For me, typography certainly requires an obsessive attention to detail. Typography is shaping text into an illustration. I'm not just saying that about custom lettering or headlines or special effects type. Give ten designers the same text, ask them all to use Univers 55 at a size of 12 points on an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper—hell, tell them all to set the type flush left—and you'll get ten completely different pieces of art.

Just placing a paragraph of type on an otherwise empty page creates a composition. The way you break and space the lines makes a difference, as does the way individual words are kerned. Good typography is as much about making those positive choices as it is about fixing errors—adjusting poor default kerning, for example. As such, the process never gets faster, because with every piece you learn to notice more things you like and more you don't.

Stefan G. Bucher.