Finally! The calendar is now available in the community. And with it, you'll find our first-ever Typographic get-together on Thursday, 6 November. It will be our first live call in this community, and you're very welcome to join. We have no agenda, just offering a place to hang out and talk – also probably about things related to typography and design :-) Come hang out and say hello! Find the event in the calendar. You can also add it to your own calendar from there.

Hello, I'm Erick, a graphic designer from California living in Italy. I've been a graphic designer for about 10+ years. Let's break that down: I started as a novice graphic designer in high school, a few months before graduating high school I started a freelance business and worked as a freelance designer and video editor. Went to school for Graphic Design, received a degree in 2018, and now I'm working for a start-up where I've been working as the creative director for about 5 years. My favorite font is Hitchcock, which is reminiscent of the golden age of film era when Saul Bass, my favorite graphic designer, was in his prime. My favorite typeface is a trickier answer, but Futura/Helvetica are some of my favorites.

Hello, explorers! I've added a page to the introductory course in the classroom, where I try to define what we're building in this group. It goes something like this: Typography is the art and craft of arranging text so that it reads well. It's part functionality and part aesthetics. When you read a text, you don't want any unnecessary friction; you want to move through the text with your eyes quickly and get the message. Whether it's a sign at the airport directing you towards your gate, or a classical novel you're reading. When it works well, you don't notice it. It's invisible. But when you turn the page and can't find out where to read next, something is missing. When you have to squint your eyes to read the back of the bottle, the text is too small, or too tight, or the colours lack contrast. Typefaces can also express emotions and style. There's a stark contrast between a typical wedding invitation and a typical subway billboard. Typography encompasses all the small details on the page, on the screen, or on a sign. Text is everywhere, and a typographer makes sure it's readable and feels right. The content in this group is related to all these things, and more. We look at typefaces, line spacing, kerning, the contrast between the headings and the body text, where to put page numbers and how to format a good bullet list. Sometimes we go overboard and move into graphic design, or web design, or photography, illustration and film editing. But the common denominator is the text. What we discuss here can be useful for anyone who designs with text. Or writes. And that is almost everyone. Another central part of the content here will be tackling long-form publications. Books, magazines, long websites, multi-page documents. These have another dimension to them when it comes to text flow. Not only are we looking at the text on one side of a business card, but we’re thinking about how the text moves from page to page. When we insert a photo on one page, the text jumps further down the following page. If we increase the font size, the document needs more pages to contain the text.

I'm Wesley. I have a longstanding love-affair with books, but less with type, so I thought I'd join you to see if I could get some education on the topic. My favourite font is Papyrus. I would never use it, but there's something that resonates deeply with me. The writing I self-publish is all written in Markdown, translated to LaTeX and then compiled. Purists will probably be horrified, but I find it easy to get above average results with very close to no time spent on formatting.

You read a text from the beginning to the end. There are no abrupt interruptions, no distractions to stop the flow. It just works. When a text fails to meet this standard, we are looking at poor typography. When the line length is so long, we have to move our heads. When the line spacing is too narrow, we read the same line twice. When the typeface is sub-optimal, we have a hard time differentiating the individual letterforms. These small details often lie in the hands of a typographer or a graphic designer. However, this work is often neglected and misinformed. That’s why you sometimes find reading challenging. By paying attention to the principles of good typography, you can transform how people read and experience your content. Consider diving deeper into this subject. Each insight will help you create more engaging, accessible, and effective designs.