typography booklet

The parts of a letter CAP HEIGHT

weighed diagonal (stem)

X-HEIGHT terminal crossbar lobe

diagonal hairline BASELINE

Counter

vertical serif

branch

shoulder

arm, crossbar

descender

descender line CAP HEIGHT

bracket

Counter

X-HEIGHT waist beak spine BASELINE

Definitions of Anatomy

Cap Height is the distance from the

baseline to the top of a capital letter. The cap height of a typeface determines its point size.

X-Height is the height of the main

body of the lowercase letter (or the height of a lowercase x) excluding its ascenders and descenders.

The baseline is where all the letters

sit. this is the most stable axis along a line of text, and it is a crucial edge for alighning text with images.

baseline

Serif vs. Sans Serif Sans Serif type which does not have serifs the little extra

strokes found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes.

Within sans serif there are five main classifications: Grotesque, Neo-Grotesque, Geometric, Humanist, and Informal. Typefaces within each classification usually share similarities in stroke thickness, weight, and the shapes of certain letterforms.

example: a classic typeface Universe is a sans serif type.

Hop

similar stroke weight

no serif feet

Serif is the little extra stroke found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letterforms. Some are subtle and others may be quite pronounced and obvious. In some cases serifs may aid in the readability of a typeface. Serif refers, in general, to any style of type that has serifs.

example: a classic typeface Garamond is a serif type.

Hop different stroke weight

serif feet

Timeless Typefaces what to look for

Readability (easy to read) Legibility-well designed, the proportionof letters ex: the baseline to the wasteline Repeated elements Contrast of stroke ex: hairline serifs such as bodoni A set or a family

Classic Typefaces Serif catergory Adobe Caslon Pro Garamond Bodoni Minion Pro Palatino Sans serif

Frutiger Futura Gill Sans Helvetica Universe

Note: Small point size (below 10 pt) SET IN SANS SERIF