Meaning & use
typography
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Meanings
noununcountable
The style, arrangement, and appearance of printed or digital text.
Grammar: Uncountable: say the typography is clear, not a typography or typographies.
Patterns
- the typography of something
- good/bad typography
- modern typography
The typography of the magazine is elegant and easy to read.
Good typography helps readers understand the structure of a document.
She studied typography to learn how to choose fonts for websites.
noununcountabletechnical
The skill or process of arranging text for printing or screens.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used in academic or professional contexts about design.
Patterns
- study typography
- work in typography
- a course in typography
He works in typography, designing layouts for newspapers.
The course covers typography, color theory, and page layout.
Advances in typography have made digital reading more comfortable.
Common combinations
- good typography
- Good typography makes a website look professional.
- modern typography
- Modern typography often uses clean, simple fonts.
- the typography of
- The typography of the book is traditional and formal.
- study typography
- She went to art school to study typography.
- digital typography
- Digital typography has changed how we read on screens.
Synonyms and how they differ
- typesetting
- Focuses on the technical process of arranging text, while typography also includes design and style.
- layout
- Refers to the overall arrangement of text and images on a page, not just the text style.
- font
- A specific set of letters in one style; typography is the broader art of using fonts and text.
Word family
- typographer noun
- A person who designs or arranges text.
- typographic adjective
- Relating to typography.
- typographically adverb
- In a way that relates to typography.
Commonly confused: typography or calligraphy? typography or topography?
typography vs calligraphy
Calligraphy is decorative handwriting, often done with a pen or brush, while typography is about printed or digital text design.
typography vs topography
Topography is the study of the physical features of land, such as hills and valleys; it sounds similar but is unrelated.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'typography' correctly.
Choose one answer.
Typography refers to the style and arrangement of text, so a clean website fits. Option 2 confuses it with 'topography' (land features), option 3 with 'calligraphy' (handwriting), and option 4 with 'typo' (a mistake).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “typography”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.