In honor of National Punctuation Day, faculty Jason Santa Maria sets out to set the record straight with Smart Quotes for Smart People:
Good typography uses smart quotes, not dumb quotes. “Smart quotes,” the correct quotation marks and apostrophes, are curly or sloped. "Dumb quotes," or straight quotes, are a vestigial constraint from typewriters when using one key for two different marks helped save space on a keyboard. Unfortunately, many improper marks make their way onto websites because of dumb defaults in applications and CMSs.
Co.Design joins the plea, “Be Smart. Don’t Use Dumb Quotes” covers more detail and context.
Do the web, and Santa Maria, a favor, and take a read!
