Type Headings

Kicker

A kicker consists of a few words which introduce or lead into your headline.
Kickers are useful for stating the category of an article (Missions, From the Pastor, Christian Education, etc.).
Kickers are usually typed in capital letters.

The subtitle leads the reader into the body text, which is divided into sections by descriptive subheadings. Often, kickers are in all-caps.

This is a Subheading

Subheadings help the reader along by showing how the information is organized and breaking it into smaller pieces.

Bullets are Good, Too

Bullets, explained on the Other Type Tricks page, are another way to visually organize information.

For instance, bullets can list the type headings explained on the right:

Kicker
Headline
Subtitle
Subheadings

A Matched Set

The kicker, headline, and subtitle should be thought of as a single unit. Write them together, knowing that readers will probably read all three parts.

Determine everything you'd like to put in a headline, then divide that information among the three parts--kicker, headline, and subtitle (keeping in mind the role of each part).

That way, you won't try to put too much information into the headline, but can spread out everything you want to say to grab the reader's attention.

The Headline

The headline is the most important graphic element. It's what first grabs people's attention, what readers see first.
The headline should lead readers into the text. That's a big task. It means the reader must stop scanning and start concentrating.
The most readable headlines capitalize only the first letter of each word.
If you're using uppercase letters, keep the headline to a few words.
Don't center headlines that go more than two lines. They are more difficult to read than flush-left headlines.
Never hyphenate headlines.
Never leave one word on the second line of a headline. Try to keep the lines of multiple-line headlines about the same length.
Headlines should be 2-4 times the size of body copy; otherwise, they won't stand out.
Printing headlines in black (as opposed to another color) gives you the maximum contrast against a white background.

Subtitles

Subtitles build on headlines to give readers more information about the article. They serve as a bridge to the text, and perhaps as a teaser.
Subtitles give important facts that don't make it into headlines.
Subtitles are usually about one-half the size of headlines. If a headline is 36 point, the subtitle may be 18 point.

Subheadings

Subheads divide the text into sections. They make copy more inviting, less crowded. They cut out the grayness caused by too much type.
By skimming over the subheadings, readers can get a good idea of how the information is organized and outlined, and what kind of information is included in each section.
Subheads are often larger than the type used in the body copy, and always stand out in some way. They usually appear in bold type, flush left, with a line of space between them and the preceding paragraph.
The visual breaks created by subheadings let reader knows when one subject is done and you're making a transition of some kind.