Don’t Be Ugly
Suck Less Through
Good Typography And
Document Design
Why Typography Matters
(from Typography for Lawyers)
Why Typography Matters
(from Typography for Lawyers)
Communication And Reader
Attention
“Writing as if you have unlimited reader attention is
presumptuous because readers are not doing you a
personal favor. Reading your writing is not their hobby.
It’s their job. And their job involves paying attention to
lots of other writing. . . .
“. . . [M]ost readers are looking for reasons to stop
reading. Not because they’re malicious or aloof. They’re
just being rational. If readers have other demands on
their time, why should they pay any more attention than
they absolutely must? Readers are always looking for
the exit.”
Matthew Butterick, Typography for Lawyers
Good Typography
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Reinforces the goals of the text
Enhances communication
Holds reader attention
Eases the reader’s task
Bad Typography
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Is at odds with the goals of the text
Inhibits clear communication
Makes the reader look for the exits
Makes your brief hard to read and less
persuasive
Don’t Let Bill Gates Choose Your
Oral Argument Attire
If You Don’t Believe Me, Believe
The Seventh Circuit
The Cover
No Second Chance To Make A
First Impression
Pretty Good
Wear Appropriate Attire
Fonts for Reading
General Font Rules
• Proportional fonts work better than
monospaced fonts
• Book fonts work better than newspaper
fonts
• Serif fonts work better for body text than
Proportional v. Monospaced
If You Don’t Believe Me, Believe
The Seventh Circuit
Proportional v. Monospaced
Serif v. Sans Serif
Serif v. Sans Serif
Book v. Newspaper
But What About Times New
Roman?
Book v. Newspaper
The Font That Dare Not Speak Its
Name
“When Times New Roman appears in a book,
document, or advertisement, it connotes apathy.
It says, ‘I submitted to the font of least
resistance.’ Times New Roman is not a font
choice so much as the absence of a font choice,
like the blackness of deep space is not a color.
To look at Times New Roman is to gaze into the
void.”
Matthew Butterick, Typography for Lawyers
Accessorize (Fonts for Headings)
• Sans Serif makes for very readable
headings
• Contrast to show the difference between
headings and text
• Some people don’t like this (and that’s
OK!)
Sans Serif Headings
DON’T SHOUT
DON’T SHOUT
Don’t Shout
DON’T SHOUT
LEGIBILITY DEPENDS UPON THE TOPS
OF THE LETTERS. BUT IF I GIVE YOU A
LINE OR A PARAGRAPH OF ALL CAPS
RECTANGLES, I TAKE AWAY
CONTOURS OF THE TOPS OF THE
LETTERS AND I MAKE IT REALLY HARD
TO READ. SMALL CAPS OR INITIAL
CAPS ARE A MUCH BETTER WAY TO
GO. AND MORE POLITE TOO.
Space, the final frontier . . .
• Get from one line to the next without a
hitch
• Line height and line length
• Double spaced 1 inch margins required by
the rules are not optimal
• Put related things together
• More space before heading, less
afterwards
Worst
Decent
Better
Best
Emphasize with class
• Don’t underline. Ever. It’s ugly and
makes the text harder to read.
• On the RARE occasions where it is
appropriate to emphasize a word or
phrase, use bold or italic instead.
• Bold and italic styles are specially
designed to match basic style of font.
Emphasize with class
Underlining is a holdover from the typewriter
age. Typewriters had no bold or italic styling.
So the only way to emphasize text was to back
up the carriage and type underscores beneath
the text.
Underlining is a holdover from the typewriter
age. Typewriters had no bold or italic styling.
So the only way to emphasize text was to back
up the carriage and type underscores beneath
the text.
Say Something
• Heading should be a declarative statement
• State what you want the reader to
conclude
• Headings should be frequent
• Enhances screen readability
• Creates space
• Creates a usable table of contents
Headings That Say Nothing
The Useless Table Of Contents
Headings That Won’t Shut Up
More Headings That Won’t Shut Up
Unreadable Table Of Contents
The Goldilocks Heading
The Persuasive Table Of Contents
Use bullet lists effectively
• I don’t like Word’s default settings for
bullet lists.
• Not enough indentation.
• Always use a hanging indent.
• Bullet list will lose all effect if double
spaced.
• Try using a different font for the bullet list.
Use bullet lists effectively
Use bullet lists effectively
How Not To Be Read
Dash Dash Dash
• When setting off an interruptive phrase with
dashes, don’t use hyphens.
• Use en-dashes or em-dashes.
• Lately, I prefer em-dashes.
• No definitive answer on the issue of spaces
around the dashes.
Dash Dash Dash
No Double Space. Period.
• Typewriter rule left over from monospaced fonts
• Creates rivers of white space to disrupt your
paragraphs
• EVERY typography and style guide says one
space only.
• “If you’re skeptical, pick up any book,
newspaper, or magazine and tell me how many
spaces there are between sentences.”
If You Don’t Believe Me, Believe
The Seventh Circuit
Footnote Wars
• I am not a footnote fundamentalist
• I use footnotes whenever doing so helps the reader
• This usually means using footnotes to deemphasize
material that is secondary or would interrupt the reader
from my point.
• Often this means putting record cites below the text
rather than interrupting the story.
• Refrain from using footnotes whenever a footnote would
hinder the reader.
• This usually means not using a footnote when the
identity of a source is important to the story.
The Secret Code Fact Section
Stories For Humans
Guidelines on Footnotes And
Legal Authority
• Use footnotes whenever doing so helps the reader
• This usually means using footnotes to deemphasize
citations that are secondary (“See alsos” or string cites)
• Refrain from using footnotes whenever a footnote might
hinder the reader.
• This may mean avoiding use of a footnote when the
source of an authority is important (e.g., key cases).
• A complete lack of authority in the text is troubling to
some readers
• All footnotes can be troubling to the presbyopic judge or
the screen reader
The Guidelines In Action
Footnote Formatting
• 10 pt. font size too small.
• Use the same justification as body text.
• Indent correctly.
• Put a 6pt space between notes.
Footnote Formatting
For Further Reading
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Matthew Butterick, Typography For Lawyers
http://www.typographyforlawyers.com/
Ruth Anne Robbins, Painting with Print
http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/Rules/Painting_with
_Print.pdf
• Requirements and Suggestions for Typography
in Briefs and Other Papers
• http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/Rules/type.pdf
For Further Reading
http://www.appellaterecord.com/