Typography for the Web of Information

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Overview

This document is a discussion of typographical design on the Web.  The focus is business, research, and applications data.  This document does not seek to examine the aesthetics of marketing, advertising, and art on the web, although many of the concepts within will apply to these arenas.

The intended audience for this document is anyone who has a stake in producing a large-scale implementation of Internet-based information technology.  This includes Web Developers, Graphic Designers, IT Directors/Consultants, and Technical Writers.  While the primary goal is to establish an aesthetic for large-scale text publishing on the web, the underlying technologies and tools will determine this aesthetic.  Therefore, it is crucial for anyone involved in the development process, from the back-end programmer to the end-user, to understand the opportunities and limitations inherent in the web as an information delivery format.

Understanding effective typography on the Web requires examination of available technologies, current real-world implementations of these technologies, and the limitations and challenges imposed by these implementations.  By analyzing the successes and failures of design on the web, and looking towards current trends in information design, we can attempt to create a more holistic view of typography as a usable, functional part of design. 

Additionally, this document seeks to look beyond the web itself as a delivery format, towards an approaching convergence of digital media.  Beyond the era where tools and methodologies are strictly tied to their distribution formats, a promise of the Internet is cost-effective, worldwide-scale publishing; a concept which requires more than Web browsers to be truly useful.  By examining the web as media, we can better understand the realities which will effect our design.