The 150 design choices

Fields defined by rows and columns; every element snaps to modules.

Vertical columns structure text and image; vertical placement is free.

A single centred or justified block descended from book typography.

Content partitioned into rounded tiles or cards of varied size.

Elements mirrored around a central axis; formal and stable.

Off-centre balance from the tension between unequal masses.

Composition driven by tilted axes and oblique movement.

Elements radiate from, or orbit around, a centre.

Overlapping fragments, cut-outs and stacked planes.

A grid is implied and then deliberately violated or deconstructed.

Text and image follow curving, natural paths instead of a grid.

No focal point; the whole surface is filled evenly, like a textile.

Content held in borders, cartouches or compartments.

Image or colour runs off every edge; no protective margins.

A single object or figure isolated on a plain ground.

Calligraphic stress and bracketed serifs: Jenson, Garamond, Bembo.

Upright stress and sharper contrast: Baskerville, Times.

Hairline serifs and extreme stroke contrast: Bodoni, Didot.

Heavy, square serifs: Egyptians, Clarendons, typewriter slabs.

Neutral, rational sans: Akzidenz-Grotesk, Helvetica, Univers.

Built from circle and line: Futura, Avant Garde, Circular.

Pen-derived proportions: Gill Sans, Frutiger, Myriad.

Soft, rounded terminals; friendly and toy-like.

Gothic textura and fraktur forms.

Joined, cursive or copperplate letterforms.

Calligraphy as structure: Arabic, East Asian, broad-pen Latin.

Custom drawn or painted letters rather than set fonts.

Inline, shaded, Tuscan or fantasy display faces.

Tall, narrow, heavy letters for impact.

Bridged letterforms evoking crates, military or industrial marking.

Fixed-width typewriter or code letterforms.

Letters constructed on a pixel grid.

Stretched, fragmented, layered or deliberately hard-to-read letters.

Capitals for monumentality, order or shouting.

Capitals rejected as unnecessary.

Letters so large they become the picture.

Asymmetric, unjustified text setting.

Lines set at angles, stacked or running vertically.

Many typefaces and sizes combined in one composition.

Letters and lines crowded together, touching or overlapping.

Airy, generously spaced letters, usually capitals.

Circle, square and triangle as building blocks.

Orthogonal bars, blocks and lines.

Chevrons, zigzags, sunbursts and faceted shards.

Repeated lines and modules that vibrate or warp perception.

Soft, cell-like, plant-like forms.

Sinuous, energetic S-curves.

Soft corners, capsules and blobs.

Playful scribbles, dots and fragments scattered across the field.

Pure form with no depicted subject.

Simplified, flattened people and objects.

Reduced, systematic signs.

Realistic, illusionistic rendering.

Elongated, warped or grotesque figures.

Decoration rejected; form follows function.

A few rules, dingbats or flourishes.

Decoration is primary content.

Leaves, vines, flowers, acanthus.

Interlaced stars, tilings, strapwork.

Culturally coded motifs, glyphs and talismans.

Decorative frames, cartouches and rules around content.

Thick bars, lines and dots as structural accents.

Stars, suns, orbits, sparkles and planets.

Seals, crests, roundels and badges.

Carved relief printing.

Metal and wood type printed in relief.

Brush and paint applied directly to the final surface.

Direct manual drawing and writing in ink.

Stone or chromolithographic printing.

Flat stencil-printed inks, often opaque or fluorescent.

Industrial four-colour and spot-colour offset.

Xerox and other cheap reproduction.

Stencil duplicator printing with soy inks.

Early Mac/PC layout, bitmap fonts and PostScript.

HTML/CSS rendered in the browser.

Operating-system and mobile interfaces.

Animated, time-based work: titles, broadcast, video.

Code, parametric systems or machine-learning models.

Buildings, wayfinding, vehicles and the street.

Weaving, dyeing, embroidery and applied craft.