Practical Typography

I just finished up reading a book that was way out of my wheelhouse; Butterick’s Practical Typography is an introduction to modern typographical practices. A colleague recommended I read it, and share what I thought about it. Online economics One of the more interesting elements of the book is the monetisation model it uses. Butterick argues that unless we pay for writing, we necessarily encourage other economic models. Advertising. Paywalls. Things that erode the vitality and quality of the open web. Instead, he makes the book freely available, but asks that you pay for it if you get value from it, commensurate with the amount you’d pay for a real book. I think this is laudable, but ultimately I’m a cynic when it comes to human behaviour and economic models. The gap between $0 and $1 is like a gulf of a thousand miles, compared to the gap between $1 and $2. Free is a category all of its own. If you want to grow to a billion users, you have to offer a free service. That leaves…

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