Design Elements, 2nd Edition

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TEXT

choosing and using type

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STRUCTURE AND OPTICS

The Nuts and Bolts The letters of the

Western alphabet are built from a system

of lines with intricate visual relationships

that are nearly invisible. With letters at a

standard reading size, the eye perceives let-

ters to be all the same weight, height, and

width. This is the most critical aspect of

type: stylistic uniformity discourages dis-

traction during the reading process. When

the same type is enlarged, minute changes

in character height, stroke width, and

shape become apparent. Becoming sensi-

tive to these optical issues and understand-

ing their effect on spacing, organization,

stylistic communication, legibility, and

composition is crucial.

Ascent Line

Cap Line

Mean Line

Baseline

Descent Line

Main Stroke

or Stem

Sidebearing

Terminal

Descender

TittleShoulder

Crossbar

Cap-Height X-Height

Body Counter

Joint

Crotch

Branch Shoulder

Diagonal Arc or ArmEye

Eye

Joint

Apex

Serif

CrossbarShoulder

Bowl

Return Spur

Thin Stroke

or Thin

Thick Stroke

or Thick

Cut

Tail Spur

Second

Story

NotchTerminal Counters Counter

Tail

Vertex

Bowl or

Loop

Arm

Counter

Aperture

Arm

Ear

Ascender

Beak

Aperture

Leg

Aperture

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design elements

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Enlarging letters reveals the

tiny adjustments made by their

designer to overcome optical

characteristics and unify them.

Differing angles, stroke shapes,

and overall size changes, evident

in a large setting, disappear in a

text-sized setting. The same is

true of corrections for weight and

width in a family of typefaces.

The interrelationship of detail

is apparent in these letterform

studies for a custom, corporate

typeface. Note the comparisons

of crossbars, letter widths, and

terminal shapes.

E-TYPES DENMARK

Ascender

Joint

Bowl

Ligature

Swash

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TYPOGRAPHY

The art of designing

letters and text

TYPOGRAPHY

The art of designing

letters and text

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STRUCTURE AND OPTICS

Form and Counterform: The Optics of

Structure

The spacing of letters in words,

sentences, and paragraphs is vital to create

a uniform gray value for minimal reader

distraction. Every typeface has a distinct

rhythm of strokes and spaces. This rela-

tionship between form and counterform

defines the optimal spacing of that par-

ticular typeface and therefore of the overall

spacing between words, between lines of

type, and among paragraphs.

Looking at letters set together as a word of-

fers a clue as to how they should be spaced

in that particular typeface and size. Creat-

ing a consistent gray value in text depends

on setting the letters so that there is even

alternation of solid and void—within and

between the letters. A series of letters that

are set too tightly, so that the counterforms

within the letters are optically bigger than

those between letters, creates noticeable

dark spots in the line: the exterior strokes

of the letters bond to each other visually

where they come together. At the other

extreme, letters that are set too loosely be-

come singular elements, divorced from the

line and recognizable as individual forms,

making the appraisal of words difficult.

Evenly set sequences of letters show a con-

sistent, rhythmic alternation of black and

white—form and counterform repeating at

the same rate from left to right.

Optical spacing for the Univers

regular weight is shown,

compared to mathematically

spaced or overly tight or loose

spacing. The optimally spaced

lines (second line) show a

consistent rhythmic alternation

between dark (the strokes) and

light (the counterforms), both

within characters and between

them. Dark spots are evident in

the examples spaced too

Tightening or loosening the

spacing between these pairs of

letters corrects for the awkward

counterspaces inherent in their

forms. Shifting the lowercase y to

the right, under the right crossbar

of the T, for example, allows the

spacing between them to become

optically similar to that of subse-

quent letters.

Uppercase letters are more uniform

in width and shape than lowercase

letters, as well as optically more

dense; to enhance their look and

legibility, all-uppercase setting

must always be spaced a little more

loosely than normal.

tightly, where the strokes are

closer together between letters

than within them. Compare the

normal spacing of these faces to

those of the bold condensed style

of Univers (A), the italic serif (B),

and the high-contrast modern

serif (C); note how the internal

logic of the stroke-to-counter

relationship in each provides the

clues to their optimal spacing.

Mathematical spacing

A

B

C

Overly tight spacing

Overly loose spacing

Optically normal spacing

Corrected spacing

Default spacing

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