type is actually
artwork: A, B and C are lines, corners and squiggles—images—
to which we’ve assigned sound and meaning.
This is why type is so expressive. While the alphabet
represents data, words in print convey playfulness, stateliness
or business depending on how they’re drawn.
Which is the key to selecting just the right typeface.
Since type and graphics are, visually speaking, the
same thing, the thing to do is to coordinate their
visual properties.
HARRY & SONS
TREE SERVICE
We’ll show you. In this article, Harry & Sons have Pruning • Topping • Re
Mistletoe Removal • Stu
moving
mp Removal
a favorite graphic—this tree here—for which they Pal m Cle an-ups • Trimming • Fre
e Firewood
Cont. Lic. #762456
want a complementary typeface to complete their Insured
Free Estimates Tel: (916) 555-5723
business card. Watch. All Work Guaranteed
Cell: (916) 555-9296

Before

 2 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 3 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Evaluate the image

To coordinate type and image, we must first find their common visual
properties. Start with the graphic, and evaluate it for proportion, shape,
line and texture.

Proportions/mass Shape
Proportions and mass are BIG and Shape is the primary quality by
affect everything else. Because which we identify an image. The tree
proportions can be deceptive, it’s a is an ovoid shape atop a straight-line,
good idea to draw a bounding box vertical trunk on a straight-line, hori-
(above). Actually draw it; don’t trust zontal base—something of an egg
your eye. The tree is: on a stick.
• square
• symmetrical
• upright

 3 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 4 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Because we tend to only identify images (“this is a tree”) and not really
see them, this drill may at first seem like looking for faces in the clouds.
But look closely; there’s a lot there.

Thin
Thick

Line Texture
Line means the overall sweep or The tree has a lot of surface texture.
drape—as in the line of a dress— The irregular foliage is obvious and
and it also means edge. Here, we random, but note especially the inter-
see a predominantly horizontal action of thick-thin, negative-positive
sweep, a top-down drape and a areas (squint and it’s easier); which
gnarly, detailed edge. appear as shapes and rivers—like the
surface of a mossy pond.

 4 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 5 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

First edit
There are so many typefaces available that we have to cull out many
quickly. Start with the biggest elements—proportion and shape—and
eliminate the styles that are most different.

Incompatible typestyles

O O O
Condensed Extended Swoopy Blocky

With a visual understanding of the tree, it’s easy to see that condensed,
extended and swoopy typestyles don’t match its square proportions
and symmetrical shape. The blocky typeface (above, right) is closest to
square but artificially constructed, which is likewise dissimilar. The first
edit in this case eliminates all typefaces except those with standard,
squarish proportions and upright posture.

 5 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 6 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Second edit
What’s funny is that squarish, upright styles comprise half the world’s
typefaces including all the standard ones! So we must look further.
The second edit: Line and texture.

Ab Ab
Standard-proportion typestyles: sans-serif and Roman

Right proportions, wrong lines Right proportions, better lines

Sans-serif typefaces are generally Like the tree, old-style Roman type-
mechanical and tend to have uniform faces are full of detail and variety.
strokes, repetitive curves, straight Their thick-thin strokes, serifs, termi-
lines and sharp corners. The lines and nals and counters create a lot of tex-
texture of these faces are quite unlike ture and interaction that can comple-
the natural, organic tree (below). ment the richest, most detailed image.

Ab
Harry & Sons
Tree Service
Pruning Removal
Trimming Stump
Removal Clean-ups
Firewood Removal
Clean-ups Firewood

 6 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 7 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

What’s left?
After two major edits we have a much shorter type list; we’re down to
standard-proportion, Roman typestyles. Which is best? In this case, line
and texture are the keys—but now we’ll look closer.

Ab Ab Ab
Roman typestyles

Transitional Modern Oldstyle

Standard-proportion, Roman typefaces are the oldest* of all styles and

the most common. They can be sorted into a half-dozen major categories,
each with sub-categories. The basic proportions, serifs and thick-thin
strokes make Roman typestyles easy and pleasant to read; as a result,
they comprise most of the text in our books, newspapers and magazines.

*How old is old? Trajan, one of today’s most popular serif typestyes, is based on the
engraved text at the foot of Trajan’s Column in Rome inscribed nearly 1,900 years
ago! Many other everyday serif typestyles are 100 to 300 years old. Talk about stand-
ing the test of time!

 7 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After ® What typeface goes with that? 8 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Third edit
As before, we’re looking for commonalities but now in the details.
Look at all three viewing “distances” (below), because different and
useful characteristics are evident at each one.

Abetg
Near Lines and edges

Tree Harry & Sons Tree Times Roman

Popular Times Roman is a sharply defined type-
Service Pruning

Service
face with pointy corners and thick-thin strokes

Removal Trimming of mechanical regularity. Its serifs have flat ends

that are too small to blunt the sense they’re tiny
Stump Removal needles (above) that would prick your finger if
Clean-ups Firewood you touched them. Times Roman is too uniform
and too pointy to complement the rounded,
organic forms of the tree.
Middle Shape and pattern Far Texture and “color”

 8 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 9 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Pay attention to the small lines, small shapes and especially the inter-
action between letters, which creates texture —the tree is full of texture!
Do you see uniformity or irregularity, similarities or differences?

Abetg
Tree Harry & Sons Tree Bauer Bodoni
Part of the Modern serif category, Bauer Bodoni
Service Pruning

Service
is an upright style characterized by extreme thick-

Removal Trimming thin contrasts and a uniform stroke so repetitive

that it creates a pattern (left, bottom). Moderns
Stump Removal are beautiful typefaces widely used in fashion and

Trimming
finance, but their sharp edges and geometric pre-
cision are machine-made and rigid, quite different
from the soft, touchable tree.

 9 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 10 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Remember the faces in the clouds? It’s a matter of training your eye,
but once you can see patterns and currents, especially in the white spaces,
your work will take a big step forward. Below, Gargoyle is a match:

See the similarities?

Abetg
Harry & Sons Tree Gargoyle Medium Old Style
Gargoyle is a Humanist typeface; meaning it has
Service Pruning Old Style proportions yet with the appearance of

Removal Trimming having been drawn by hand instead of mechanical

tools. It’s full of variety and irregularity, with low
Stump Removal contrast between thicks and thins; funky, rounded
Clean-ups Firewood corners and quirky serifs, few of which are alike. Its
interaction of lines and shapes is warm, varied and
organic just like the tree. This is our typeface.

 10 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After ® What typeface goes with that? 11 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Put it to work
As with the type, let the image influence the layout—here it’s upright
and stately like the tree, centered with irregular edges. The deep green
color is richer and more organic than the original bright green.

Front Back

Harry & Sons

Tree Service
Pruning, Topping
Trimming, Harry & Sons
Mistletoe removal
Tree & stump removal
Palm clean-up
Tree Service Pruning, Topping
Free firewood
Trimming,
Free estimates Mistletoe removal
All work guaranteed Tree & stump removal
Insured
Tel: 916.555.5723 Palm clean-up
Cell: 916.555.9296 Lic #762456 Free firewood

Free estimates
Tel: 916.555.5723 All work guaranteed
Cell: 916.555.9296 Insured
Everything builds off the tree. Turn the Same thing on the back but with a smaller
Lic #762 456
card upright, then run down the page just tree and no name, so it’s not confused for
like a tree trunk—logo first, a phantom the front. Line-by-line presentation is easy
vertical, then phone numbers. This is the to read and suggests an appropriately tree-
key information; the open space allows like outer contour. Tree, typeface, layout
the eye to settle and take it in. and colors are now unified in a single look.

 11 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After ® What typeface goes with that? 12 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Article resources

O O O
Typefaces Colors
1 ITC Franklin Gothic Book Comp 10 C8 M8 Y22 K6
2 Porsche logotype
11 C25 M0 Y45 K75
3 Shelley Andante Script
4 Rosewood Regular
1 2 3 4
5 Futura Medium

Ab Ab Ab
6 Times Roman
7 Bauer Bodoni Roman
8 (a–d) Gargoyle Medium Oldstyle
Figures | a) 14 pt, b) 22 pt, c) 11/13 pt,
d) 10/11 pt
5 6 7

9 8d Images

Ab
9 CSAimages.com
8

8a Harry & Sons Pruning, Topping

8b Tree Service Trimming,
Mistletoe removal
Tree & stump removal
Palm clean-up
10 Free firewood

Free estimates
11 All work guaranteed
Insured
Tel: 916.555.5723
8c Cell: 916.555.9296 Lic #762456

 12 of 13  What typeface goes with that? 0613

Before&After
® What typeface goes with that? 13 of 13 BAmagazine.com i U X

Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe, and to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
become a more capable, confident designer has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
for pennies per article. To learn more, go to
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
E-mail this article Vincent Pascual Staff designer
To pass along a free copy of this article to Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer

others, click here. Editorial board Gwen Amos, Carl Winther

Before & After magazine

Join our e-list 323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as
Fax 916-784-3995
they become available, go to E-mail [email protected]
http://www.bamagazine.com/email www http://www.bamagazine.com

Copyright ©2005 Before & After magazine, ISSN

1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass this article around, but you may not alter
it, and you may not charge for it. You may quote brief
sections for review. If you do this, please credit Before
& After magazine, and let us know. To feature free
Before & After articles on your Web site, please contact
us. For permission to include all or part of this article in
another work, please contact us.

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Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.
For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,
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 


What
goes with that?
How to pick a typeface that
complements a graphic.
Y
You’ve found the graphic you want and need a typeface to go
with it. How do you choose?
We think of type as something to read, but type is actually
artwork: A, B and C are lines, corners and squiggles—images—
to which we’ve assigned sound and meaning.
This is why type is so expressive. While the alphabet
represents data, words in print convey playfulness, stateliness
or business depending on how they’re drawn.
Which is the key to selecting just the right typeface.
Since type and graphics are, visually speaking, the
same thing, the thing to do is to coordinate their
visual properties.
HARRY & SONS
TREE SERV ICE
We’ll show you. In this article, Harry & Sons have Pruning • Topping • Rem
Mistletoe Removal • Stum oving
p Removal
a favorite graphic—this tree here—for which they Palm Clean-ups • Trim
ming • Free Firewood
Cont . Lic. #762
want a complementary typeface to complete their Insured
456
Free Estimates Tel: (916) 555-572
business card. Watch. All Work Guaranteed
Cell: (916) 555-929
3
6
Before
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
1 of 7
 

Evaluate the image



To coordinate type and image, we must first find their common visual
properties. Start with the graphic, and evaluate it for proportion, shape,
line and texture.
Proportions/mass Shape
Proportions and mass are BIG and Shape is the primary quality by
affect everything else. Because which we identify an image. The tree
proportions can be deceptive, it’s a is an ovoid shape atop a straight-
good idea to draw a bounding box line, vertical trunk on a straight-line,
(above). Actually draw it; don’t trust horizontal base—something of an
your eye. The tree is: egg on a stick.
• square
• symmetrical
• upright
Because we tend to only identify images (“this is a tree”) and not really
see them, this drill may at first seem like looking for faces in the clouds.
But look closely; there’s a lot there.
Thin
Thick
Line Texture
Line means the overall sweep or The tree has a lot of surface texture.
drape—as in the line of a dress— The irregular foliage is obvious and
and it also means edge. Here, we random, but note especially the inter-
see a predominantly horizontal action of thick-thin, negative-positive
sweep, a top-down drape and a areas (squint and it’s easier); which
gnarly, detailed edge. appear as shapes and rivers—like the
surface of a mossy pond.
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
2 of 7
 

First edit


There are so many typefaces available that we have to cull out many
quickly. Start with the biggest elements—proportion and shape—and
eliminate the styles that are most different.
Incompatible typestyles
O O O
Condensed Extended Swoopy Blocky
With a visual understanding of the tree, it’s easy to see that condensed,
extended and swoopy typestyles don’t match its square proportions
and symmetrical shape. The blocky typeface (above, right) is closest to
square but artificially constructed, which is likewise dissimilar. The first
edit in this case eliminates all typefaces except those with standard,
squarish proportions and upright posture.
Second edit
What’s funny is that squarish, upright styles comprise half the world’s
typefaces including all the standard ones! So we must look further.
The second edit: Line and texture.
Ab Ab
Standard-proportion typestyles: sans-serif and Roman
Right proportions, wrong lines Right proportions, better lines
Sans-serif typefaces are generally Like the tree, old-style Roman type-
mechanical and tend to have uniform faces are full of detail and variety.
strokes, repetitive curves, straight Their thick-thin strokes, serifs, termi-
lines and sharp corners. The lines and nals and counters create a lot of tex-
texture of these faces are quite unlike ture and interaction that can comple-
the natural, organic tree (below). ment the richest, most detailed image.
Ab
Harry & Sons
Tree Service
Pruning Removal
Trimming Stump
Removal Clean-ups
Firewood Removal
Clean-ups Firewood
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
3 of 7
 

What’s left?


After two major edits we have a much shorter type list; we’re down to
standard-proportion, Roman typestyles. Which is best? In this case, line
and texture are the keys—but now we’ll look closer.
Ab Ab Ab
Roman typestyles
Transitional Modern Oldstyle
Standard-proportion, Roman typefaces are the oldest* of all styles and
the most common. They can be sorted into a half-dozen major categories,
each with sub-categories. The basic proportions, serifs and thick-thin
strokes make Roman typestyles easy and pleasant to read; as a result,
they comprise most of the text in our books, newspapers and magazines.
*How old is old? Trajan, one of today’s most popular serif typestyes, is based on the
engraved text at the foot of Trajan’s Column in Rome inscribed nearly 1,900 years
ago! Many other everyday serif typestyles are 100 to 300 years old. Talk about
standing the test of time!
Third edit
As before, we’re looking for commonalities but now in the details.
Look at all three viewing “distances” (below), because different and
useful characteristics are evident at each one.
Abetg
Near Lines and edges
Tree Harry & Sons Tree Times Roman
Popular Times Roman is a sharply defined type-
Service Pruning
Service
face with pointy corners and thick-thin strokes
Removal Trimming of mechanical regularity. Its serifs have flat ends
that are too small to blunt the sense they’re tiny
Stump Removal needles (above) that would prick your finger if
Clean-ups Firewood you touched them. Times Roman is too uniform
and too pointy to complement the rounded,
organic forms of the tree.
Middle Shape and pattern Far Texture and “color”
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
4 of 7
 


Pay attention to the small lines, small shapes and especially the inter-
action between letters, which creates texture —the tree is full of texture!
Do you see uniformity or irregularity, similarities or differences?
Abetg
Tree Harry & Sons Tree Bauer Bodoni
Part of the Modern serif category, Bauer Bodoni
Service Pruning
Service
is an upright style characterized by extreme thick-
Removal Trimming thin contrasts and a uniform stroke so repetitive
that it creates a pattern (left, bottom). Moderns
Stump Removal are beautiful typefaces widely used in fashion and
Trimming
finance, but their sharp edges and geometric pre-
cision are machine-made and rigid, quite different
from the soft, touchable tree.
Remember the faces in the clouds? It’s a matter of training your eye,
but once you can see patterns and currents, especially in the white spaces,
your work will take a big step forward. Below, Gargoyle is a match:
See the similarities?
Abetg
Harry & Sons Tree Gargoyle Medium Old Style
Gargoyle is a Humanist typeface; meaning it has
Service Pruning Old Style proportions yet with the appearance of
Removal Trimming having been drawn by hand instead of mechanical
tools. It’s full of variety and irregularity, with low
Stump Removal contrast between thicks and thins; funky, rounded
Clean-ups Firewood corners and quirky serifs, few of which are alike. Its
interaction of lines and shapes is warm, varied and
organic just like the tree. This is our typeface.
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
5 of 7
 

Put it to work


As with the type, let the image influence the layout—here it’s upright
and stately like the tree, centered with irregular edges. The deep green
color is richer and more organic than the original bright green.
Front Back
Harry & Sons
Tree Service
Pruning, Topping
Trimming, Harry & Sons
Mistletoe removal
Tree & stump removal
Palm clean-up
Tree Service Pruning, Topping
Free firewood Trimming,
Free estimates Mistletoe removal
All work guaranteed Tree & stump removal
Insured
Tel: 916.555.5723 Palm clean-up
Cell: 916.555.9296 Lic #762456 Free firewood
Free estimates
Tel: 916.555.5723 All work guaranteed
Cell: 916.555.9296 Insured
Everything builds off the tree. Turn the Same thing on the back but with a smaller
Lic #7624 56
card upright, then run down the page just tree and no name, so it’s not confused for
like a tree trunk—logo first, a phantom the front. Line-by-line presentation is easy
vertical, then phone numbers. This is the to read and suggests an appropriately tree-
key information; the open space allows like outer contour. Tree, typeface, layout
the eye to settle and take it in. and colors are now unified in a single look.
Article resources
O O O
Typefaces Colors
1 ITC Franklin Gothic Book Comp 10 C8 M8 Y22 K6
2 Porsche logotype
11 C25 M0 Y45 K75
3 Shelley Andante Script
4 Rosewood Regular
1 2 3 4
5 Futura Medium
Ab Ab Ab
6 Times Roman
7 Bauer Bodoni Roman
8 (a–d) Gargoyle Medium Oldstyle
Figures | a) 14 pt, b) 22 pt, c) 11/13 pt,
d) 10/11 pt
5 6 7
9 8d Images
Ab
9 CSAimages.com
8
8a Harry & Sons Pruning, Topping
8b Tree Service Trimming,
Mistletoe removal
Tree & stump removal
Palm clean-up
10 Free firewood
Free estimates
11 All work guaranteed
Insured
Tel: 916.555.5723
8c Cell: 916.555.9296 Lic #762456
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
6 of 7
 

Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe, and to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
become a more capable, confident designer has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
for pennies per article. To learn more, go to
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
E-mail this article Vincent Pascual Staff designer
To pass along a free copy of this article to Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
others, click here. Editorial board Gwen Amos, Carl Winther
Before & After magazine
Join our e-list 323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as
Fax 916-784-3995
they become available, go to E-mail [email protected]
http://www.bamagazine.com/email www http://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright ©2005 Before & After magazine, ISSN
1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass this article around, but you may not alter
it, and you may not charge for it. You may quote brief
sections for review. If you do this, please credit Before
& After magazine, and let us know. To feature free
Before & After articles on your Web site, please contact
us. For permission to include all or part of this article in
another work, please contact us.
0613 What typeface goes with that? Before&After | www.bamagazine.com What typeface goes with that? 0613
7 of 7