Chapter 3:
The Organization of Text
Beyond choice of typeface, there are a number of important aspects of typography a designer should consider. Those include aspects such as margins, space between lines of text, and width of a line of text. The term layout is often used to refer to this group of spatial features of typography. However, the liberal use of this term has resulted in a great variety of definitions for layout. Moreover, many people make a distinction between layout and typography, suggesting that the former covers a wider range of activities than typography (van Mourik and Fransen, 1993). For these reasons a less ambiguous term will be introduced here, namely organization of print. For clarity of definition, organization of print will be used to indicate the spatial arrangement of words, textlines, and graphic illustrations (such as photographs) on the printing surface. However, the graphic element of print will not be discussed here; the focus of this chapter will be the organization of text.

Three aims can be achieved through the organization of text; aesthetic enhancement, optimal readability, and a suitable degree of conspicuity. Aesthetics of organization is not directly related to typefaces and will not be discussed here.

An important aim of textual organization is to optimize readability. A good typographic arrangement of all textual elements enables the reader to easily understand the relationship between different parts of the ‘page’. More important, effective textual organization will make it easier for readers to interpret the information presented. In psychology, this process of interpretation is called mental processing. Footnotes (consultation text), for example, provide additional information to the reader, but this will only be processed if the footnotes are easily accessible and if their function is clear to the reader. If this is not the case, the reader will not make full use of what is presented and miss out on part of the information. The use of footnotes and "other marginalia of written text" to give direction in reading is called paragraphy (Coleman, 1990). It is not only important to give each typographic element its own place, but also to emphasize the distinction between them through the use of different typefaces or styles. The content of paragraphic signs itself is beyond the scope of this review.

In some cases, the designer also wants to make the item of printed material conspicuous. There are two kinds of conspicuity that the typographer may want to achieve. Firstly, when single words or entire paragraphs are considered more important than other elements, they can be emphasized. Consequently, they will receive more attention from the reader than other words or paragraphs. In magazines, for example, titles are often set in bold characters and feature stories are set in a distinctly different typeface.

Secondly, when the entire area of print should be conspicuous, emphasis can be achieved by creating environmental contrast. In the design of posters or warning signs, for instance, odd forms and colors can be contrasted with forms and colors of the surroundings.

This chapter will discuss the different aspects of textual organization in their relation to ergonomics criteria. Each paragraph will illustrate the effect of one such aspect on readability and conspicuity. The aspects are letter spacing, word spacing, alignment, line width, and leading. Clearly, the predominant ingredient in the organization of text is space. The organizational aspects of typography are all interdependent and have to be balanced within the available space. Søgren’s (1995) order of design choices starts us off with the most fundamental of spacing; spacing between characters within a word.