Good typography on the Internet: is it even possible?

Conclusion

Web design allows things which are unthinkable in print design. The simple ability to make huge masses of information easily navigable is excellent on its own, but the possibilities go much further than this. The content of pages can become interactive, responding to the user with rollovers and dynamic content, and server tricks mean pages can be customised for the end user.

Compared to print, there are many serious problems to be faced when designing for the Web. But we do avoid the frustrating print-related headaches such as colour separation problems, ink saturation woes, smudging, PostScript errors and so on.

Web design requires a broad understanding of all sorts of visual and technical issues. This doesn’t mean designers have to learn how to program or write high-level HTML by hand; the latest Web design software can do the grunt work for you as efficiently as the best human coders.

Creating clear, informative Web sites with good on-screen typography isn’t simple, but it is important. If you remember the key issues your work should become more effective, whether your background is design or coding. The Web needs people with cross-discipline skills. If you can achieve this you’ll be in demand.