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Typography pointers for printed publications
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Approved typefaces

Visit www.utmb.edu/identity_system for a list of approved serif and sans serif typefaces for UTMB printed publications and web sites.
While it is appropriate to use established italic and bold fonts of the approved typefaces, the type should not be manipulated manually (e.g., stretched horizontally, condensed, etc.).
Never use more than two different typefaces in one publication.

Consistency

Similar categories of copy should be treated the same graphically (type size, typeface, bold/not bold, etc.) For instance, if one headline in a brochure is 12-point Helvetica bold, all headlines should be 12-point Helvetica bold. Likewise, if all body copy is 10-point Times Roman, all body copy should be 10-point Times Roman.

Emphasis

Avoid using too many graphic techniques on one word or phrase. The result of combining such techniques as bold, italics, drop shadows and/or underlines will draw attention, but it will also be a chore to read.
Variations in type size can help differentiate various types of copy (headlines from body copy, for instance.) Make sure the difference is at least 2 points. Anything less won’t have the desired effect.
Remember that every word that is emphasized graphically will be a visual “speed bump” to readers. Choose only those words that must carry special emphasis to accurately convey your meaning.

Em dashes

Use an actual em dash, rather than two hyphens, in printed publications to communicate an abrupt change or emphatic pause within a sentence.
Ex.: Galveston—once called the Wall Street of the Southwest—features numerous historical buildings.
Ex.: Not Galveston--once called the Wall Street of the Southwest--features…
The em dash can be typed on Windows computers by pressing the ALT, CTRL and NUM– keys simultaneously.
There should be no space on either side of the em dash.
Ex.: Galveston—An Island of History, not Galveston — An Island of History

En dashes

Use en dashes (roughly half the length of an em dash) to separate elements in ranges.
Ex.: 1–2 p.m., Jan. 3–Feb. 1
En dashes may also be used in certain complex compound words consisting of more than two words.
Ex.: North Dakota–South Dakota border, non-European–non-Asian population
The en dash can be typed on Windows computers by pressing the CTRL and NUM– keys simultaneously.
There should be no space on either side of the en dash.
Ex.: 1–2 p.m., not 1 – 2 p.m.

Readability

Avoid large blocks of all-capital letters. Variety in letter height helps the reader quickly recognize words and phrases. The uniform size and shape of capital letters makes all-caps copy harder to read.
Avoid large blocks of italic type.
Use an appropriate point size for your audience. In most cases, anything less than 10 points will be uncomfortable to read. In some cases, you may need larger type.
Fully justified type (in which lines of type are of equal length) can be harder to read than “ragged right” type (in which the end of each line varies, as in this document), because spaces between words are not uniform. If you use justified type, you can improve its readability by manually adjusting words spacing to get rid of any large, distracting holes of white space within lines of text.

Smart quotes

For more professional results, use smart quotes (also described as curly quotes) for quotation marks and apostrophes.
Ex.: “This phrase is placed within smart quotes.”
You can set your Windows machine to automatically type smart quotes: 1. Go to the “Tools” menu. 2. Click on “Autocorrect.” 3. Go to the “Autoformat as you type” tab. 4. Look for the “Replace as you type” section. There will be an option to switch straight quotes to smart quotes.
Do not use straight quotes, unless you need them to express feet or inches. • Ex.: 8" x 10"

Spacing

Use only one space between sentences.
To prevent headers from “floating” between sections of body copy, put more space above headers than below. This will help visually tether the header to the copy it refers to.