18 Rules for Using Text
One of the most fundamental components to making a document visually appealing (and readable) is to make sure the text is designed well. And while there are infinite possibilities for what you can do with your fonts and sizes and organization, if you follow these eighteen rules, your text can transform your document from lackluster to professional to powerful.
If your document has text in it, follow the rules. You’ll start to see a world of difference in your professional documents, whether they be formal reports, brochures, or even your personal résumé. These rules for using text apply across the board.
Can’t get enough Infographics about text? See Type-ology 101: The Basics for Using Text and Fonts for a deeper look into fonts and type choice.
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Thank you for sharing this and for all the other advice you give us.
If anyone wants fonts with old-style figures in MS Word I found 5:
Candera
Constantia
Corbel
Georgia
Vani
Update: You can get old-style numbers with any font in MS Word by clicking on the bottom right of the Font section of the Home tab and choosing Advanced and changing Number Forms.
As an addition to your list, one of my pet peeves is failing to use a non-breaking word space between words that should stay together:
He won $1
million at the show.
Excelent info! thanks!
One pet peeve not addressed here was “Don’t use text that’s light gray — it’s much harder to read than text that’s darker.” I found myself straining my eyes to read this infographic.
Re: “One pet peeve not addressed here was “Don’t use text that’s light gray — it’s much harder to read than text that’s darker.” I found myself straining my eyes to read this infographic.”
I agree…
Regarding #16: Is it still okay to highlight with underlining? I’m afraid readers will think it’s a link.
Regarding #15: Thanks! I’ve seen the “orphan control” option, but didn’t know what it did. Isn’t there also something called a widow? What’s that?