the basics of typography.
this is a short guide to the basics of type.
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contents.
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06/07
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what is typography? what is serif and san serif?
what is kerning, tracking and leading?
what is point size?
what is the anatomy of type?
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12/13 definitions
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what is typography?
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing),
adjusting the spaces between groups of letters (tracking) and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning).
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what is serif, what is sansserif?
In typography, serifs are the small lines tailing from the edges of letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface. A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”. Some typography sources refer to sans-serif typefaces as “Grotesque” Germa“grotesk”) or “Gothic”,[2] and serif typefaces as “Roman”.
or “Gothic”, and serif typefaces as “Roman”. Serif Typefaces are meant to be better for readability which is why they are used is classic publications and text heavy books.
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what is kerning, tracking, and leading?
Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result. Kerning adjusts the space between individual letter forms.
Tracking (letter-spacing) adjusts spacing uniformly over a range of characters. In a well-kerned font, the twodimensional blank spaces between each pair of characters all have similar area.
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Leading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term originated in the days of hand-typesetting, when thin strips of lead were inserted into the formes to increase the vertical distance between lines of type.
The term is still used in modern page layout software such as Adobe InDesign. In consumer-oriented word processing software, this concept is usually referred to as “line spacing” or “interline spacing.”
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what is pt. size?
In typography, a point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The point has long been the usual unit for measuring font size and leading and other minute items on a printed page.
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this is helvetica bold, in 47 pt. this is times new roman regular, in 20 pt.
Typography Handglovery 2
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Cap Height X-height
Cap Height The height from the baseline to the top of the uppercase letters (not including diacritics).
Baseline Decender
X-Height The height of the lowercase letters, disregarding ascenders or descenders, typically exemplified by the letter x. The relationship of the x-height to the body defines the perceived type size. A typeface with a large x-height looks much bigger than a typeface with a small x-height at the same size. Baseline The imaginary line upon which the letters in a font appear to rest.
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Crossbar The (usually) horizontal stroke across the middle of uppercase ‘A’ and ‘H’ is a crossbar.
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Ascender Any part in a lowercase letter that extends above the x-height, found for example in b, d, f, h, k, etc. Some types of ascenders have specific names.
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Decender Any part in a lowercase letter that extends below the baseline, found for example in g, j, p, q, y, etc. Some types of descenders have specific names.
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Bowl The curved part of the character that encloses the circular or curved parts (counter) of some letters such as ‘d’, ‘b’, ‘o’, ‘D’, and ‘B’ is the bowl.
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Serif A serif is the flat part of the character found on serif typefaces.
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glossary.
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Cap Height The height from the baseline to the top of the uppercase letters (not including diacritics). X-Height The height of the lowercase letters, disregarding ascenders or descenders, typically exemplified by the letter x. The relationship of the x-height to the body defines the perceived type size. A typeface with a large x-height looks much bigger than a typeface with a small x-height at the same size. Baseline The imaginary line upon which the letters in a font appear to rest.
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Crossbar The (usually) horizontal stroke across the middle of uppercase ‘A’ and ‘H’ is a crossbar.
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Ascender Any part in a lowercase letter that extends above the x-height, found for example in b, d, f, h, k, etc. Some types of ascenders have specific names.
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Decender Any part in a lowercase letter that extends below the baseline, found for example in g, j, p, q, y, etc. Some types of descenders have specific names.
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Bowl The curved part of the character that encloses the circular or curved parts (counter) of some letters such as ‘d’, ‘b’, ‘o’, ‘D’, and ‘B’ is the bowl.
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Serif A serif is the flat part of the character found on serif typefaces.
Sam Lane