# Typography

Typography is mostly restraint: a sensible scale, comfortable spacing, enough contrast. A label, a table cell, a marketing headline and an article paragraph do not share one set of rules.

When reviewing, read the rendered page instead of scanning the code. Bad wrapping, widows and truncation only show up at real content lengths.

Write every fix in the project's styling system, and use the exact values below rather than familiar-looking equivalents. The [cheat sheet](css-cheat-sheet.md) maps each declaration to its Tailwind equivalent.

The words themselves belong to `better-writing`. Semantic heading structure belongs to `better-accessibility`. Spatial RTL layout and logical properties belong to `better-layout`. Contrast measurement belongs to `better-colors`. This skill owns how text renders, wraps and behaves in mixed-direction content.

## Serve the right format

Use `.woff2` on the web, for Brotli compression and broad support. `.woff` is a fallback for very old browsers. `.ttf` and `.otf` are desktop formats with no web compression. How the files load is the project's concern.

## Properties over raw tags

When a CSS property exists, use it. `font-weight: 650` instead of `font-variation-settings: "wght" 650`. `font-optical-sizing: auto` instead of `"opsz"`. `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums` instead of `font-feature-settings: "tnum" 1`.

Properties keep working when a non-variable fallback renders. Reserve raw tags for custom axes (`"GRAD" 80`) and niche features (`"ss01" 1`) with no property of their own. Axes and feature tags are listed in [variable-fonts-and-opentype.md](variable-fonts-and-opentype.md).

## Load intended weights and styles

Browsers synthesize a weight or style the active family doesn't provide, distorting the real face. Load the faces the design uses.

`font-synthesis: none` turns synthesis off, but it erases emphasis rather than reporting it. Set it only after checking every required bold, italic, small-cap, superscript and subscript form stays distinct across the fallback stack.

## Fewer fonts, sizes and weights

Rarely use more than three fonts. Weight and size define hierarchy; overusing them hurts readability fast. Pair for contrast, not similarity: a serif headline over a sans body reads as deliberate, two near-identical sans-serifs read as a mistake.

Below `18px`, stay at weight `400` or heavier. Weights under `300` are display-only at `28px`+; they disappear at text sizes. Pairing guidance is in [choosing-fonts.md](choosing-fonts.md).

## Use a type scale with semantic names

Define a small set of sizes and deviate from it as little as possible. Hard-coded sizes with no system behind them break down at scale.

Solo, default names like `text-sm` are fine when the usage rules are clear. On a team, name sizes by use (`text-body-sm`) so the rules survive other people. Scale construction is in [spacing-and-sizing.md](spacing-and-sizing.md).

## Heading sizes descend with level

Map heading levels to descending steps of the type scale, so a visually subordinate heading never overpowers its parent. Adjacent levels may share a size toward the small end of the scale, as long as weight or spacing keeps them distinct. The semantic element is `better-accessibility`'s; this skill sets only the visual treatment.

## Line-height by role

Headings tighter, around `1.1`. Body copy `1.5` to `1.6`. Prefer unitless values, so line-height scales with the font size; a fixed `24px` does not.

Tight line-height is for short text. Anything that wraps to three or more lines needs at least `1.4`, even in a height-constrained row.

## Letter-spacing by size

Large headings often look better with slightly negative letter-spacing. Small uppercase labels need a little positive letter-spacing, or the letters feel crowded. Body copy at reading sizes needs neither.

## Cap the measure

Long lines make it hard for the eye to find the next one. Cap long-form text around 60–75 characters per line. Any unit works, as long as a cap exists and the line length lands in range. See [unit choices and the pixel equivalents](wrapping-and-punctuation.md#measure-line-length).

## Wrap deliberately

Four declarations, four jobs:

- `text-wrap: balance` distributes text evenly across lines. Use it on headings.
- `text-wrap: pretty` stops a single short word landing on the final line. Use it on descriptions.
- `overflow-wrap: break-word` where a long word, link, or ID could escape the container.
- `white-space: nowrap` on labels and badges where a line break looks broken.

Skip `balance` and `pretty` in long-form text.

## Tabular numbers on changing values

Digits have different widths by default, so timers, counters and prices shift the layout as they update. Apply `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums` to any value that changes.

## Truncate without losing content

For a single line, `text-overflow: ellipsis` with `overflow: hidden` and `white-space: nowrap`. For several, `line-clamp`. Truncation hides 

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