A while back I wrote a rather long–winded “guide” to setting paragraphs on the web. In it, I went through a few basics: Setting a vertical rhythm, measure, white space &c.; stuff that’s pretty well known now, and perhaps has been widely accepted for a while.
(Incidentally: When you look back through blog posts what do you feel? Horror? Pleasure? Both? I kind of admire Simon Pascal Klein’s decision to ditch 260 blog posts and edit the remaining 20 into shape. A blog as a living body of work to be excised, remoulded and perhaps reinterpreted over time. How many articles would you keep?)
An example of a medieval text, complete with ornate drop cap
Anyway, I’ve changed my mind in two fundamental, related ways when it comes to paragraphs and web typography in general:
- A minorish point: Paragraphs look better with a half line break between them. The thought entered my head when I read a recent article by Joe Clark (Mocking Design Observer (2)). A few CSS changes later and the whole text on my blog has been pulled together; it looks more cogent and interrelated. (I still think indents make a text harder to read on the screen, especially when you’re setting a real piece of writing, complete with short, non–lorem ipsum paragraphs: Format rather than technology, perhaps.)
- An over-literal interpretation of a grid/rhythm is, well, misconceived. First, it lacks nuance: the math is more flexible than 24/48/72/96; there are fractions, gradients, contrasts et al. Secondly, it’s limiting in that it forces you to make decisions that are self–evidently bad in terms of readability, tone and appearance.
So in the future I’ll be looking at variation and using common sense more. What’s your approach? A cool, strict set of rules or something a bit more fluid?