Typography Cleanup Specialist

---
name: typography-cleanup
description: "Audits a site's typography and standardizes font sizes, weights, and line heights for consistency and readability."
metadata:
  tags: "typography, web-design, visual-design, font-scale, font-consistency, line-height, ux-readability"
  source: "https://skilldb.dev/skills/web-polish-skills/typography-cleanup"
  pack: "web-polish-skills"
  category: "Visual Arts & Design"
---

# Typography Cleanup Specialist

## When to use this skill
Use when the user says things like:
- "Clean up typography on my website"
- "I need consistent font sizes and line heights"
- "Audit typography scale across the site"
- "Standardize fonts and weights"
- "Fix typographic rhythm for readability"


You are a typographer who fixes the single most visible design problem in vibecoded websites:
font inconsistency. When 15 different font sizes appear across a site instead of 7, when
headings don't follow a clear hierarchy, when line heights vary randomly — users feel it
immediately even if they can't name it. You make text feel intentional.

## The Typical Mess

A vibecoded site's typography audit usually reveals:

```
Font sizes found: 11px, 12px, 13px, 14px, 15px, 16px, 17px, 18px, 20px, 22px, 24px,
                  28px, 30px, 32px, 36px, 40px, 48px

Font weights found: 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800

Line heights found: 1, 1.2, 1.25, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.75, 2, normal, 20px, 24px, 28px

Font families found: 'Inter', 'Helvetica', system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif,
                     'Roboto', 'Open Sans', inherit
```

The fix: reduce to a clean scale and apply it consistently.

## The Clean Type Scale

### Choosing a Scale

Pick a type scale based on the site's personality:

```
Perfect Fourth (1.333) — Compact, good for data-dense dashboards:
12 → 14 → 16 → 18 → 21 → 24 → 28 → 32

Major Third (1.250) — Balanced, good for most sites:
12 → 14 → 16 → 18 → 20 → 24 → 30 → 36

Perfect Fifth (1.500) — Dramatic, good for marketing sites:
12 → 14 → 16 → 18 → 24 → 30 → 36 → 48
```

### The Recommended Scale (Major Third)

```css
:root {
  /* Font families — TWO max */
  --font-sans: 'Inter', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif;
  --font-mono: 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira Code', Consolas, monospace;

  /* Type scale — 8 sizes, clean ratios */
  --text-xs:   0.75rem;    /* 12px — captions, fine print */
  --text-sm:   0.875rem;   /* 14px — secondary text, labels */
  --text-base: 1rem;       /* 16px — body text, default */
  --text-lg:   1.125rem;   /* 18px — large body, intro text */
  --text-xl:   1.25rem;    /* 20px — small headings */
  --text-2xl:  1.5rem;     /* 24px — section headings */
  --text-3xl:  1.875rem;   /* 30px — page headings */
  --text-4xl:  2.25rem;    /* 36px — hero headings */

  /* Font weights — 3 max */
  --font-normal:   400;    /* Body text */
  --font-medium:   500;    /* Labels, emphasis */
  --font-semibold: 600;    /* Headings, buttons */
  /* Reserve 700 (bold) for rare emphasis only */

  /* Line heights — paired with sizes */
  --leading-tight:   1.25; /* Headings (text-xl and above) */
  --leading-snug:    1.375; /* Large body text */
  --leading-normal:  1.5;  /* Body text (text-base and below) */
  --leading-relaxed: 1.625; /* Long-form reading */

  /* Letter spacing */
  --tracking-tight:  -0.025em; /* Large headings */
  --tracking-normal: 0;        /* Body text */
  --tracking-wide:   0.05em;   /* Uppercase labels, captions */
}
```

### Semantic Type Styles

Define named styles so components reference roles, not raw values:

```css
/* Display — hero headlines */
.text-display {
  font-size: var(--text-4xl);
  font-weight: var(--font-semibold);
  line-height: var(--leading-tight);
  letter-spacing: var(--tracking-tight);
}

/* Heading — page titles */
.text-heading {
  font-size: var(--text-3xl);
  font-weight: var(--font-semibold);
  line-height: var(--leading-tight);
  letter-spacing: var(--tracking-tight);
}

/* Subheading — section titles */
.text-subheading {
  font-size: var(--text-2xl);
  font-weight: var(--font-semibold);
  line-height: var(--leading-tight);
}

/* Title — card titles, list headers */
.text-title {
  font-size: var(--text-xl);
  font-weight: var(--font-medium);
  line-height: var(--leading-snug);
}

/* Body — default text */
.text-body {
  font-size: var(--text-base);
  font-weight: var(--font-normal);
  line-height: var(--leading-normal);
}

/* Body small — secondary content */
.text-body-sm {
  font-size: var(--text-sm);
  font-weight: var(--font-normal);
  line-height: var(--leading-normal);
}

/* Caption — metadata, timestamps, fine print */
.text-caption {
  font-size: var(--text-xs);
  font-weight: var(--font-normal);
  line-height: var(--leading-normal);
  color: var(--color-text-secondary);
}

/* Label — form labels, button text, badges */
.text-label {
  font-size: var(--text-sm);
  font-weight: var(--font-medium);
  line-height: 1;
}

/* Overline — section labels, category markers */
.text-overline {
  font-size: var(--text-xs);
  font-weight: var(--font-semibold);
  line-height: 1;
  letter-spacing: var(--tracking-wide);
  text-transform: uppercase;
}
```

## The Cleanup Process

### Step 1: Audit

Extract every unique typography value from the codebase:

```bash
# Font sizes
grep -roh 'font-size:\s*[^;]*' src/ | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
grep -roh 'text-\(xs\|sm\|base\|lg\|xl\|2xl\|3xl\|4xl\|5xl\|6xl\|\[.*\]\)' src/ | sort | uniq -c

# Font weights
grep -roh 'font-weight:\s*[^;]*' src/ | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
grep -roh 'font-\(thin\|light\|normal\|medium\|semibold\|bold\|extrabold\|black\)' src/ | sort | uniq -c

# Line heights
grep -roh 'line-height:\s*[^;]*' src/ | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
grep -roh 'leading-\(none\|tight\|snug\|normal\|relaxed\|loose\)' src/ | sort | uniq -c

# Font families
grep -roh "font-family:\s*[^;]*" src/ | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
```

### Step 2: Build a Migration Map

Map every found value to its nearest scale value:

```
FOUND          → REPLACE WITH    → REASON
11px           → var(--text-xs)   → Round to 12px
13px           → var(--text-sm)   → Round to 14px
15px           → var(--text-base) → Round to 16px
17px           → var(--text-lg)   → Round to 18px
22px           → var(--text-xl)   → Round to 20px
28px           → var(--text-2xl)  → Round to 24px
32px           → var(--text-3xl)  → Round to 30px
40px, 48px     → var(--text-4xl)  → Round to 36px

font-weight:300 → var(--font-normal)   → Drop light weight
font-weight:800 → var(--font-semibold) → Drop extra-bold

'Roboto'       → DROP             → Consolidate to Inter
'Open Sans'    → DROP             → Consolidate to Inter
'Helvetica'    → DROP             → Consolidate to Inter
```

### Step 3: Apply File by File

Replace values mechanically, one file at a time. Don't redesign — just map to the
nearest clean scale value. The site should look virtually identical after, just
more consistent.

### Step 4: Visual Review

After migration, scan every page looking for:
- Text that's now too big or too small (wrong mapping)
- Headings that don't follow h1 > h2 > h3 visual hierarchy
- Body text that feels too tight or too loose (line-height issue)
- Labels that no longer look like labels (weight issue)

## Responsive Typography

For marketing/content sites, use fluid typography that scales with viewport:

```css
:root {
  --text-base: clamp(0.9375rem, 0.9rem + 0.2vw, 1.0625rem);   /* 15-17px */
  --text-lg:   clamp(1.0625rem, 1rem + 0.3vw, 1.1875rem);      /* 17-19px */
  --text-xl:   clamp(1.1875rem, 1rem + 0.9vw, 1.5rem);         /* 19-24px */
  --text-2xl:  clamp(1.4375rem, 1rem + 2.2vw, 2rem);           /* 23-32px */
  --text-3xl:  clamp(1.75rem, 1rem + 3.8vw, 2.75rem);          /* 28-44px */
  --text-4xl:  clamp(2.1875rem, 1rem + 6vw, 3.75rem);          /* 35-60px */
}
```

For dashboards and apps, use fixed sizes — fluid type in data-dense UI is disorienting.

## Anti-Patterns

- Don't use more than 2 font families. If you need emphasis, use weight and size, not a new font.
- Don't use font-weight 300 (light) for body text — it's hard to read on most screens.
- Don't set line-height as a fixed pixel value — use unitless ratios so they scale with font size.
- Don't skip sizes in the heading hierarchy. If you use h1 and h3, the missing h2 is confusing.
- Don't use `text-transform: uppercase` on long text. It kills readability. Only on short labels.
- Don't mix rem and px. Pick one (rem preferred) and use it everywhere.