Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
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Quick answers
When should I pick Typography scale?
When the story is: decks, handouts, classroom posters, resume headers.
When should I avoid Typography scale?
Skip it in cases like: random point sizes per slide with no shared ratio.
Who invented or popularised it?
Classical modular scales; modern UI ramps in open font ecosystems
What does it encode?
relative font sizes on a ratio (major third, perfect fourth, etc.)
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
Typography scale encodes values as relative font sizes on a ratio (major third, perfect fourth, etc.). Classical modular scales; modern UI ramps in open font ecosystems.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits decks, handouts, classroom posters, resume headers. Skip it when random point sizes per slide with no shared ratio.
Mistakes
- Failure modes 1 — random point sizes per slide with no shared ratio
- Failure modes 2 — 3-D pies and perspective bars
- Failure modes 3 — Dual axes that fake a correlation
- Failure modes 4 — Truncated axes that shout a small delta
- Failure modes 5 — Legend only, no direct labels
- Failure modes 6 — Missing source, unit or period
Fixes
- Fixes 1 — Return to decks, handouts, classroom posters, resume headers.
- Fixes 2 — Flat, one axis, direct labels.
- Fixes 3 — Color-blind-safe palette plus pattern.
- Fixes 4 — Rewrite the title as a claim and add a source line.
Typography scale: honour relative font sizes on a ratio (major third, perfect fourth, etc.), and switch when random point sizes per slide with no shared ratio.