Best Practices for Typography

Ever wonder why some text looks really good and other text doesn’t quite measure up? Part of the problem could be the little typographic nuances that go into setting text. Here are some guides for working with text—that is, the letters and characters that you type in your layout program as well as the text you may inherit by importing, placing, or otherwise adding from one document to another.

Turn dumb quotes into smart ones

I wish I had a dollar for every time I see dumb quotes that should be smart (or, as the next section outlines, smart quotes that should be dumb). I might not become rich, but I could go out for a nice dinner every month or so.

What are smart and dumb quotes?

Dumb quotes, which are also called straight quotes, are quote marks that appear straight, without any curves. Smart quotes, which are also called curved, curly, or typography quotes, come in two flavors: open and close. Open quotes are those where the curve starts at the top and moves counter-clockwise to the bottom. The open part of the curve faces to the right. Close quotes are the mirror image of open quotes. The curve starts at the top and moves clockwise to the bottom. The open part of the curve faces to the left.