5 Must-Know Typography Tips to Instantly Improve Your Designs

Typography is an essential part of any design. Whether you’re working on a website, app interface, print material, or branding, the fonts you choose and how you use them can dramatically impact the overall look and feel of your design. But creating great typography isn’t just about picking a pretty font — it’s about making smart design decisions that enhance readability, clarity, and user engagement.

1. Prioritize Readability

No matter how beautiful or stylish a font is, if it’s hard to read, it defeats its purpose. Readability should always come first in typography. This means choosing fonts that are legible at various sizes and on different devices, especially for body text, where users need to easily consume the content.

How to Improve Readability:

• Use a sans serif font like Bricksram or Goldie for body text, as they tend to be cleaner and easier to read on screens.

Bricksram by Parker Creative

Goldie by Blythe Green

• Maintain appropriate line spacing (also known as leading). Lines that are too close together can make the text feel crowded, while lines that are too far apart can disrupt the flow
• Keep an eye on letter spacing (kerning). Adjust it to make sure that individual letters don’t look too cramped or too far apart.

2. Use Font Pairing for Contrast

Combining two or more fonts can create a striking and visually interesting design, but not all fonts work well together. The key is to choose fonts with contrasting features to help establish hierarchy and guide the viewer through the content.

Effective Font Pairing Ideas:

• Pair a serif font with a sans serif font to create contrast. For example, use Playfair Display for headings and Lato for body text.

Playfair Display by Claus Eggers Sørensen

Lato by Łukasz Dziedzic

• Vary the font weights (light, regular, bold) within the same typeface family to create depth and hierarchy without overwhelming the viewer.

Luxenta by Yukita Creative

• Avoid using too many different fonts in one project — stick to two or three to maintain consistency and balance.

3. Establish Visual Hierarchy

Typography should guide the reader through your content by establishing a clear visual hierarchy. Visual hierarchy refers to the arrangement of text elements in a way that leads the viewer’s eye to the most important information first.

How to Create Hierarchy:

• Use different font sizes to distinguish headings, subheadings, and body text. Larger sizes grab attention, while smaller sizes indicate supporting or less critical content.

• Apply different font weights to emphasize key points or calls-to-action. For instance, using bold text for headlines or important phrases draws focus.

• Experiment with color to enhance hierarchy, but be mindful of contrast to maintain readability.

4. Pay Attention to Alignment and Spacing

Alignment and spacing can make or break the professionalism of your design. Misaligned text or inconsistent spacing can make your design look sloppy and disorganized. Proper alignment and spacing create harmony and ensure that the text is easy to navigate.

Best Practices for Alignment and Spacing:

• Choose an appropriate text alignment for your project: left-aligned for readability in most body text, centered for headlines or short bursts of content, and avoid justified text, which can create uneven spacing.
• Use consistent margins and padding around text blocks to give the content breathing room and prevent overcrowding.
• Set consistent paragraph spacing to keep blocks of text visually separated but connected.

5. Don’t Overuse Effects and Styles

While adding styles like drop shadows, outlines, or decorative elements to text can seem appealing, overusing them can make your design look cluttered or amateurish. It’s important to use text effects sparingly and with purpose.

How to Use Text Effects Wisely:

• Use drop shadows only when they enhance readability or create a specific stylistic effect, and keep them subtle.
• Avoid overusing italics or underline for emphasis. Instead, use bold text sparingly to draw attention to important words or phrases.
• Keep decorative fonts or styles limited to headlines or branding elements. Using them for body text will make it hard to read.

Typography is one of the most important elements in design, and mastering the basics can dramatically improve the quality and impact of your work. By prioritizing readability, using contrast in font pairing, establishing a clear hierarchy, paying attention to alignment and spacing, and avoiding overuse of effects, you can instantly elevate your designs and create visually compelling projects.