What is "typography"

Typography \Ty*pog"ra*phy\, n. [Type + -graphy: cf. F. typographie.]

1. The act or art of expressing by means of types or symbols; emblematical or hieroglyphic representation. [Obs.]
   --Sir T. Browne.

2. The art of printing with types; the use of types to produce impressions on paper, vellum, etc.

"art of composing types and printing from them," 1640s, from French typographie, from Medieval Latin typographia, from Greek typos (see type (n.)) + -grapheia "writing," from graphein "to write" (see -graphy).

n. 1 The art or practice of setting and arranging type; typesetting. 2 The practice or process of printing with type. 3 The appearance and style of typeset matter.

1. n. the craft of composing type and printing from it

2. art and technique of printing with movable type [syn: composition]

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space between pairs of letters ( kerning). The term typography is also applied to the style, arrangement, and appearance of the letters, numbers, and symbols created by the process. Type design is a closely related craft, sometimes considered part of typography; most typographers do not design typefaces, and some type designers do not consider themselves typographers. Typography also may be used as a decorative device, unrelated to communication of information.

Typography is the work of typesetters (also known as compositors), typographers, graphic designers, art directors, manga artists, comic book artists, graffiti artists, and, now, anyone who arranges words, letters, numbers, and symbols for publication, display, or distribution, from clerical workers and newsletter writers to anyone self-publishing materials. Until the Digital Age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of previously unrelated designers and lay users, and David Jury, head of graphic design at Colchester Institute in England, states that "typography is now something everybody does." As the capability to create typography has become ubiquitous, the application of principles and best practices developed over generations of skilled workers and professionals has diminished. So at a time when scientific techniques can support the proven traditions (e.g. greater legibility with the use of serifs, upper and lower case, contrast, etc.) through understanding the limitations of human vision, typography as often encountered may fail to achieve its principal objective: effective communication.