--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Typography has one plain duty before it…" description: "\"Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this dut..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/emil-ruder-51885_argument_typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it_925699.png" --- # Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to… ![“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this duty.” quote by Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/emil-ruder-51885_argument_typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it_925699.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/emil-ruder-51885_argument_typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it_925699.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/emil-ruder-51885_argument_typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it_925699.png) > “Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this duty.” [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Typography's primary purpose is to clearly convey written information, regardless of artistic choices. **In simple terms:** Typography must always be readable. Key Takeaway Prioritize clarity over decoration. Themes design communication clarity Mood analytical critical Type design philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - book design - web interfaces - signage Key Concepts visual hierarchy legibility Questions to Reflect On - Can design enhance meaning without sacrificing clarity? - When is ornamentation appropriate? A Different Perspective Aesthetic choices can sometimes hinder readability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Graphic design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-design/) [Text message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text-message/) [Typography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typography/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it-and-that-is-to-convey-2/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [They should make new ways to better design buildings and books. The computer was the end of Swiss typography!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-should-make-new-ways-to-better-design-buildings-and-books-the/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [A printed work, which cannot be read, becomes a product without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/a-printed-work-which-cannot-be-read-becomes-a-product-without-purpose/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [Objects are better than text at conveying narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/objects-are-better-than-text-at-conveying-narrative/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [The purpose of all my photos is to capture the power of nature and convey it in a way that inspires someone to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lik/the-purpose-of-all-my-photos-is-to-capture-the-power-of-nature-and/) Peter Lik > [I do what I can to convey what I experience before nature and most often, in order to succeed in conveying what I feel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-do-what-i-can-to-convey-what-i-experience-before-nature-and-most/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [In a 22-page comic, figuring an average of four to five panels a page and a couple of full-page shots, a writer has maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-waid/in-a-22-page-comic-figuring-an-average-of-four-to-five-panels-a-page/) [Mark Waid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-waid/) > [The life we led was a proof of man's capacity for adaptation.I think that even the condemned souls in purgatory after time develop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-life-we-led-was-a-proof-of-man-s-capacity-for-adaptation-i-think/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [The expressive techniques of painting are capable of conveying an analogy but not an impossible photograph of a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-vuillard/the-expressive-techniques-of-painting-are-capable-of-conveying-an/) [Edouard Vuillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-vuillard/) > [Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. 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Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [Suddenly the full long wail of a ship's horn surged through the open window and flooded the dim room - a cry of boundless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/suddenly-the-full-long-wail-of-a-ship-s-horn-surged-through-the-open/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) ## More by Emil Ruder > [A printed work, which cannot be read, becomes a product without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/a-printed-work-which-cannot-be-read-becomes-a-product-without-purpose/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [To design is to plan, to order, to relate, and to control. In short, it opposes all means of disorder and accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/to-design-is-to-plan-to-order-to-relate-and-to-control-in-short-it/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it-and-that-is-to-convey-2/) [Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/) > [They should make new ways to better design buildings and books. 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