Learn Typography Basics With 'On Web Typography'

Web typography has come a long way from the days when the only way to get a custom typeface on a page was with images created in Photoshop. These days, thanks to widespread browser support for CSS @font-face and services like Typekit, a couple lines of code will add actual font files to your pages. […]

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Web typography has come a long way from the days when the only way to get a custom typeface on a page was with images created in Photoshop. These days, thanks to widespread browser support for CSS @font-face and services like Typekit, a couple lines of code will add actual font files to your pages.

Go back to 2001 with that information and you would blow many a designer's mind.

Of course if you're not a designer, today's overwhelming variety of type possibilities can be overwhelming. For some help deciphering it all and navigating the sometimes complex world of web typography, check out the video above of Typekit's Jason Santa Maria's talk "On Web Typography." The video comes from An Event Apart Boston in June of last year, but was only recently made available online (note that Santa Maria has since left Typekit).

After a whirlwind tour of the history of online typography, Santa Maria explores typography from a newcomer's perspective, looking at how typography affects how you read and how to choose and combine typefaces for a better looking, easier to read site. It's about an hour long, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better intro to and overview of the art of typography.