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Better Web Typography for a Better Web
Better Web Typography for a Better Web is a book is based on a top-rated online course explaining typography to people who build web sites—web designers and web developers. The author, Matej Latin, takes complex concepts such as vertical rhythm, modular scale and page composition, and explains them in a simple way. The content of the book is accompanied by live code examples and the readers design and build an example website as they go through it. This is a new typography book for a new medium, the rules haven't changed much, everything else has.
230 pages
Published June 30, 2017
33 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 18, 2017
This is by far the best coverage on the topic of web typography that I have had the pleasure to read and adapt. Matej goes through enough history of typography to make the topic consumable to developers and designers, but not at the cost of forcing the reader to put hours of research into the topic just to understand the core concepts. This is not to say that the book lacks instruction or technical expertise. I find it impressive how seemingly easy the author presents scenarios and expert instruction.
As a seasoned developer I thought I knew enough about typography that there really wasn't much else to think about. Reading through this book has opened my eyes to the intricacies of the "why" and "how" different techniques and properties are appropriate for typefaces.
I highly recommend this for both designers and developers. Understanding what typefaces can do for your site and where limitations are can really increase the productivity of the process while also offering a pleasurable experience to the end-user.
As a seasoned developer I thought I knew enough about typography that there really wasn't much else to think about. Reading through this book has opened my eyes to the intricacies of the "why" and "how" different techniques and properties are appropriate for typefaces.
I highly recommend this for both designers and developers. Understanding what typefaces can do for your site and where limitations are can really increase the productivity of the process while also offering a pleasurable experience to the end-user.
August 20, 2017
An absolute must-read for web designers looking to improve their Typography!
March 5, 2019
Дуже хороша книга орієнтована суто на веб типографіку. Врешті розібрався як коректно вираховувати інтерліньяж та співвідношення блоків. В книзі є корисні додатки, які є короткою витяжкою основних питань, а також є блоки css коду для організації тих чи інших елементів тексту.
August 22, 2017
Ok, so I haven't fully got through this book, but from what I have read, I've got to say it's simply brilliant.
Matej has done a fantastic job in getting across the basics of typography on the web and what to look for. This book has helped me enormously and given me the typography bug!
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in any form of design, be it web, graphic or other.
Matej has done a fantastic job in getting across the basics of typography on the web and what to look for. This book has helped me enormously and given me the typography bug!
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in any form of design, be it web, graphic or other.
September 13, 2017
My favorite book on web typography - beautifully captures all nuances and details, without becoming hard to read or boring. The techniques presented can be directly applied to your designs and layouts and will immediately improve them.
In my opinion a new must-read for web designers.
In my opinion a new must-read for web designers.
December 24, 2018
Attention This book is a one way ticket!
If you read it, you can not never read a web page is a basic web page again. Because you know all about web typography after the read of this book. And bad typography very easy seen to your eyes.
If you read it, you can not never read a web page is a basic web page again. Because you know all about web typography after the read of this book. And bad typography very easy seen to your eyes.
November 6, 2018
If you read any book on web design or development. Make it this one. A must read, bridging the gap between designers and developers for better web typography.
January 21, 2019
Better Web Typography isn't just a book about typography. In my perspective, it's a book about reframing the way we use type on the web. While this book covers the basics of typography, including its history and the standard need-to-know aspects of type anatomy, it goes above and beyond by providing accessible content for designs and developers.
The book takes a firm stance on saying that both design and development teams need to be involved in typography, and it shows throughout the book. For every comparison on how to do something in Sketch such as kerning or letter-spacing, there's a section that covers how do it using CSS or SASS as well. One of the things that I appreciate about the book (which might turn others off) is how opinionated it is. It's clear the author is setting a premise on what counts as good and bad typography and even mentions how boring/bland the web has gotten in terms of good, interesting typography and web design. I like that it's clear that the author is pushing for a more innovative web, and it makes for an overall fascinating read.
The book takes a firm stance on saying that both design and development teams need to be involved in typography, and it shows throughout the book. For every comparison on how to do something in Sketch such as kerning or letter-spacing, there's a section that covers how do it using CSS or SASS as well. One of the things that I appreciate about the book (which might turn others off) is how opinionated it is. It's clear the author is setting a premise on what counts as good and bad typography and even mentions how boring/bland the web has gotten in terms of good, interesting typography and web design. I like that it's clear that the author is pushing for a more innovative web, and it makes for an overall fascinating read.
August 21, 2017
Excellent book -- can't wait to start implementing what I've learned on my projects. He makes it easy to understand what to do and provides code examples and results. I like that he explained the history and the whys for the way things are done.
This book should be required reading for any course on web design or web development.
My only quibble is it's a pain to read it on a Kindle because you have to zoom the illustrations and because the website code examples are not linked -- copying and pasting on a Kindle are not easy tasks and actually linking to the examples would be so helpful.
This book should be required reading for any course on web design or web development.
My only quibble is it's a pain to read it on a Kindle because you have to zoom the illustrations and because the website code examples are not linked -- copying and pasting on a Kindle are not easy tasks and actually linking to the examples would be so helpful.
January 18, 2019
So far this is a book that we needed for that grey area between the web design and typography. I really like the book I love the easy and clear way that this book is written, as a non-native English speaker I do I appreciate it. I’m a typography lover since I discover it, as a classic graphic designer living in this digital era I really needed to set up all my knowledge in orden and understand how to apply it in web design. I also love the respect and love that the author shows for typography.
October 31, 2017
Great book with hands on recommendation for web developers. In fact, it took me quite long to read because I had to go through some parts several times in order to apply the concepts in my own projects! Already recommended it to my colleagues.
A complement on the narrative style: Matej does not insist on his opinion to be the ultimate truth. He gives readers alternative ways or ideas to implement certain things. Thank you for your remarkable work!
A complement on the narrative style: Matej does not insist on his opinion to be the ultimate truth. He gives readers alternative ways or ideas to implement certain things. Thank you for your remarkable work!
February 8, 2019
Amazing book. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning how typography works on the web
January 29, 2019
Book was absolutely wonderful. Every theory and practical was really useful
March 3, 2020
I started the course wich this book compiles but I didn't be able to end it due to bad time management. So when the book was compiled I had it in my reading queue and it totally worth it.
It covers many concepts I've already known because I've studied typography, but the focus in web typography was the thing I was searching for. And Matej covers it with ease and enough deepness.
So I would recommend this book to anyone who starts in web design, or even those who were working for some time in this industry, because there are a lot of assumptions I've seen in my years as a designer, and I'm sure many of us were doing some things wrong. The book helps us to standarize good practices when it comes to typography in the web.
It covers many concepts I've already known because I've studied typography, but the focus in web typography was the thing I was searching for. And Matej covers it with ease and enough deepness.
So I would recommend this book to anyone who starts in web design, or even those who were working for some time in this industry, because there are a lot of assumptions I've seen in my years as a designer, and I'm sure many of us were doing some things wrong. The book helps us to standarize good practices when it comes to typography in the web.
October 15, 2017
This is a nice introduction to typography for web developers and designers. It's nice that for every advice some backstory and reasoning is given. All presented points are simple and well categorized.
March 7, 2018
A comprehensive trip through essential typography as it applies to current web practices. Clearly written and well organized. A must for anyone who puts type online in any form.
August 22, 2023
Incredibly useful book! It helped me understand how to work with type. I definitely improved my typography skills!
December 13, 2018
A really good and helpful book on typography. It is not only for designers but developers as well (probably more front-end developers), it has really cool insight on typography and it’s use and it also covers topics to which most of us don’t give a lot of thought: like quotation marks, small caps, dashes, spaces etc. It also has some lines of code for developers to show how to implement some things and so on. I found it very useful as a designer and I think it can also be good for developers, copywriters or anyone who wants a better understanding of typography. (It aims on typography on web, not in print.) I definitely recommend it!
May 5, 2020
A quick to read practical guide on how to deal with pleasing page layouts and the finger details of micro typography. Good guidelines, and avoids taking himself to seriously. Admits the role of subjective judgment, he is not trying to show totally as a science.
February 21, 2021
After subscribing and enjoying the email series thought I would give the book a shot. Content is very similar to Flexible Typesetting by Tim Brown but the extra code examples help reinforce the ideas presented. The equaliteral triangle is also a very userful metaphor.
June 27, 2019
A very handy guide to efficient use of Typography on the web! Loads of important topic covered like the co-relation between font-size, line-height & line width. Author also talks about micro Typography which opens up our eyes—mind and take a fresh perspective on how to tackle those details.
Definitely recommend any web designer & web developer to grab a copy if they want to bring their Web Typography game up!
Definitely recommend any web designer & web developer to grab a copy if they want to bring their Web Typography game up!
August 25, 2019
When I bought this book I was hoping to learn more about typography that I could not only apply to the web but also e-Books that I format. Having paid $30 from Amazon I was a bit disappointed when I saw the table of contents and even more so when I read through the book. I have been studying typography for two years, self-taught, and was hoping to learn more then simple basic stuff that could be searched on the internet in a matter of a few seconds.
Now don't get me wrong this book is great for novice typographers or people with very little experience. However, if you have been studying typography for two or more years you are better off saving your money.
The section on combining typefaces is great, however, with the article on combining type being free to view it kind of defeats the purpose.
To be clear, I feel this book is five out of five stars for anyone who is completely new to typography. Matej is truly passionate about typography, as I am, and it shows in his book. I only wish I had gotten a bit more out of the book to justify spending $30.
While I understand that the title of the book is the title of the email course that he originally started I feel that having a subtitle noting that this book is meant for beginners would help so that people don't get the wrong impression. Originally, I had planned to buy Richard Rutter's book entitled Web Typography which I felt would have improved my typography a bit more. That's when I saw this book on typography and all the five star reviews I carefully considered it and finally decided to go with this book.
I believe this is a great book to have, however, if you are on a budget and already have experience it would be best to invest in another book. (Unless of course you have plenty of money to spend in which case just buy it.)
Now don't get me wrong this book is great for novice typographers or people with very little experience. However, if you have been studying typography for two or more years you are better off saving your money.
The section on combining typefaces is great, however, with the article on combining type being free to view it kind of defeats the purpose.
To be clear, I feel this book is five out of five stars for anyone who is completely new to typography. Matej is truly passionate about typography, as I am, and it shows in his book. I only wish I had gotten a bit more out of the book to justify spending $30.
While I understand that the title of the book is the title of the email course that he originally started I feel that having a subtitle noting that this book is meant for beginners would help so that people don't get the wrong impression. Originally, I had planned to buy Richard Rutter's book entitled Web Typography which I felt would have improved my typography a bit more. That's when I saw this book on typography and all the five star reviews I carefully considered it and finally decided to go with this book.
I believe this is a great book to have, however, if you are on a budget and already have experience it would be best to invest in another book. (Unless of course you have plenty of money to spend in which case just buy it.)
October 13, 2020
A great primer on how traditional typographic rules can be applied to the web. If you're a designer, it might not cover a lot of new ground per se, but it's always good to have a wee bit of a refresher. Feels poorly-edited toward the end—there's a chapter that summarises the main points of the book as though it's gearing up for a conclusion, but then some more chapters are tacked on the end—maybe later additions?
May 6, 2018
The best typography book ever.
January 9, 2019
Everyone in the tech/digital world should read it. Really useful for designers and developers, but CEOs and marketers as well. Loved it!
May 25, 2019
This should have been a blog series, not a 200-page book. The author mentions several times that it started out as a short email course, and that he only turned the material into a book because his readers wanted more depth.
Unfortunately, his book doesn’t contain nearly as much depth as it does fluff. The writing is sloppy and the editing is non-existent (if English isn’t your native language you owe it to your readers to *at least* have someone correct your grammar).
The book is mostly a beginner-level introduction to basic typography (“fonts and typefaces are not the same thing,” “typography isn’t about choosing typefaces”): the sort of stuff you learn in the first 10 minutes of a Typography 101 course. The specificity of the title implies that it would impart more advanced skills, but that’s not the case.
There are two reasons why I’m not giving this an even lower score:
1. The helpful meta-structure (the author ties each of his lessons to a demonstration where he applies the material to the design of a type-heavy web page)
2. The chapters about baseline grids and modular scales, and the code snippets that accompany them
Unfortunately, his book doesn’t contain nearly as much depth as it does fluff. The writing is sloppy and the editing is non-existent (if English isn’t your native language you owe it to your readers to *at least* have someone correct your grammar).
The book is mostly a beginner-level introduction to basic typography (“fonts and typefaces are not the same thing,” “typography isn’t about choosing typefaces”): the sort of stuff you learn in the first 10 minutes of a Typography 101 course. The specificity of the title implies that it would impart more advanced skills, but that’s not the case.
There are two reasons why I’m not giving this an even lower score:
1. The helpful meta-structure (the author ties each of his lessons to a demonstration where he applies the material to the design of a type-heavy web page)
2. The chapters about baseline grids and modular scales, and the code snippets that accompany them
June 20, 2022
I was encouraged to purchase this book by the promotion. Despite it, I regret the money spent. I didn't learn much more than the free sources on the Internet offer.
Often very general advice without any concrete details, after reading which you actually do not know much.
Unfortunately, the author did not pay attention to accessibility at all.
Moreover, the pictures are not adapted to screen readers (they are even unreadable).
Often very general advice without any concrete details, after reading which you actually do not know much.
Unfortunately, the author did not pay attention to accessibility at all.
Moreover, the pictures are not adapted to screen readers (they are even unreadable).
February 16, 2019
Awesome book that changed my view on web typography. Thank you Matej. Great customer support!
May 18, 2020
Highly recommended for web designers and who wants to improve their typography.
September 29, 2020
Great book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews