Smart vs. Straight Quotes

I often find myself pulling out my already short-cropped hair when I see people using straight quotes. For most, it’s likely out of innocent ignorance, so I feel it’s my professional duty to share some insight on how to avoid this completely. Not sure what the difference is? See the example below.

Example of straight quote vs. smart quote in set with the font, Playfair Display.

Many may not know this, but straight quotes were invented for use on typewriters. Due to physical and mechanical constraints, only so many keys could fit on a typewriter’s keyboard. Using straight quotes instead of curly quotes freed up two slots for other characters, making them preferable at the time. However, today we no longer use typewriters, so we can abandon straight quotes completely.

Typography Tip: Curly quotes are the gold standard in good typography! Say goodbye to straight quotes forever and use these shortcuts below:

Mac OSX:

• Alt + ]: Opening single curly quote ( ‘ )

• Alt + Shift + ]: Closing single curly quote ( ’ )

• Alt + [: Opening double curly quote ( “ )

• Alt + Shift + [: Closing double curly quote ( ” )

Windows:

• Alt + 0145: Opening single curly quote ( ‘ )

• Alt + 0146: Closing single curly quote ( ’ )

• Alt + 0147: Opening double curly quote ( “ )

• Alt + 0148: Closing double curly quote ( ” )

To learn more, check out my sources: Apple, Practical Typography, and Chris Bracco.