Practical Typography

I've spent the past couple of days reading Matthew Butterick's Practical Typography.

I've cared about good design and typography for years. But I couldn't actually do it myself.

Butterick's book helped changed that. It lives up to its name—it's incredibly, almost frustratingly practical. Not in a "here are some vague principles" way, but in a "here's exactly what font size to use for body text and why" way. The kind of practical that makes you immediately want to fix everything you've ever made.

So I did. I bought my first professional typeface and installed it here. I'm also working on upgrading all the typography at The Table Church—our website, our slides, everything.

This might seem like overkill. Who really notices the difference between Georgia and some professionally-designed serif font? Who cares if the line spacing is 120% or 140%?

More people than you'd think. Or rather, everyone notices—they just don't know they're noticing.

This is one of those cases where sweating the small stuff makes a big difference. Typography is like lighting in a restaurant or the soundtrack in a movie. When it's done well, you don't consciously register it. You just feel more comfortable, more engaged, more willing to stay and read.

When it's done poorly, something feels off. The page feels harder to read. Less trustworthy. Less professional. You might not be able to name what's wrong, but you feel it.

These small details communicate care. They say: "I took time with this. I thought about you, the reader. This matters to me."

I'm not saying you need to become a typography expert. But if you care about how your work shows up in the world—whether that's a church, a blog, a business, or just the occasional document you send to colleagues—Butterick's book is worth your time.

It's practical enough that you'll actually implement it. And short enough that you won't feel like you're back in design school.

Highly recommended.