Using the right dashes — Typesetting tips and tricks

We talk a lot about typefaces at Pangram Pangram (obviously). But what about actually using them once you’ve chosen the perfect font? That’s when typesetting comes in — the art of arrangement, composition and setting text correctly. There are of course many many rules for typesetting, and whilst we love a rule breaker, it’s always good to know the rules before you break them. So, here we are, dishing out the basics so you can get on with the good stuff, safe in the knowledge that behind-the-scenes things are just right.

This week we’re talking small but mighty — from the smallest of the small to the biggest of the, well, still small. Yes that’s right, it’s dashes. Boring you may scream! Nope. In fact, knowing which dash to use and when can take your work from feeling just a bit… studenty, to a professional that just knows what they’re doing. 

So… which one to use and when? Let’s go in size order!

Firstly, the humble hyphen -

Hyphens are a punctuation mark that are used to join words, or bits of words. In typesetting, they can be used at the end of a line of text to break a word in its middle to reduce ragging. Hyphens are super overused with many people confusing them with the correct dashes such as en and em dashes, so make sure you aren’t just defaulting to using hyphens all the time.

E.g. Pangram has the know-how about dashes.

Keyboard shortcut: dash key 

Next up, the en dash –

En dashes are mostly used to show ranges. It’s the dash way of saying from this to that. When you’re setting dates make sure to use these and not hyphens.

E.g. The exhibition runs from January 13th – February 1st.

Keyboard shortcut: option + dash key

And finally the mighty em dash —

A personal fave — the em dash is an under-appreciated long and horizontal beauty. Em dashes are used to show a connection between two related parts of a sentence.

E.g. ‘Pangram makes some great typefaces — I’m going to test out Nikkei soon’

Keyboard shortcut: option + shift + dash key 

And that’s a wrap on our dash chat. From January – December, we hope you can now go forth with the know-how to use dashes correctly all year round — enjoy flexing your dash related knowledge!

Recently, we spoke to Caio, the mastermind designer behind many Pangram fan-favourites, about his latest release, PP Nikkei – an astonishing four-family collection of fonts. Find out the typeface’s origins, its potential future and more on The Pangram Paper.

Backstage with Caio

As we mentioned, the Playground’s namesake typeface has finally hit digital shelves in the form of PP Playground. Courtesy of Francesca Bolognini and Mathieu Desjardins, the five-weight family started its life deep within the research of Pangram Playground – approached as an exploration of what role script typefaces have in the modern world. Find out more soon, when we talk to Mathieu and Francesca about the semi-connected typeface but, in the meantime, give it a go yourself. 

Free to Play — Try it Now!

PANGRAM PLAYGROUND DICE SET

A collectible dice set for typography enthusiast. This dice set includes 5 playground dice and an acrylic display case. Disclaimer: playing with this dice set is highly addictive. Set effect may include making better design designs. Handle with care.

In case you need some extra inspiration for using our typefaces (or fonts?), look no further than Taylor Amy’s colourful Tea & Toast branding! Featuring Cirka in the main role, the project proves its versatility across all formats. 

Find out more about the project here.