Anatomy of Typeface Flashcards
The part of the letter that extends above the x height of a font as seen in l h f t h d and b.
is a vertical stroke that extends upwards, over the x-height.
Ascender
A closed curved stroke as seen in b d o p q D O P Q and B which has two ____.
is a stroke that creates an enclosed curved space, like in the letters d, b, o, D and B.
Bowl
The end of an instroke or outstroke that does not include a serif.
When a letter doesn’t have a serif, the end of a stroke is called _____.
Terminal
Short, descending portion of a letter, as seen on a K, R and Q.
A portion of a letter that extends downwards, attatched at one and free at the other.
Leg
A short stroke connecting to other strokes, such as the stroke of an A H f or t.
Crossbar
A style of decorative stroke at the end of the arm of a letter, such as a capital T and E.
Break
A serif at the top of an ascender.
Head Serif
A closed area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes.
Closed Counter
is the enclosed space in letters like o, b, d, and a. Are also created by bowls.
Counter
is a horizontal stroke in letters like A, H, e and f
Bar
is a short line added at the beginning and the end of strokes. Are what make a typeface a serif or a sans serif.
Serif
An open area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes in letters such as c f h i s m and n. Also known as an open counter.
Aperture
An open area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes in letters such as c f h i s m and n. Also known as aperture
Open Counter
The main curved stroke of an S.
Spine
Detail at the ends of some strokes, also known as a serif.
Foot
A longer horizontal stroke at the top or bottom of a letter such as an E or F.
Arm
An acute inside angle where two strokes meet seen on characters such as v w and y.
Crotch
A serif extending across both sides of a letter’s main stroke.
Bilateral Serif
A stroke connecting the top and bottom bowls of a lowercase double story g.
Link/Neck
The very short stroke at the top of a g.
Ear
The closed counter in a lowercase e.
Eye
The stroke which drops below the baseline, as seen in q y p g and j.
Descender
A short horizontal stroke such as the middle stroke of an E or F.
Bar
The thinnest stroke of a letterform common to serif typefaces.
Hairline
The main area of lowercase letters between the baseline and x-height.
Body
The dot on a lowercase i or j.
Tittle
A small projection off a main stroke.
Spur
A tapered, surved end seen on letters such as c e and a.
Finial
A trailing/descending outstroke as in j y J Q and R.
Tail
The bottom of a two-story g.
Loop
A stroke added as a stop to the beginning and end of the main strokes of a character.
Serif
The disparity between thick and thin strokes that alters and optical perception.
Stress
The main, vertical, full length stroke of an upright letterform. Also known as a stroke.
Stem
The line that indicates the highest point that any character with an ascender ( a stroke that rises above the mean line) can reach.
Ascender line
The line the indicates the highest point of any capital uppercase character.
Cap Height
The ____ determines the height of the majority of lowercase letters within a typeface. If there are varying heights in the lowercae letters, then this is usally based on lowercase x. This is where the x-height comes from the x-height is the height of the main body of a lowercase character, the distance between the baseline and _______.
Meanlines and X Height
is an invisibile line upon which all the characters sit. It’s possible for certain characters, such as letters round bottoms for example, to protrude slightly below this line, but not in any significant manner.
Baseline.
is a guideline for any shape that has a stroke drops below the baseline such as a lowercase g.
Descender
A point at the top of the character where two strokes meet.
Apex
Any angled stroke on a character
Diagonal Stroke
Two adjacent vowel characters which have been merged to one character. When spoken these would produce a unique sound.
Dipthong
A symbol that represents a readable character within an agreed set of sybols: characters, punctuation etc.
Glyph
Two or more characters that are merged into one character or glyph (for consonants). Often used interchangeably with dipthong.
Ligature
The smaller collection of characters in a typeface.
Lowercase
A curved stroke which starts on a stem.
Shoulder
Uppercase characters which have been reduced in size, usually contained within the x-height.
Small Caps
A mark made with a drawing tool to form part of a character.
Stroke
A group of characters used to begin sentence and proper nouns. Also known as capital letters.
Uppercase
The height of the main body of a lowercase letter.
x-Height
A set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, designed with stylistic unity.
Typefaces
These are families of fonts: Berlin Sans FB Demi Franklin Gothic Gil Sans Arial
Typefaces
These are variations of a typeface: Arial Arial black Arial narrow Arial rounded mt bold
Font
- Formed the way scribes held their pens in the late 1400s
- Most readable because they were meant for long lines of text
- Warm and graceful
Old Style
Industrial revolution = mechanical point of view
Old style typefaces were becoming obsolete
Elegant but severe and cold
Not very readable
Modern
All characters occupy the same amount of horizontal space, as printed by a typewriter
Industrial revolution = advertising
Advertising needed thick typefaces
Thickening the modern typefaces made it impossible to read
Thickened the serifs instead
Mostly Egyptian names because archeology was the in thing due to finding the rosetta stone
Slab serif
Most slab serifs are called _____ because it epitomizes the letterform
Clarendons
is French for without.
Sans
in 1816 _______created the 2-line Egyptian where he removed the serifs because he hated them. Not an instant hit.
William Caslon
The Bauhaus motto “______” stripped typefaces to their bare essentials
form follows function
form follows function
Futura
Large x-height creates a presence
Sans Serif
Emulates handwriting
Classy and formal
In the 1400s only the rich could afford books
Books were made by scribes who wrote in script
Script
Enhances a theme
Not meant for anything but for decoration
Not to be used as text
Adds punch to a publication
Creates a look or emphasizes content
If overused, it can destroy a design
Decorative
Rules of traditional typography were demolished
Users became more interested in typefaces and many manipulated their own
distorted, deliberately trashed
also called fringe, grunge, garage, deconstructed, lawless
Distressed
is a decorative element available in font format.
can be graphic elements such as squares, triangles, hearts, checkmarks, pinwheels, lightning bolts, arrows or stars.
can also be small illustrations of anything you can imagine: a pointing finger, a pencil, a pair of scissors.
Dingbats
