Highlighting

It may be useful to highlight words or passages in a text body.

If there are several differently highlighted elements according to their hierarchy in the document, all respective elements must be highlighted in the same way.

Examples for the most common ways of highlighting:

• italic (oblique)

  underlined

  spaced

  bold

  different font

  small caps

High-contrast emphasis means that the highlighted passages immediately attract attention. Such contrasty highlights are achieved by using semi-bold or bold passages. You could also use small capitals or majuscules.

Harmonic emphasis is created if the highlighted passages are set to italic. It is called "harmonic" because the passage blends into the general typeface. It is only perceived when reading through the text, and doesn't catch the eye when the reader looks at the page.

If possible, you should use a separate italic type style for harmonic highlighting. Unfortunately, though, there is not always one available, as I've mentioned in Font Quality.