Chapter 4. Scale & Rhythm
We think that typography is black and white. It is the space between the blacks that really makes it. In a sense, it’s like music—it’s not the notes, it’s the space you put between the notes that makes the music.
—Massimo Vignelli
Helvetica
Spacing and alignment control how the text is comprehended through space and time. Learn to control the tempo of your message and guide the reader from beginning to end.
The carpenter’s adage goes, “Measure twice, cut once.” Giving careful consideration to the measurements and scale you are designing for is what separates good Web typography from great Web typography. Size and space add texture and flow to your text, improving the readability and clarity of what you are trying to say.
Pixel
The smallest element of information in an image rendered on a screen arranged in a two-dimensional grid as a series of dots or rectangles. Pixels are combined in red, green, and blue at various intensities to create thousands or millions of different colors.
When typographers talk about “motion” in type, they are describing the way that a well-composed text will compel the reader’s eye, moving it along from the beginning to the end with as little disruption as possible.
