On Web Typography

6. Composition

Type helps form the message our designs seek to impart, but it resides in a larger environment made up of a page, a browser, and a device. From the outside looking in, we understand that our text, our fonts, and our beautiful typography do not exist in a vacuum. The shape of our design and the web’s fluctuating nature directly influence our typographic choices and everything we hope we convey.

Depending on the problems we’re trying to solve, our approach can take different forms. Sometimes our process follows a straightforward and ordered path, especially given the number of fixed constraints a project may impose, like ad sizes or required artwork and assets. Other times, our process is more malleable, like working with clay. A ...