The Basics of Typography:
1. Ascender Line- the imaginary line which determines the height of ascenders.
2. Base Line- the imaginary line on
which all characters rest. Descenders hang below the base line.
3. Ascender Height-the x-height plus
the height of the ascending stroke (or the distance between the base line and
the ascender line).
4. Cap Height- the height of capital
letters (or the distance between the base line and the cap line).
5. Descender- the stroke of a letter
which dips below the base line (as in g and j).
6. Ascender- the stroke of a letter
which rises above the mean line (as in d, f and k).
7. X-Height-
the distance between the flat top and the bottom of a lower case letter which
has no ascender or descender (ex. x).
8. Cap Line- the imaginary line
which determines the height of capital letters
9. Mean Line- the imaginary line
which determines the height of lowercase letters. Ascenders rise above the mean
line.
10. Descender Line- the imaginary
line which defines the bottom reach of descenders.
Define Serif: The
fine line that extends from the top and bottom of letters making them easier to
read; often used for the body text of a book. (Also: has serifs).
Define Sans-Serif: A
type of type face that is straight with no serifs or small extensions on
letters; usually used
for headers (Like Helvetica (accursed to some)).
When do you use Antique Fonts? You
can use them to evoke a periodic feel.
At most how many words should be Decorative Fonts at a time? At most three words at a time,
unless you are aiming for extreme confusion about what in the world you are
trying to say.
What does a script font resemble? Script
fonts resemble handwriting.
What element of design does script represent? (From elements lesson) Script can represent line.
Why use Symbol Fonts? Symbol
fonts are used to embellish text.
Define Typography: Typography
is the art and process of arranging type for media purposes (at least most of
the time, you could use it for something else).
Why do designers need a solid foundation in typography? Designers need a solid foundation in typography
because by understanding the underlying message that your choice of text
contains, you will be able to become more effective as you design and present
projects containing words and phrases.
Kerning: the space
located between individual letters of a word.
Leading: the space
between the lines of text.
Tracking: a condition in
which “rivers” of white space are created throughout the text body.
When do you use the following?
Center Alignment: to
draw attention; often used for Headlines or Titles.
Right Alignment: for a
clean crisp professional look; often used for corporate business letters,
return address labels, and business cards.
Justified Alignment: usually
reserved for newspaper print and body text for textbooks, and is more difficult
to work with because it creates perfect alignment on both the left and right
margins without regard for the actual characters (resulting in … tracking!).
What is remembered: good styling or bad styling? Usually bad typography is the
most memorable.
What is legibility?
Legibility is the quality of being readable or distinguishable by the eye.
Type size smaller than 7pt is: difficult
to read.
Type size smaller than 3pts is: completely
illegible.
Type range for legible type is: 9pt
and 10pt.
What do you use for long passages? For
long passages you should use a size range between 8pt and 14pt.
What case do we use for Body? Body
copy should always be set in upper- and lower-case rather than all upper-case.
What is measure? Measure
is the width of a column of text.
What can you tell me about Ragged Edges? Ragged
Edges affect the speed at which text is read.
What are some ways text can be used and what font types do
you use for each? Text
can be used for creating graphic configurations with a degree of legibility, to
define spaces or provide silhouettes, to form an image by itself, etc. Font
types that are normally used for these purposes are Calligraphic scripts
Why is choosing and using the right font important? (Two
reasons) Choosing and
using the right font is important because different fonts affect legibility and
emotions evoked, also, the right font can encourage people to read your message
rather than ignore it.
What are the two most important things to remember? Type is on the page to serve
the text and there are no good and bad typefaces.
What is appropriate? What do you have to consider? What is appropriate is choosing the most
appropriate type face. What you have to consider is who your audience is and
what message you are trying to get across.
Tell me the rules: (there
are 10)
- Body text should be between 10 and 12 point,
with 11 point best for printing to 300 dot-per-inch printers. Use the same
typeface, typesize, and leading for all your body copy.
- Use enough leading (or line-spacing). Always
add at least 1 or 2 points to the type size. Ex: If you’re using 10 point
type, use 12 point leading. Automatic line height will do this for your—never
use less than this or your text will be cramped and hard to read.
- Don’t make your lines too short or too long.
Optimum size: Over 30 characters and under 70 characters.
- Make the paragraph beginnings clear. Use
either and indent or block style for paragraphs. Don’t use both.
- Use only one space after a period, not two.
- Don’t justify text unless you have to. If
you justify text, remember to use hyphenation.
- Don’t underline anything, especially not
headlines or subheads since lines separate them from the text with which
they belong.
- Use italics instead of underlines.
- Don’t set long blocks of text in italics,
bold or all caps because they’re harder to read.
- Leave more space above headlines and
subheads than below them, and avoid setting them in all caps. Use subheads
freely to help readers find what they’re looking for.
