Typography

Typography: is the design of letterforms and the arrangement of them in two-dimensional space (for print and screen-based media) and in space and time (for motion and interactive media). Type is used as display or as text. Display type functions as a dominant typographic component and is usually large or bold. It functions as titles and subtitles, headlines and subheadlines, headings and subheadings. Text type is the main body of written content, usually in the form of paragraphs, columns, or captions.
Typography Design is a complex area of human activity, requiring a broad background for informed practice. Letterforms are the fundamental components of all typographic communications. The alphabet is a series of elemental visual signs in a fixed sequence, representing spoken sounds. Each letter signifies only one thing: its elementary sound or name. The twenty-six characters of our alphabet can be combined into thousands of words, creating a visual record of the spoken language. This is the magic of writing and typography, which have been called “thoughts-made-visible” and “frozen sounds.”




Baseline: An imaginary line upon which the base of each capital rest.

Beardline: An imaginary line that runs along the bottoms of descenders.

Capline: An imaginary line that  runs along the tops of ascenders.

Meanline: An imaginary line that establishes the height of the body of lowercase letters.

x-height: The distance from the baseline to the meanline. Typically, this is the height of lowercase letters and is mostly easily measured on the lowercase x.

All characters align optically on the baseline. The body height of lowercase characters align optically at the x-height, and the tops of capitals align optically along the capline. To achieve precise alignments, the typeface designer makes optical adjustments.

Apex: The peak of the triangle of an uppercase A.

Arm: A projecting horizontal stoke that is unattached on one or both ends, as in the letters T and E.

Ascended: A stoke on a lowercase letter that rises above the meanline.

Bowl: A curved stroke enclosing the counterform of a letter. An exception is the bottom form of the lowercase roman g, which is called a loop.

Counter: The negative space that is fully or partially enclosed by a letterform.

Crossbar: The horizontal stoke connecting two sides of the letterform (as in e, A, and H) or bisecting the main stroke (as in f and t).

Descender: A stroke on a lowercase letterform that falls below the baseline.

Ear: A small stroke that projects from the upper right side of the bowl of the lowercase roman g.

Eye: The enclose part of the lowercase e.

Filet: The contoured edge that connects the serif and stern in bracketed serifs. (Bracketed serif are connected to the main stroke by this curved edge; unbracketed serifs connect to the main stroke with an abrupt angle without this contoured transition.)

Hairline: The thinnest stroke within a typeface that has strokes of varying weights.

Leg: The lower diagonal stroke on the letter k.

Link: The stroke that connects the bowl and the loop of a lowercase roman g.

Loop: See Bowl.

Serifs: Short stroke that extend from and at an angle to the upper and lower ends of the major stokes of a letterform.

Shoulder: A curved stroke projecting from a stern.

Spine: The central curved stroke of the letter S.

Spur: A projection-smaller than a serif- that reinforces the point at the end of a curved stroke, as in the letter G.

Stern: A major vertical or diagonal stroke in the letterform.

Stroke: Any of the linear elements within a letterform; originally, any mark or dash made by the movement of a pen or brush in writing.

Tail: A diagonal stroke or loop at the end of a letter, as in R or j.

Terminal: The end of any stroke that does not terminate with a serif.





Historical classification of typefaces

Old Style typefaces have the weight stress of rounded forms at an angle, as in handwriting. The serifs are bracketed (that is, unified with stroke by a tapered, curved line). Also, the top serifs on the lowercase letters are at an angle.


Italics typefaces slant to the right. Some italic styles are based on handwriting with connected strokes and are called scripts.

Transitional typefaces contrast between thick and thin strokes is greater than Old Style. Lowercase serifs are more horizontal, and the stress within the rounded forms shifts to a less diagonal axis. Transitional characters are usually wider than Old Style characters.

Modern typefaces have extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes. Thin strokes are reduced to hairlines. The weight stress of rounded characters is vertical. Serifs are horizontal hairlines that join at the sterns at a right angle without bracketing. The uppercase width is regularized; wide letter as M and W are condensed and other letters, including P and T, are expanded. Modern style typefaces have a strong geometric quality projected by rigorous horizontal, vertical and circular forms.

Egyptian typefaces have heavy square or rectangular serifs that are usually unbracketed, The stress of curved strokes is often minimal. In some slab-serif typefaces, all strokes are the same weight.

Sans Serif typefaces have the most obvious characteristic of these styles is, as the name implies, the absence of serifs. The strokes are uniform, with little or no contrast between thick and thin strokes. Stess is almost always vertical. Many sans serifs typefaces are geometric in their construction; others combine both organic and geometric qualities.