Contrast

Contrast of size: This is an important and widely used contrast. Contrast of size is used in many projects and can be used very effectively to draw attention. One general rule of thumb is to have the contrasting elements have about equal weight. For example, if there is one huge character, there may be a word or set of words that takes up a similar amount of space (Dair 55).



Contrast of weight: The weight of a character refers to the thickness of the lines that compose it. If the printed area is much less than the area surrounding it, the character is considered light. If the area of ink almost fills the area it occupies, it is considered heavy. It is common for one family to have weights ranging from extra light to ultra bold or black, making it unnecessary to go outside of the family to find contrast. It is also possible to contrast body text, headings, and white space. These elements all have different weight, and when balanced against one another, there can be a harmonious effect. One popular example of contrast in weight is making subheads bold. This alerts the reader as to what the section is about. Contrasting weight plays an important role in dividing up information.



Contrast of structure: The chief use of structural contrast is to emphasize a letter in a word, a particular word in a line of text, or a heading from the body. The contrast of structure is enhanced with the contrast of weight, size, or color. There are basically two structural groups: one includes sans serifs and square serifs with monotone lines, and the other includes roman, italic and script, which have variation in the stroke (Dair 62).



Image source 1,2,3: Dair, Carl. Design with Type. New York: University of Toronto Press, 1967.