Typography Terms Flashcards
Capline
The line marking the topmost point of the typeface. It runs across the top of capital letters.
Topline
The most important line at the top of the page, lying above the capline. No letter goes above the topline.
Midline
The line that determines where non-ascending lower case letters terminate in a typeface. The letters ‘c’, ‘g’ and ‘n’ all reach the midline but do not go above it.
Baseline
The line on which letters rest and below which descenders extend. Round letters like ‘e’ and ‘o’ normally dent it, pointed letters like ‘v’ normally pierce it, and letters with foot serifs like ‘h’ and ‘l’ usually rest precisely upon it.
Beardline
The beardline is the imaginary line that runs along the bottom of the descenders. These lines cut off the ends of the descenders. Letters do not go below the beardline.
Serif
Small decorative strokes that are added to the end of a letter’s main strokes. Serifs improve readability by leading the eye along the line of type. Certain font types have serifs e.g. Times New Roman, Cambria, etc.
San serif
A typeface that does not have serifs. Sans-Serif faces lend a clean, simple appearance to documents e.g. Arial, Verdana.
Ascender
That part of a lowercase letter that rises above the midline. The letters ‘b’ and ‘h’ both have ascenders.
Descender
That portion of a letter that falls below the baseline. The letters ‘j’ and ‘g’ both have descenders.
Bowl
The curved part of the letter that encloses the circular or curved parts (counter) of some letters. The letters d, b, o, D, and B all have a bowl.
Counter
An area entirely or partially enclosed by a letter. Letters containing closed counters include A, B, D, O, P, Q, R, a, b, d, e, g, o, p, and q. Letters containing open counters include c, f, h, i, s, etc.
Typeface
In typography, a typeface (also known as font family) is a set of one or more fonts with similar design features.
