A student asked in an email: Can you tell me about any particular typographic rules or details?

I hate those big questions. Any particular rules? Hundreds! All written down in my books. One particular one quickly: Text is usually set too tightly and with too big a wordspace. One of the legacies of Quark Xpress. Always set the optimum wordspace (under H&J) to 80% or less in unjustified setting. And increase tracking by at least 2 units (that’ll be 10 in InDesign) for sizes under 12 pt. If that makes the copy run too long, simply decrease the size by 0.1 or 0.2 pt. That actually increases space between lines (aka leading) and by giving the type a little more room to breathe, makes
a more legible even though it’s a little smaller.

Don’t open tracking for my new typeface, FF Unit, as i have designed it to be generous at small sizes.