Typography

Question 1

What is an Ampersand?

Answer 1

An ampersand is a ligature of the Latin ‘et’ (meaning ‘and’). It can be identified as this symbol ‘&’.

Question 2

What is a Bowl?

Answer 2

The part of the character that encloses (or partially encloses) a rounded space, for and ‘a’ or ‘G’.

Question 3

What is a Counter?

Answer 3

The counter is the negative space in and around the letterform. Counters are seen on lower-case a, b, d, e, g, o, q and p characters, and in most of their upper-case versions swell. The counter can be used creatively to enhance the meaning of a letterform or word.

Question 4

What is an Ear?

Answer 4

The distinctive element that rests on the upper right of the fancy lower case g.

Question 5

What is a Family?

Answer 5

A type family is made up of all the widths, sizes and styles of typeface. Helvetic for examples includes Roman, Medium, Italic, Light, Condensed, Extended, Bold and Heavy in its family.

Question 6

What is a Font?

Answer 6

Originally, the term font was used to describe a type family of one size only, for example Times New Roman 10pt. Since the advent of digital design, font has become interchangeable with the terms typeface and type family.

Question 7

What is Italic?

Answer 7

An italic type is not mechanically slanted, rather, is is a seperate version of a typeface that has been specifically designed on a slanted angle.

Question 8

What is Letterform?

Answer 8

Letterform refers to individual type forms including symbols, numerals and icons.

Question 9

What is a Ligature?

Answer 9

A ligature is formed by two or more letters being joined by a stroke or bar to produce one character, such as f and l or f and t. Ligatures originate from common letter combinations in Latin. They are often seen in script typefaces and in Scandinavian languages.

Question 10

What is Roman?

Answer 10

The roman form of a typeface is considered to be the standard, upright version of a font. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘parent’ type of the typeface family.

Question 11

What is a Serif?

Answer 11

A serif is the small visual element at the end of a stroke. the serif is thought to aid the readability of a typeface and dates from Classical Rome. There are a number of serif styles including bracketed and non-bracketed serifs, slab serif, slur serif, wedge serif, hairline serif and rounded serif.

Question 12

What is a Stroke?

Answer 12

The main construction line of a letterform. A has three, W has four and U has one.

Question 13

What is a Swash?

Answer 13

A swash is the elongated entry point or exit point of a letterform usually seen in script typefaces.

Question 14

What is a Terminal?

Answer 14

The end point of a stroke that does not finish with a serif. A terminal often has slightly heavier visual weight to balance the letterform, for example serif versions of lower-case f and r.

Question 15

What is a Crossbar?

Answer 15

The horizontal stroke as seen in ‘B’ and ‘f’.

Question 16

What is a Final?

Answer 16

The ‘tail’ and the end of a letter such as ‘e’.

Question 17

What is a Stem?

Answer 17

The body of a letter such as ‘T’.

Question 18

What is an Ascender?

Answer 18

A part of a letter that ascends the x-height, as seen in the letters ‘h’ and ‘d’.

Question 19

What is a Descender?

Answer 19

A part of a letter that descend the baseline, as seen in the letters ‘g’ and ‘y’.

Question 20

What is Cap Height?

Answer 20

The highest point in a section of type.

Question 21

What is the Baseline?

Answer 21

The baseline is the imaginary line that a typeface sits upon. Some letters such as the ‘O’ in certain typefaces, may sit slightly below the baseline. When a designer needs to adjust the position of letterforms above of below the baseline, they create hat is known as the ‘baseline shift’.

Question 22

What is Body Text?

Answer 22

Body text refers to the main areas of text in a document. Body text may also be called a text block. The selection of typeface for body text is crucial and entirely defined by the context of the design. For example, newspapers and magazines often use serif type for body text as it is considered easier to read.

Question 23

What is Kerning?

Answer 23

Kerning refers to space between individual letterforms.. Some letterforms need to have the space adjusted when they are used together, for example a T and L used together have a larger spacing than an M and E. The type designer kerns most commercial typefaces but design software programs allow some adjustment to kerning to improve visual appearance if required.

Question 24

What is Leading?

Answer 24

Leading is the distance between two lines of type. The term is derived from the strips of lead that were placed between lines of type in traditional typesetting. Leading directly affects the legibility of type and is usually set so that the eye flows easily from one line to the next. Leading is often set automatically in computer software but can be manipulated depending on the context.

Question 25

What is Spacing/Tracking?

Answer 25

Spacing and tracking refer to the distance between all letters in a sample of txt. Normal tracking leaves the spacing as the type designer intended. Negative tracking moves letterforms closer together, and positive (or open) tracking moves them apart.

Question 26

What is Type Size?

Answer 26

Points are the units of measurement used in typography. One point is 1/72 of an inch or 0.352 millimetres. Point refers to the height of the type block rather than the letter itself.

Question 27

What is X-Height?

Answer 27

The x-height of individual typefaces provide the height of the main body of text and vary greatly.