Typography is the foundation of any design project we work on. In fact, we begin every project by first establishing the governing rules of type ensuring maximum readability comfort across all screen resolutions.
This is accomplished by taking into account everything from vertical rhythm, to comfortable reading measures, to scalable typography and incremental leading. All font sizes are set in relative em measurements which allows for the proportional scaling of font sizes based on the end user’s browser settings. This page represents base styles and rules for type and should be considered a work in progress. You can always let me know where these styles can be improved for by dropping me a line @jakecaputo on Twitter.
Top Level Header
Above is an example of a top level header element, or the h1 tag. All page titles have been set in this tag. Consider using the Second Level Header tag, h2, for any important page level headings.
Second Level Header
As mentioned above, the Second Level Header is best used for important page level headings. Though there is no hard and fast rule regarding the amount of h1 tags allowed on a page, I tend to always only use one and rely on h2 for critical page headings.
Third Level Header
The Third Level Header may be used for any form of page level headings which falls below the h2 header in a document hierarchy.
Fourth Level Header
The Fourth Level Header may be used for any form of page level headings which falls below the h3 header in a document hierarchy.
Fifth Level Header
The Fifth Level Header may be used for any form of page level headings which falls below the h4 header in a document hierarchy.
Sixth Level Header
The Sixth Level Header may be used for any form of page level headings which falls below the h5 header in a document hierarchy.
Commonly Used Typography Tags
Paragraph
All paragraphs are wrapped with the p tag. This tag can also be wrapped by the blockquote tag if the text is a quote for an external source or a pull quote from an article.
Block Quotes
Block quotes are section of content quoted from an external source or quotes pulled from the article itself. The blockquote may contain a p tag. For example, we are quoting Ray Eames, from Quotes on Design, below.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Inline Quotes
The q tag is used for short quotations inline within a paragraph. Here is an example of nested quotations.
He said, The official Buzz Lightyear catch phrase is,
To infinity and beyond!
Ordered Lists
Ordered lists, or ol are used to list items in an hierarchical fashion. Each list item, or li, is preceded by a numerical representation of its place in the hierarchy. An ordered list can also contain another ordered list as well as an unordered list, or ul.
- This is the first item in an ordered list.
- This is the second item in an ordered list with a sub-ordered list.
- This is an ordered list item.
- This is an ordered list item
- This is an ordered list item
- This is the third item in an ordered list.
- This is the fourth item in an ordered list with a sub-unordered list.
- This is an unordered list item
- This is an unordered list item
- This is an unordered list item
Unordered Lists
Unordered lists, or ul are used to list items without any hierarchical value to them. Each list item may be preceded by a bullet or any non numerical representation. An unordered list can also contain an ordered list as well as another unordered list.
- This is the first item in an unordered list.
- This is the second item in an unordered list with a sub-ordered list.
- This is an ordered list item.
- This is an ordered list item
- This is an ordered list item
- This is the third item in an unordered list.
- This is the fourth item in an unordered list with a sub-unordered list.
- This is an unordered list item
- This is an unordered list item
- This is an unordered list item
Definition Lists
Definition lists, or dl are generally used to denote a list of items that share a relationship with one another. A dl should contain at least one dt and one dd.
- di·vis·i·ble [dih-viz-uh-buhl]
- capable of being evenly divided, without remainder.
Links
Links are commonly used to link one page to another, either internally or externally and are wrapped by the a tag.
Emphasized Text
Emphasized text is usually relegated to text you would pronounce differently in a conversation or text you are putting a stressed emphasis on and is wrapped inside of the em tag. For example:
Reading this blog will make you a better person.
Strong Text
Strong text is usually relegated to text you are placing strong emphasis on and is wrapped inside of the strong tag. For example:
Subscribe to this blog’s RSS Feed now or you will be sorry.
Marked or highlighted text
The mark tag is used for indicating text as marked or highlighted for reference purposes, due to its relevance in another context. The mark tag was introduced in HTML 5. Internet Explorer 8 and older do not support this tag. For example:
Despite the stock market crash in 2008, the value of my share portfolio increased by 100 percent. I must be doing something right.
Small Print
The small element is used to represent disclaimers, caveats, legal restrictions, or copyrights (commonly referred to as ‘small print’). It can also be used for attributions or satisfying licensing requirements. For example:
Copyright © 2014 Design Crumbs. All Rights Reserved.
Delete & Insert
Markup of deleted text can be useful in determining differences between multiple versions of the same document. Browsers will normally strike a line through deleted text and underline inserted text. For example:
Design Crumbs is located in West Hollywood, CA Chicago, IL.
Citation
The cite element is used to represent the title of a work (e.g. a book, essay, poem, song, film, TV show, sculpture, painting, musical, exhibition, etc). This can be a work that is being quoted or referenced in detail (i.e. a citation), or it can just be a work that is mentioned in passing. For example:
I highly recommend reading The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It changed my life when I was 15 years old.
Abbreviations & Acronyms
The abbr element is used for any abbreviated text, whether it be acronym, initialism, or otherwise. Any text in the title attribute will appear when the user’s mouse hovers the abbreviation. The acronym tag has been dropped from the HTML 5 specs because of the confusion between these two tags. You should exclusively use abbr but both are styled for this theme. For example:
The abbreviation for the National Football League is NFL and the acronym for as soon as possible is ASAP.
Subscript & Superscript
The sub tag defines subscript text. Subscript text appears half a character below the baseline. Subscript text can be used for chemical formulas, like H2O.
The sup tag defines superscript text. Superscript text appears half a character above the baseline. Superscript text can be used for footnotes, like this example[1].
Code & Code Blocks
The code tag is useful for websites who intend to share computer code snippets. When wrapped by the pre tag, a larger block of code can be displayed.
@media only screen and ( min-width: 43.75em ) and ( max-width: 48.938em ) {
article {
width: 69.1563%;
}
aside {
width: 26.6943%;
}
}
Tabular Data
The table tag is best used for presenting tabular data. This tag should always contain the thead, tfoot and tbody tags and should be marked up in that order. The table tag can also contain the caption tag for accessibility.
| Pixels | Ems | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions provided by PXtoEM.com | ||
| 16px | 1em | 100% |
| 17px | 1.063em | 106.3% |
| 18px | 1.125em | 112.5% |
| 19px | 1.188em | 118.8% |
