A lot of the material about web design and typography that you’ll find on the web is written by and for designers; in other words, it presupposes a certain level of knowledge. LifeHacker has put together a guide for non-designers that covers the basics of typefaces and layout very well.
Before we jump into the specifics, the most important thing you need to know when making any design choices is why. Ask yourself this: “what is my goal?” All elements of design are able to invoke different emotions in the viewer and affect them in various ways. While adhering to general principals is good when you’re getting started, you want to based your design choices on the impact you want them to have. That requires knowing what that impact will be. Do you want your design to attract attention to specific sections? Do you want certain words or phrases to have more impact than others?
You make these basic choices like these already. When writing a research paper or a resume, you’ve probably bolded a section header to help with identification. If all the text on that page was the same, it would be more difficult for the reader to navigate or skim. The simple decision of emboldening text and making it larger suddenly adds greater context to the design of a document, and it’s one you’re probably making subconsicously. When you’re thinking about design, you want to move those choices out of your subconscious and into the front of your mind. Think about what you hope to accomplish and then apply the principles you learn in this guide to the design tasks you encounter on a regular basis. Thinking a little more creatively and knowing the right techniques is all you’ll need to add a greater visual impact to the design work you’ll encounter on a regular basis.
