Newsletters enjoy an intimate relationship with their readers.
Most have an audience with more than a casual interest in the
publication’s content. Newsletters and their readers have a
special rapport. The danger in this relationship is that
it is easy to become complacent. Don’t.
Intimate does not mean “captive.” If you take your
readers for granted, they will drop you faster than
a politician can say “family values.” Cater to your
readers. Treat them with respect, provide them with
the content they seek and strive to keep the relationship
stimulating. Of course, pertinent, valuable and
compelling content is the best way to keep an audience.
Oh, and good typography also helps.
How do you, typographically, cater to readers of
a newsletter? Four simple rules:
1. Create scanability
2. Provide road signs
3. Keep it simple
4. Stimulate the relationship
1. Create scanability
The only person who will read everything you write
is your mother. Everyone else scans. Readers want
to get their information quickly and with a minimum
of fuss. Writing style obviously goes a long
way toward attaining this goal. Sentences should
be brief and to the point. Paragraphs are also best
when kept short.
Subheads and pull quotes help to break a page
into bite-sized chunks and aid scanability. Just
be sure to differentiate one from the other. They
should be in different typefaces and handled graphically
differently from each other. If pull quotes are
centered within the column block, left-align the
subheads. Also be sure that you do not put a pull
quote at the top of a page where it could be confused
with a subhead.
Typographic layout can also aid scanability.
Narrow columns, for example, aid the reading process.
Studies have found that somewhere between
nine and 15 words per line is optimum for easy
reading. Very long lines of type are not inviting—
they can slow down the reading process and make
referencing the line that follows difficult. If you
want to improve scanability, err on the short side
when it comes to column width.
Keep letter and word spacing tight. Letterspacing
that is too open forces your audience to read individual
letters to make a word, and open word-spacing
slows down scanability by requiring readers to link
words together into sentences. A rule of thumb for
letterspacing text copy is that the space between two straight-sided letters (for instance, i and n) should be
about the same as the distance between the two interior
strokes in the letter m. A rule of thumb for word
spacing is that you ought to be able to just slip in a
lowercase n (without serifs or space on either side)
between two words in text copy. Another guideline is
to turn the copy upside-down. If you can easily distinguish
one word from another, you probably have
too much word space.
The width of the gutter (the channel of white
space between the columns) can help the reader scan
copy. All you have to do is make the gutters obvious.
When the channel between columns is optically narrower
than the space between lines of copy, there is
a risk that the reader will try to read across the intercolumn
white space.
Lining up items also helps. Readers prefer
consistency and left-edge alignment. They shouldn’t
have to figure out where information is or where
the next line of type begins. Since the eye naturally
returns to the left edge of copy to begin the
next line, the best way to align copy and images is
against a left margin.
The first line of type in each column should
also align horizontally with the first line in other
columns. If the first line of a column begins with an
initial cap, the baselines of the other columns should
still align. If paragraphs and/or illustrations force the
horizontal misalignment of lines of text from column
to column, it is better to have the top line of columns
align rather than the bottom.
2. Provide road signs
Good newsletters have a clear structure. While there
should be an obvious relationship between the various
graphic elements in any document, this is especially
true for newsletters. Typographic “road signs”
aid the reader in the communication process.
Consistency is the first typographic road sign.
Readers shouldn’t have to guess where copy or images
should be. If you choose to align information against
a left margin, keep it that way throughout the document.
If justified copy is what you want, then be
consistent with that. If captions center under one
illustration, they should center under all. In fact,
some typographers think that a mistake done consis-tently throughout a document is preferable to a onetime
occurrence.
White space can be a valuable road sign. Use
white space to signal the relationship between the
parts of a document. In general, you should have less
space between two supportive pieces of content than
between two that are disparate.
If subheads are brief and relevant to the copy
that follows, they are also valuable road signs. Not
only can they serve as the introduction to text copy
but also as a reminder and “touch-point” if the newsletter
is referenced at a later date. To avoid confusion
with headlines, subheads should always be preceded
and followed by three lines of text. Do not underline
subheads. In fact, don’t underline anything.
Underlining is an unfortunate holdover from the
days of typewriters. A simple typeface or type size
change is always a better typographic choice than
underlining. To be an effective road sign, subheads
(as well as headlines) should stand out from the rest
of the text copy. Change typestyle or size, set them in
a different color, run them into the left gutter—take
your pick, but differentiate subheads. If you don’t,
they become potholes rather than road signs.
Typefaces are, of course, also good road signs. If
captions are set in a condensed style, use the typestyle
consistently throughout the newsletter. While choices
should be balanced with the rule of keeping things
simple, typeface change can indicate different aspects
of the newsletter. The editor’s comments, for example,
could always be set in italics. Consider setting a
monthly column or contribution by an outside expert
in a contrasting design with the rest of the newsletter.
3. Keep it simple
The most inviting typography, the most readerfriendly
typography and the most direct typography
is the simplest typography. Type and image are
the two most important tools of graphic communication.
Lines, borders, unnecessary font or size
changes will distract readers more often than help
them. Have a specific reason for using every bullet
and box and for every typeface change. If you
don’t have a reason for every graphic decision (and
“because it looks nice” doesn’t count), reconsider
the decision.
Let type and layout provide the underlying
structure to content. Text typefaces should not be
decorative or too distinctive. Text typefaces can create
strong, but subtle, nuances. They can enhance the
personality of the content. Some say they can even
produce an emotional response. If the reader notices
the design of the text typeface, however, it is detracting
from the communication process. This doesn’t
mean that you are stuck with Times New Roman
or Arial for all your newsletter typography. It does
mean, however, that newsletters are not the place
to experiment with the latest new typefaces. There
are hundreds—maybe thousands—of typefaces that
have proven their value over the years. Stick to these
designs. If you want an elegant flavor to your text
copy, choose faces from the Bembo Book, Sabon or
Berkeley Oldstyle typeface families. If you want to
impart cutting-edge immediacy, look to designs like
Officina Sans, Stone Humanist or Neo Sans. If absolute
legibility is your goal, try Century Old Style,
Plantin or ITC Charter.
Given the above, you should also strive to
restrict the use of typefaces. Newsletters are not
a place to show off all the fonts on your hard drive.
Text should be set in the same typefaces from issue
to issue. You really only need three fonts for text: a
roman or book weight for 90 percent of the copy,
a bold for emphasis and an italic for titles, foreign
words, technical terms and the like. Italics can also
provide subtle emphasis. The italic form of a typeface
can create a distinct, yet harmonious departure
in text copy. Resist using two typeface families for
text copy. If you must use more than one, rely on
the golden rule of “contrast.” Choose two very
different designs.
One display typeface for headlines, subheads
and other large copy is also usually enough. Size and
color are the tools to use to create levels of importance.
If you want to use more than one typeface for
display use, it’s best to choose both designs from the
same family—a bold and bold condensed design, for
instance, would be excellent choices. Since typefaces
are one of the grounding structures of the newsletter
design, keep your choices strong and simple.
Take out what is not needed in the newsletter.
Decoration is not communication. Replace several small ornaments with one big one. Remove horizontal
and vertical rules if they are not absolutely
necessary to the communication process. Bullets and
boxes should only be used to aid the communication
process. Complicated run-arounds call attention to
themselves rather than the copy. Simple shapes are
more legible than those that are complicated.
4. Stimulate the relationship
Never overestimate your reader’s level of interest.
If you’ve made your newsletters scanable, provided
typographic road signs to help the reader travel
through the content and kept your design simple
… you can still lose readers if the end product is
not interesting.
Too many newsletters are predictable concoctions
of picture, headline, text, picture, headline,
text. Who says you can’t run a full-page picture or a
10,000 word essay? Shake things up a bit. Stimulate
the relationship.
In addition to being believable and enjoyable
to read, the best newsletters are also visually striking.
There should be a strong contrast between the
headlines and text copy. If you set the text in an
elegant serif design like Galliard, and contrast it with
a strong, industrial-strength sans serif like Cachet.
If text is in an unpretentious face like Perrywood or
Ionic, a display design like Albertus will provide a
strong counterpoint. If sophistication is part of your
design goal, don’t carry the concept to the point of
visual sterility.
When they are not overused, graphic surprises
can stimulate reader interest. Use the design grid as
a foundation, but don’t be afraid to break from it
on occasion. If you have a five-column grid, consider
letting an illustration take advantage of eight
of the columns on a two-page spread. A strategically
placed, tilted graphic element or photo that extends
into a column of text or bleeds off the page can add
visual dynamism.
Newsletters are extraordinarily intimate communication
tools. To keep yours successful, it is
important to maintain the close and special relationship
between content and reader. Following
the four simple typographic rules will go a long
way toward achieving this goal.
