Structural Forms & Devices, Pages 61-75

March 10th, 2022

After reading this chapter in Structural Forms and Devices in Elements of Typographic Style, the one element that stuck out to me the most was in regard to when the author begins talking about headings and subheadings. Of course, this book is all about typography and the art of type in general. But, I found myself being extremely intrigued by what Robert Bringhurst was saying in terms of styling and the appropriate time to use headings and subheadings.

Bringhurst begins the section by exclaiming to the audience that the heading and subheadings should match the overall style that the designer is going for in both the layout and type. He begins by saying that the designer should first choose whether or not the subheading will be symmetrical, or asymmetrical to ensure that the heading is prominent on the page. This thought process makes sense due to the simple job of a heading. The heading is supposed to inform the reader of what will come after, but also draw attention to the heading before the actual paragraph itself. As a young designer, these are the elements of a type that I have not taken into full consideration when completing body copy and headers myself. How the audience reads and reacts to the type on a page is essential to the order in which information should be given, and then as a result comprehended by an audience.

Bringhurst then goes on to establish that a designer may use as many levels of headings as necessary to complete the job. This is true, as long as the designer has chosen to either maintain the subheading as either symmetrical or asymmetrical. Additionally, our author emphasizes that hierarchy is also necessary when stacking numerous subheadings onto one another. The loudest, biggest, boldest, and most important headings should reside on the top of the page, significantly getting smaller as the body copy travels the page.

The idea of justifying numerous headings seemed strange to me at first. How can type look presentable if there is an abundance of headings on a singular page? However, after reading what Bringhurst said in terms of hierarchy and maintaining style, I can understand and see how one may be able to implement numerous headings and subheadings onto a page without distracting from the actual body copy itself.