Typography Flashcards
Baseline
The invisible line on which characters sit
Meanline
The invisible line on the x-height
X-height
Distance between meanline and baseline, the height of a lowercase “x”, often more than half of the cap height
Cap height
Distance from baseline to the top of uppercase letters like “H”
Ascender
The part of a character that extends above the meanline
Descender
The part of a character that extends below the baseline
Serifs
Extra stroke at the ends of a character
Stem
The vertical line of a “B”, often the main body of a letter
Bar
The horizontal lines of an “e”, horizontal or diagonal lines of a letter which are open on at least one side
Bowl
An open or closed circular line that creates an interior space, such as an “e” or “b”
Counter
The inside of a bowl, negative space that is fully or partially enclosed area.
Leg
The bottom stroke of a letter, such as the base of an “L”
Shoulder
The curve at the beginning of a leg of a character, such as in an “m”
Height of typeface
The vertical measurement of type. The point system is standard today.
Point system
- 1 point = 1/72 inch
- 12 points = 1 pica
- eg. 8 picas = 8p
Width of typeface
The horizontal measure, which is the body of the letter + a sliver of space that protects it from other letters
Width proportions
Condensed, compressed, wide, extended
Optical size of typeface
Different styles for different sizes of output coming from a type family
Scale of typeface
The size of design elements in comparison to other elements in a layout as well as to the physical context of the work
2 categories of type
Renaissance, Baroque, and Enlightenment periods in art & literature AND 20th & 21st centuries
Type classification
Humanist/Old Style, Transitional, Modern, Egyptian/Slab Serif, Humanist Sans Serif, Transitional Sans Serif, Geometric Sans Serif
Humanist/Old Style
Closely connected to calligraphy and the movement of hand
Transitional
Sharper serifs and more vertical axis than humanist letters
Modern
Thin, straight serifs, vertical axis, sharp contrast from thick to thin strokes
Egyptian/Slab Serif
Heavy, slab-like serifs
Humanist Sans Serif
Small, tilting counter in the letters, calligraphic variations in line weight
Transitional Sans Serif
Uniform, upright character makes it similar to transitional sans serif
Geometric Sans Serif
Built around geometric forms
Type families
Roman form/Plain/Regular, Italic form, Small caps (capitals), Bold versions of traditional text fonts, Bold & italic
Italic form
Used to create emphasis
Small caps
Designed to integrate with a line of text, capitals that are slightly taller than the x-height
Bold & italic
The counters need to stay clear and open at small sizes
Bold versions of traditional text fonts
Meet the need for emphatic forms
Superfamily
Consists of dozens of related fonts in multiple weights and/or widths
What to do when mixing typefaces
Adjust the point size so that the x-heights align on the same line
2 categories of numerals
Lining numerals, non-lining numerals/text/old style numerals
Lining numerals
Take up uniform widths of space, enabling the numbers to line up when tabulated in columns which appear LARGE in text
Non-lining numerals
Have ascenders and descenders, integrate visually with text
Pandemic error
The use of straight prime or hatch marks (often called dumb quotes) in place of apostrophes and quotation marks
Logotype
Uses typography or lettering to depict the name or initials of an organization in a memorable way
Visual identity
Consists of colours, patterns, icons, signage components, and a selection of typefaces
Ligature
Two or more letters are joined together to form one glyph
Ear
A small stroke projecting from a letterform
Leading / Linespacing
Thin strips of lead that separate the horizontal liens of type
