TYPEFACE FORMS AND FUNCTIONS
I feel the choice of typeface for the stories contained on the book is vital for it not only affects the ease of reading of the copy but also can change the feeling of the text as a whole. The use of too simple a typeface would belittle the importance of the stories on the page and while easy to read would appear childish and simplistic.
While typography does have trends and fashions it is my opinion that a serious subject requires a serious typeface and as such I have steered away from fashionable fonts that would be more suitable for use on a poster for a concert or a surf shop sticker than for the valuable and personal words of someone recalling their own very personal battle with their own very personal demons!
To demonstrate this thinking I have rendered the same paragraph below in a number of different fonts and given my opinions on each.
For each typeface tried I have asked the same questions so as to find the font that is best suited to this particular body of work. These were:
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Will the works be viewed and read in screen or on paper.
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The age of the reader
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The educational level of the reader
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The maturity of the reader
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The choice of stock upon which the words will be printed
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is the stock white or cream in colour
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Proposed type size (some fonts are easily readable when used larger)
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Forum
Forum is a generic typeface that is standard on the Wax web platform on which I have built my website. while it is relatively easy to read the general roundness of the lower case letters and the naturally close letter spacing does make it tiring to read in smaller font sizes.
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - EB Garamond (regular)
Garamond was originally designed by Claud Garamont (1510–1561) and was the first ever mass produced typeface that was largely responsible for the rapid growth of independent book makers. Despite being designed in 1540 it was the typeface chosen for the printed versions for all the Harry Potter books mainly of its easy readability and elegance. The redesigned EB Garamond typeface was created specifically to address the differences between reading on paper and reading on a screen. As my final book will be seen on both printed and digital form this is my chosen typeface. Interestingly in one biography it is suggested that Claude Garamond himself suffered from bouts of "malaise" which makes it a very appropriate choice.
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Avernir
Sadly which clearly very easy to read this typeface was also used in many children's books and is in my opinion too simplistic and immature to be used for such a topic.
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Arial
Due to its slightly condensed form and large 'x' height Arial is hard to read in smaller type sizes. As my book is likely to us 9 point text with 13 point leading I feel this will not work.
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Helvetica
A slightly more extreme version of Arial in terms of 'x' heights Helvetica is hard to read in smaller sizes.
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Palatino Linotype
Closer to EB Garamond in style and serif design it does however have a large 'x' height as shown by the 'tr' in the above text
“I was trapped in a relentless loop”
Typeface - Times New Roman
The closest to EB Garamond with a slightly larger 'x; height. clear and easy to read Times New Roman was designed specifically for use with newsprint Times New Roman is a serif typeface. It was commissioned by the British newspaper The Times in 1931 and conceived by Stanley Morison, the artistic adviser to the British branch of the printing equipment company Monotype, in collaboration with Victor Lardent, a lettering artist in The Times's advertising department.