Want to learn more? Visit for an illustrated glossary of typographic terms.Baskerville is a serif typeface designed in the 1750s by John Baskerville (1706–1775) in Birmingham, England, and cut into metal by punchcutter John Handy. We’d love to see how we can work with you! Want to talk branding and design? Contact us at Jake Group today. Shoulder – The curve at the beginning of a leg of a character, such as in an “m.”.Leg – The bottom stroke of a letter, such as the base of an “L” or diagonal stroke of a “K.”.Bowl – An open or closed circular line that creates an interior space, such as in “e” and “b.”.Bars are horizontal or diagonal lines of a letter, also known as arms, and are open on at least one side. Bar – The horizontal lines of an “E” are known as bars.The stem is often the main “body” of a letter. Stem – The vertical line of a “B” and the primary diagonal line of a “V” are known as the stem.Serif fonts are distinguishable by the extra stroke at the ends of the character, known as a serif. Serif – Fonts are often divided into serif and sans serif.Descender – The part of a character that extends below the baseline is known as a descender, such as the bottom stroke of a “y.”. ![]() Note that this is the same as extending above the x-height. Ascender – The part of a character that extends above the meanline is known as an ascender.Cap Height – The cap height is the distance from the baseline to the top of uppercase letters like “H” and “J.”.It is referred to as the x-height because it is the height of a lowercase “x.” This height can vary greatly between typefaces. X-Height – The x-height is the distance between the meanline and the baseline.Meanline – The meanline falls at the top of many lowercase letters such as “e,” “g” and “y.” It is also at the curve of letters like “h.”.Rounded letters such as “e” may extend slightly below the baseline. While the baseline may differ from typeface to typeface, it is consistent within a typeface. Baseline – The baseline is the invisible line on which characters sit.These terms, and the parts of the letter they represent, are often referred to as “letter anatomy” or “typeface anatomy.” By breaking down letters into parts, a designer can better understand how type is created and altered and how to use it effectively. There is a standard set of terms to describe the parts of a character. Helvetica is considered the quintessential sans serif font. Their larger letterforms make them very legible, but can cause greater eye strain when used in long runs of text. Sans Serif (french for “without serifs”) are letters drawn with straighter lines and no feet. The feet along the baseline help guide the eye from left to right, making them very ‘readable’ fonts. These are some of the oldest type designs. The serifs are the little feet we see in fonts like Times. Serif letters are drawn with features at the ends of their strokes. A font is a complete character set of a typeface at a particular size, weight, and style. This post is intended to teach you about the anatomy of type and to help you better understand what to look for when choosing your next font.Ī typeface, also called a font family, is a set of fonts designed with a stylistic unity, each comprising a coordinate set of glyphs. Through the use of type, a person can visually tell a story using little to no imagery. However, in modern usage typography includes all manner of non-printed letter forms such as websites, eBooks, electronic billboards, and even textiles. Typography is the art or process of printing with type.
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