"What is typesetting?"
Arranging the text in a visually appealing and readable way.
Typesetting: The Art of Layout and Design
Typesetting is the art of arranging written language in a visually appealing and readable way. It involves the selection of typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing, and letter-spacing, and adjusting the space between pairs of letters.
Good typesetting can make a piece of writing more accessible, improving its legibility and overall appeal. Typesetting not only affects readability but also evokes a certain mood or feeling in the reader that can enhance the meaning of the text.
Typesetting is a crucial component of publishing, but it's become more accessible with the advent of desktop publishing software, while the demand for typesetting in the digital age has increased, with web designers and graphic designers needing to create visually appealing layouts.
Here are two examples of how authors have used typesetting to enhance their works—one through words and the other through a book's design.
The French author collective Oulipo wrote La Disparition without the letter 'e' to showcase the artistry of typesetting in creating a cohesive whole.
Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves uses complex typesetting to convey the disjointed and disorienting nature of the story with its footnotes, rearranged text, and meandering page layouts.