Font Sizes, Families, Styles, and Colors

Use size commands to establish a visual hierarchy, font families and styles to distinguish prose, terms, and code, and xcolor for a small set of meaningful colors. Let the document class or template determine the main body style.

EasyLaTeX compiler setting: pdfLaTeX; this page uses xcolor. PDF fonts are determined by the template and compilation settings, not by the editor's display font. For custom font files, choose a compatible platform engine such as LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX and a template configuration that reads the uploaded project resource.

Relative Font Sizes#

LaTeX provides sizes relative to the document's base size:

{\small Smaller explanatory text}
{\large A larger subheading}
{\Large A larger heading}

Use braces to limit the scope. Set the body size globally with a class option such as \documentclass[12pt]{article}, rather than applying \fontsize to every paragraph.

Explicit Font Sizes#

When a specification requires an exact size, \fontsize{size}{baseline}\selectfont sets the font size and baseline distance:

{\fontsize{12}{14.4}\selectfont 12-point text}
{\fontsize{16}{19.2}\selectfont 16-point heading}

Sizes are measured in TeX points. Prefer the template's own size commands whenever available.

Font Families#

Common family commands include:

\textrm{Serif body text}
\textsf{Sans-serif interface label}
\texttt{monospace-code}

Use \texttt for short commands, filenames, and identifiers; put long code in a code environment. The PDF font depends on the project template and font resources available to platform compilation, not fonts installed on your own computer.

Combining Styles#

Combine families with bold or italic where appropriate:

\textbf{A bold conclusion}
\textit{English terminology}
\texttt{\textbf{warning}}

Not every font provides every weight or shape. If glyphs are missing or a style is substituted, fix the font configuration rather than stacking more style commands.

Defining and Using Colors#

Load xcolor to use predefined colors or define a project color:

\usepackage{xcolor}
\definecolor{noticeblue}{HTML}{1F5A94}

\textcolor{noticeblue}{Important information}
\colorbox{yellow!20}{A note on a light background}

Colors should identify links, warnings, or categories. Keep information distinguishable in grayscale and do not rely on color alone to convey an essential difference.

Common Problems#

Size or Color Leaks into Following Text#

Size commands and \color are declarations. Limit them with {...} or use \textcolor{color}{text}.

Color Replaces Document Structure#

Color does not create a table of contents, numbering, or accessible hierarchy. Use heading commands such as \section, and emphasize important content with clear wording and appropriate styles.

Bold or Italic Looks Wrong#

Check that the selected font has the required weight and shape, and inspect substitution warnings. Use emphasis purposefully rather than applying it to large passages.

Complete Example#

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\definecolor{noticeblue}{HTML}{1F5A94}

\begin{document}

{\fontsize{16}{19.2}\selectfont\textbf{Experiment Report}\par}

The body uses the base font size. {\small This is a smaller supplementary note.}

\textsf{Interface label}, \texttt{main.tex}  and 
\textcolor{noticeblue}{An important conclusion}  use different text styles.

\end{document}