Journal

Ten Crimes Against Web Typography (and how to avoid them)

Cardiff is finally getting its act together. Tonight, I’ll be speaking at the second Cardiff Geek Night, along with Dan Zambonini. It’s a ‘microslot’ that will last about 15 minutes, leaving plenty of time for questions.

When I spoke in November last year at the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, the feedback I got from my Typography presentation was generally positive. It seemed that most of the people I spoke to preferred the last 10 minutes, on Micro-Typography, and all the quick tips that you could use every day. Tonight will be more of the same, with a slightly different slant. I’m going to highlighting my top ten crimes against web typography, and how you can put them right. Ten crimes (and subsequent tips on correcting them) in ten minutes. I’m told the talks will both be recorded, so I’ll post up a link to them (and slides), when they’re all done.

If you’re at a loose end tonight, and fancy a pint, then feel free to come along. We’ll be at Cafe Floyd from 7pm.

Comments

Looking forward to tonight Mr Boulton, albeit I’m not too sure on the name of the event.

Graham Sanders's Gravatar

Graham Sanders
Tue 26th Feb 2008
at 11:38 am

Really appreciate you taking the time to do this Mark, many thanks.

@graham - As for the name - like it or loath it, if you speak to anyone long enough about your field who’s not in it themselves they’ll probably put you in the stereotypical box of “geek”. Previously, this might of been considered derogatory, but web types from everywhere have been embracing it as their label. Short and to the point, if I say either the name of the event, or the name of our group you know what we’re on about. Now if you start calling me a nerd, thats a whole different kettle of fish.

Ian Wootten's Gravatar

Ian Wootten
Tue 26th Feb 2008
at 12:38 pm

Speaking of Cardiff (and how can they have a Geek night now that Andrew Wong no longer lives there?) What did you think of the exciting new Cardiff logo?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7250149.stm

Pretty dire?

Dio's Gravatar

Dio
Tue 26th Feb 2008
at 1:39 pm

Sounds great, but a little too far away from Hamburg for me. But I’ve enjoyed looking through your presentations on Slideshare in the past. Will you be uploading this one too, and will you do your fans a favour and let us know here when it’s there?

Matt Balara's Gravatar

Matt Balara
Tue 26th Feb 2008
at 2:02 pm

Had a parents evening tonight, but I’m liking this idea. Maybe I will emerge from my shell.

Look forward to one in the nice weather.

Kev Mears's Gravatar

Kev Mears
Tue 26th Feb 2008
at 9:28 pm

Too far from London too, but please post on your blog, very interested to make sure I`m not doing any crimes.

simon's Gravatar

simon
Thu 28th Feb 2008
at 2:41 pm

Unfortunately I’m not living near your place so I’m unable to attend your presentation. Will you post your presentation later or a podcast will be cool.

Kelvin's Gravatar

Kelvin
Thu 28th Feb 2008
at 8:36 pm

I’m with Kelvin on that one - I’d absolutely love to hear / see what you presented.

Jim Pannell's Gravatar

Jim Pannell
Sat 1st Mar 2008
at 2:22 pm

I don’t mean to be disrespectful or to de-value the advice and teachings of Mr. Boulton, however after having read through quite a number of his
posts, as well as the various responses to them, I’m left wondering why so many designers are not aware of most of this information if they hold positions in the field.
I respectfully suggest enrolling in a school with a reputable graphic arts program, rather than attending conferences or visiting sites such as this, to learn what has taken me and most of my peers 4 years in the classroom to become truly proficient in.

Heather McGee's Gravatar

Heather McGee
Sat 1st Mar 2008
at 11:01 pm

Heather - Learning never stops, you only learn so much in a classroom - its like driving a car you can pass your test but are you a trully good driver? I think not, 2 or 3 years down the line you are.

Also not everyone in here is a designer, they might just have an interest in design.

simon's Gravatar

simon
Mon 3rd Mar 2008
at 8:57 am

I missed that show but can anyone post url or content which explain this. i would really appreciate it. waiting for your reply

web design India's Gravatar

web design India
Wed 5th Mar 2008
at 11:16 am

nice article thanks for sharing

elearning's Gravatar

elearning
Wed 5th Mar 2008
at 11:24 am

hi , very nice post

travel to london's Gravatar

travel to london
Mon 10th Mar 2008
at 2:18 pm

Heather -

I personally enjoy this blog because even if I know 9 of the 10 things being advocated, it’s still nice to have that affirmation or assurance of things you already believe, and it’s nice to learn something new now and then. Lastly, it’s great fun to read the comments sometimes to browse peoples’ sites (you should post yours also and be a part of the party)!

Cheers!
Sam

Sam Wilson's Gravatar

Sam Wilson
Tue 11th Mar 2008
at 6:31 pm

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A picture of Mark BoultonI'm a graphic designer from near Cardiff in the UK. I've been a designer for over ten years now and primarily work on the web. I'm still partial to a bit of print every now and then though. I used to work for Agency.com in London as an Art Director before working as a Senior Designer for the BBC in sunny Cardiff. This was all before I took leave of my senses and formed my own design consultancy, Mark Boulton Design Ltd.

I've got a thing about grids and typography and occasionally ramble on about them to anyone who will listen.

If you're after simple, clean and effective web design; let me know.