Set like type
Why we treat every website as a page of type before it is anything else.
Before a website has colour, motion or a single photograph, it has words. Most of what a visitor does on a page is read, so we start where a typesetter would: with the text, the measure and the rhythm of the lines.
Start with the words
We ask for the real copy as early as we can. Placeholder text hides problems: a headline that runs to three lines, a product name that will not fit, a paragraph that needs a pause. Designing around the actual words means the layout is shaped by what the page has to say, not the other way round.
It also changes the conversation. When a client sees their own sentences set with care, the questions shift from “can we make the logo bigger” to “is this what we mean”. That is a much better place to be.
A page that reads well feels considered, even before anyone notices why.
Measure, rhythm and space
Comfortable reading lives in the details. We keep body text to a measure of around sixty to seventy characters, give lines enough height to breathe, and let headings balance rather than leave a single word stranded on the last line.
Space does as much work as the letters. Generous margins slow the eye down and give each idea room; tight groupings tell the reader what belongs together. None of it is decoration. It is how a page explains itself.
Two typefaces, used with restraint
Most of our sites use no more than two families: a clear sans for the voice and, occasionally, an italic serif for the aside. Fewer choices make each one count. When the type is doing its job, the rest of the design can be quieter, and the content can lead.