Responsive Web Typography @ Awwwards Barcelona

Responsive Web Design done correctly is based upon content rather than actual device resolutions, and so typography should adapt to both layout and sizing across content breakpoints.

However, mere font sizing along the typographic scale based upon two-dimensional viewport @media queries is not enough.

Apart from setting the correct balance of the black and the white in letterforms and texts, there are other important factors such as reading distance, information density, screen sharpness and device orientation that also influence the reading process.

Learn to look at typography multidimensionally and enhance the overall responsive experience.

Transcript

1. RESPONSIVE WEB TYPOGRAPHY Marko Dugonjić Barcelona, 2015
2. TYPOGRAPHY ↓ CSS
3. NARROW WIDE BIG SMALL TIM BROWN
   vimeo.com/56276418 FINE COARSE
4. NARROW WIDE FINE COARSE BIG SMALL TIM BROWN
   vimeo.com/56276418
5. VARIABLES of the
   RESPONSIVE READING EXPERIENCE
   —
   reading distance
   viewport width (and height)
   content hierarchy
   information density
   pixel density
   device orientation
   screen aspect ratio
6. 1
   READING DISTANCE
7. 0,26mm 1,3mm 71cm 350cm
9. 2
   VIEWPORT WIDTH
10. Anything from 45 to 75 characters is widely regarded as a satisfactory length of line for a single-column page set in a serifed text face in a text size. The 66-character line (counting both le ers and spaces) is widely regarded as ideal. For multiple column work, a be er average is 40 to 50 characters.
    ! ROBERT BRINGHURST
    webtypography.net/Rhythm_and_Proportion/Horizontal_Motion/2.1.2/ “
11. ideal 66 max 75 min 45 < 40 chars screen width: 320px
12. Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required. Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required. Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required.
13. • • • • • • • • Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required. Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required.
14. Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required. ! qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq dddddddddddddddddddddddddd Line height for each breakpoint is adjusted according to the line length rendered at that breakpoint. Short line lengths require tighter line spacing, because the reader’s eye doesn’t have to travel much to reach the next line of text. As line length gets longer, more line spacing is required. ! jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ q d j Š
15. /* under 45 chars */
    body { line-height: 1.4 }
    p { margin-bottom: 1.4em }
    ! /* 45–60 chars */
    body { line-height: 1.45 }
    p { margin-bottom: 1.45em }
    ! /* 60–75 chars */
    body { line-height: 1.5 }
    p { margin-bottom: 1.5em }
17. body { background: url(BASELINE-24X24.GIF); }
18. /* vendor prefix omitted code */
    ! body { background-image: linear-gradient(top,
    #fff 0, #fff 95%, #f00 95%, #f00 100%);
    ! background-repeat: repeat;
    background-size: 24px 24px;
    }
19. $baseline_S: 1.4; $baseline_M: 1.45; $baseline_L: 1.5; ! body { line-height: #{$baseline_S};
    background-size: 100% #{$baseline_S}em } p { margin-bottom: #{$baseline_S}em } ! ! body { line-height: $baseline_M;
    background-size: 100% #{$baseline_M}em } p { margin-bottom: #{$baseline_M}em } ! ! body { line-height: $baseline_L;
    background-size: 100% #{$baseline_L}em } p { margin-bottom: #{$baseline_L}em }
20. letter space, word spac, line space LETTER SPACE WORD SPACE LINE SPACE
22. @media only screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5) {
    p { letter-spacing: .01em; word-spacing: .01em; } }
    ! /* vendor prefix omitted code */
26. 3
    HIERARCHY
27. w e b t y p o g r p h y T h a n k y o u f o r t h e l o v e l y i n t r o d u c t i o n , R a f a l ! P l e a s e g i v e a w a r m r o u n d o f a p p l a u s e t o t h e o r g a n i z e r s . L e t m e a s k y o u s o m e t h i n g … H a v e y o u e v e r s a v e d a n a r t i c l e w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n t o r e a d i t l a t e r o n a m o b i l e d e v i c e i n t h e p a r k a s s u m i n g t h a t i t s r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n i s a l l i t t a k e s f o r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e r e a d i n g e x p e r i e n c e ? H a v e y o u e v e r b e e n d i s a p p o i n t e d w h e n y o u r e a l i z e d t h a t a r t i c l e s o n m o b i l e a r e h a r d t o r e a d b e c a u s e o f t h e p o o r l y c h o s e n l e t t e r s i z e a n d l a y o u t t h a t a p p e a r t o b e d i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e s c r e e n ? S o , w h y i s t h i s h a p p e n i n g ? H o w d o s u c h , o t h e r w i s e b e a u t i f u l r e s p o n s i v e d e s i g n s , e n d u p b e i n g s o p o o r l y e x e c u t e d o n m o b i l e ? T h e a n s w e r i s i n f a c t q u i t e c l e a r — s u c h w e b s i t e s w e r e d e v e l o p e d o n t h e d e s k t o p c o m p u t e r , w i t h d e s k t o p r e a d i n g d i s t a n c e , w i t h a _ d e s k t o p d o w n _ , r a t h e r t h a n a _ m o b i l e u p _ a p p r o a c h . I t ’ s o b v i o u s t h a t t h e c o r e r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n a r s e n a l o f m e d i a q u e r i e s , f l e x i b l e l a y o u t s a n d f l e x i b l e i m a g e s i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t . w e b t y p o g r p h y a j s d h j a h s g d T h a n k y o u f o r t h e l o v e l y i n t r o d u c t i o n , R a f a l ! P l e a s e g i v e a w a r m r o u n d o f a p p l a u s e t o t h e o r g a n i z e r s . L e t m e a s k y o u s o m e t h i n g … H a v e y o u e v e r s a v e d a n a r t i c l e w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n t o r e a d i t l a t e r o n a m o b i l e d e v i c e i n t h e p a r k a s s u m i n g t h a t i t s r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n i s a l l i t t a k e s f o r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e r e a d i n g e x p e r i e n c e ? H a v e y o u e v e r b e e n d i s a p p o i n t e d w h e n y o u r e a l i z e d t h a t a r t i c l e s o n m o b i l e a r e h a r d t o r e a d b e c a u s e o f t h e p o o r l y c h o s e n l e t t e r s i z e a n d l a y o u t t h a t a p p e a r t o b e d i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e s c r e e n ? S o , w h y i s t h i s h a p p e n i n g ? H o w d o s u c h , o t h e r w i s e b e a u t i f u l r e s p o n s i v e d e s i g n s , e n d u p b e i n g s o p o o r l y e x e c u t e d o n m o b i l e ? T h e a n s w e r i s i n f a c t q u i t e c l e a r — s u c h w e b s i t e s w e r e d e v e l o p e d o n t h e d e s k t o p c o m p u t e r , w i t h d e s k t o p r e a d i n g d i s t a n c e , w i t h a _ d e s k t o p d o w n _ , r a t h e r t h a n a _ m o b i l e u p _ a p p r o a c h . I t ’ s o b v i o u s t h a t t h e c o r e r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n a r s e n a l o f m e d i a q u e r i e s , f l e x i b l e l a y o u t s a n d f l e x i b l e i m a g e s i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t . # # M A N Y M O R E V A R I A B L E S A p a r t f r o m t h e o b v i o u s v a r i a b l e s — v i e w p o r t w i d t h a n d v i e w p o r t h e i g h t — t h e r e a r e o t h e r s , s u c h a s r e a d i n g d i s t a n c e , p i x e l d e n s i t y ( o r s c r e e n c r u d e n e s s ) , d e v i c e o r i e n t a t i o n a n d v i e w p o r t a s p e c t r a t i o , b u t a l s o t h e c o n t e n t h i e r a r c h y a n d i n f o r m a t i o n d e n s i t y . B e f o r e I e l a b o r a t e e a c h , l e t m e b r i e f l y e x p l a i n t h e r u l e s o f t h e p a r a g r a p h . # # # R e a d i n g d i s t a n c e T h e r e a r e t h r e e w h i t e s p a c e s i n s i d e t h e p a r a g r a p h t h a t a r e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t — t h e l e t t e r s p a c e , t h e w o r d s p a c e a n d t h e l i n e s p a c e . I f a n y o f t h e t h r e e i s c h a n g e d , a l l t h e o t h e r s s h o u l d b e r e a s s e s s e d , t o o . B y p r e s e r v i n g t h e w h i t e s p a c e h i e r a r c h y , w e c a n
28. 16 18 21 24 36 48 60 72
29. 16 18 21 24 36 48
30. 16 18 21 24 36 48
31. 16 18 21 24 36 48
32. modularscale.com
33. modularscale.com stats
34. STYLE OPTIONS
    ! ! ALL CAPS FOR THE SUBHEAD H2
    ! SMALL CAPS FOR THE SUBHEAD H3
    ! Italic for the Subhead H4
35. SUBHEAD ONE Subhead Two SUBHEAD THREE On the opposite side, instead of progressively increasing font size for each heading level, especially as we now have such a vast selection of web fonts available and fonts are rendered with much more detail than before, we can use italics, small caps and all caps at the same letter size to establish text hierarchy. Add bolds into the mix, and you have a palette of at least
36. /* alternative small caps rules */
    ! h3 {
    font-family: small-caps-typeface;
    text-transform: lowercase;
    }
    h3 {
    font-feature-settings: "smcp"; /* OpenType */
    text-transform: lowercase;
    }
    h3 {
    font-weight: 500; /* if the weight exists */
    font-size: 80%; /* give or take */
    text-transform: uppercase;
    letter-spacing: .125em;
    }
37. SETTING SUBHEADS WITH CSS
    blog.typekit.com/2013/07/25/se ing-subheads-with-css/ webdesign.maratz.com/lab/subheads/
38. 4
    INFORMATION DENSITY
39. R e s p o n s i v e W e b T y p o g r a p h y T h a n k y o u f o r t h e l o v e l y i n t r o d u c t i o n , R a f a l ! P l e a s e g i v e a w a r m r o u n d o f a p p l a u s e t o t h e o r g a n i z e r s . R e s p o n s i v e W e b T y p o g r a p h y T h a n k y o u f o r t h e l o v e l y i n t r o d u c t i o n , R a f a l ! P l e a s e g i v e a w a r m r o u n d o f a p p l a u s e t o t h e o r g a n i z e r s . L e t m e a s k y o u s o m e t h i n g … H a v e y o u e v e r s a v e d a n a r t i c l e w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n t o r e a d i t l a t e r o n a m o b i l e d e v i c e i n t h e p a r k a s s u m i n g t h a t i t s r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n i s a l l i t t a k e s f o r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e r e a d i n g e x p e r i e n c e ? H a v e y o u e v e r b e e n d i s a p p o i n t e d w h e n y o u r e a l i z e d t h a t a r t i c l e s o n m o b i l e org izers izer izmn kjla9 jsf lkfo jfa R e s p o n s i v e W e b T y p o g r a p h y T h a n k y o u f o r t h e l o v e l y i n t r o d u c t i o n , R a f a l ! P l e a s e g i v e a w a r m r o u n d o f a p p l a u s e t o t h e o r g a n i z e r s . L e t m e a s k y o u s o m e t h i n g … H a v e y o u e v e r s a v e d a n a r t i c l e w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n t o r e a d i t l a t e r o n a m o b i l e d e v i c e i n t h e p a r k a s s u m i n g t h a t i t s r e s p o n s i v e w e b d e s i g n i s a l l i t t a k e s f o r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e r e a d i n g e x p e r i e n c e ? H a v e y o u e v e r b e e n d i s a p p o i n t e d w h e n y o u r e a l i z e d t h a t a r t i c l e s o n m o b i l e a r e h a r d t o r e a d b e c a u s e o f t h e p o o r l y c h o s e n l e t t e r s i z e a n d l a y o u t t h a t a p p e a r t o b e d i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e s c r e e n ? S o , w h y i s t h i s h a p p e n i n g ? H o w d o s u c h , o t h e r w i s e b e a u t i f u l r e s p o n s i v e d e s i g n s , e n d u p b e i n g s o p o o r l y e x e c u t e d o n m o b i l e ? T h e a n s w e r i s i n f a c t q u i t e c l e a r — s u c h w e b s i t e s w e r e d e v e l o p e d o n 1 1 2 1 2 organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga organizersj hjhgorganiz ersorga
40. LESS
    INFORMATION
    ! – style variations
    – indented paragraphs
    – white space MORE INFORMATION ! – typographic scale – block paragraphs – graphic elements
42. 5
    PIXEL DENSITY
43. fontbureau.com/ReadingEdge/
47. iA ALL, EXCEPT RETINA RETINA LANDSCAPE RETINA PORTRAIT ia.net/blog/responsive-typography/
48. @font-face {
    font-family: 'Typeface Name';
    src: url('Grade-A.woff') format('woff');
    }
    @media ... and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5) {
    @font-face {
    font-family: 'Typeface Name';
    src: url('Grade-B.woff') format('woff');
    }
    }
    @media ... and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5)
    and (orientation: portrait) {
    @font-face {
    font-family: 'Typeface Name';
    src: url('Grade-C.woff') format('woff');
    }
    }
49. 6
    DEVICE ORIENTATION
53. font-to-width.com
54. ! ! – Benton – DIN
    – Franklin Gothic
    – Frutiger
    – Futura
    – Georgia
    – Gill Sans
    – Helvetica ! ! – JAF Bernino – Minion – Myriad – Nimbus Sans – Open Sans – Proxima Nova – Univers – MANY more WEB FONTS available in multiple widths:
55. typologic.nl/news/live-font-interpolation-with-svg/
56. typosansplomb.com/ResponsiveInterpolation/
57. 7
    SCREEN ASPECT RATIO
59. bradfrost.github.io/this-is-responsive/index.html
60. — ALMOST DONE —
61. reading distance
    width and height
    content hierarchy
    information density
    pixel density
    device orientation
    screen aspect ratio
62. ! ! – reading distance
    – screen width
    – content hierarchy
    – information density
    – pixel density
    – device orientation
    – screen aspect ratio ! ! – Device – Environment – Time – Activity – Individual – Location – Social CONTEXT IS MULTIFACETED CENNYDD BOWLES
    cennydd.co.uk/2013/designing-with-context
63. GRACIAS! ! @markodugonjic speakerdeck.com/maratz
64. Credits
    ! Rhythm and Proportion, Robert Bringhurst,
    h p://webtypography.net/Rhythm_and_Proportion/Horizontal_Motion/2.1.2/
    ! Inside Paragraphs, Cyrus Highsmith,
    h p://insideparagraphs.com
    ! Graded fonts, Typophile,
    h p://typophile.com/node/81483
    ! Responsive Typography, The Basics, Information Architects,
    h p://informationarchitects.net/blog/responsive-typography-the-basics/
    ! Wrist, Palm, Lap, Desk, Wall, Luke Wroblewski,
    h ps://twi er.com/lukew/status/273453112902172672
    ! The EMs have it: Proportional Media Queries FTW!, Lyza Gardner,
    h p://blog.cloudfour.com/the-ems-have-it-proportional-media-queries- w/
    ! Photo: Empty park bench
    h p://www.flickr.com/photos/jonasb/21755140/
    ! Photo: Golden wedding
    h p://www.flickr.com/photos/crabchick/4056045781/