Auditing Typography
The audit finds 23 font sizes, 3 font families and 6 weights across Tiffinbox's products. At the same time, the customer app has just launched in Hindi and Tamil, and some button labels now spill onto two lines or get cut off. Typography is where consistency and language meet, so audit both together.
The rule
A few sizes on one scale, named by role, tested in every language you ship.
Collect every text style in use: family, size, weight, line height and letter spacing, and note what each is used for: page titles, section headings, body text, captions, button labels.
Reduce to a type scale. A type scale is a short, deliberate set of sizes. Thali settles on six:
| Token | Size | Role |
|---|---|---|
text-caption |
12 px | Small print, timestamps |
text-body-small |
14 px | Secondary details |
text-body |
16 px | Main reading text |
text-title |
20 px | Card and dialog titles |
text-heading |
24 px | Section headings |
text-display |
32 px | Page titles |
Keep weights to two or three, such as regular, medium and bold, and give body text a comfortable line height, roughly 1.4 to 1.6 times the font size.
Test every language you ship. Regional requirements show up in text first:
- Scripts. The chosen font must support every script you use, such as Devanagari for Hindi and Tamil script for Tamil. Many Indian scripts have marks above and below the letters, so they often need more line height than English.
- Length. Translations are often longer than the English original, so labels and buttons must be allowed to grow or wrap.
- Direction. Languages such as Urdu and Arabic read right to left, and the whole layout mirrors.
- Formats. Numbers, dates and currency follow local rules: Indian grouping writes one lakh rupees as ₹1,00,000.
The shortcut
Role, not pixel. Map every size in the audit to the role it plays. Two sizes playing the same role get merged. Then put the longest real translation into the tightest spot.
Map to roles
15 px, 15.5 px and 16 px are all used for main reading text.
Drills
Answer fast — trust the rule.
The audit finds 13 px, 14 px and 14.5 px all used for secondary details. What should happen?
Why do many Indian scripts often need more line height than English?
A button has a fixed width that fits "Place order". What regional problem does this invite?
How should one lakh rupees appear for Indian users?
Remember
- A few sizes on one scale, named by role, tested in every language you ship.
- Shortcut: role, not pixel. Merge sizes that play the same role, then test the longest translation in the tightest spot.
- Trap: fixed-width text boxes and fonts or line heights chosen with only English in mind.