Typography is not merely the process of arranging font on a page. It is a living creature; it feels joy in an exclamation point, takes deep sighs at periods, grabs consciousness with each bold strike and begs for understanding in the space between every italic. It has intricate rhythm and harmony, staccato paragraphs and legato headers that blend into a melody of enlightened web design. Typography is an art as much as it is an essential design process, and it is one that is best understood by focusing on the contrast between textual elements in a given design.

Typographic contrast is the art of using different type to expose the meaning of content. It is the pop that grabs the attention of the audience, halting text from rendering as dense and oppressive drabness. Contrast should be minimal; it should maintain harmony with other design elements yet also indicate hierarchy, relationship, and emotive content.