Design Elements, 2nd Edition

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choosing and using type

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MECHANICS OF TEXT

Assessing Character Count, Leading,

and Paragraph Width

The width of a para-

graph depends heavily on the size of type

being used and, therefore, how many

characters can be fit onto a single line.

Regardless of the type size or the reader’s

maturity, between fifty and eighty charac-

ters (including spaces) can be processed

before a line return. With words averaging

between five and ten letters, that means

approximately eight to twelve words per

line. Achieving this character count

determines the width of a paragraph. The

proportions of the page format—and how

much text must be made to fit overall—

might affect paragraph width, but char-

acter count is the best starting point for

defining an optimal width.

A comparison of character count

for a selection of typefaces, at

varying sizes, is shown set on the

same paragraph width. As with

all typographic rules, there is a

range to what is comfortable for

the average reader. Given a fifty-

to eighty-character comfort

Comfortable interline space,

or leading, varies according to

several characteristics in typeface

style and size; but generally,

the interline space should seem

a point or two larger than the

height of the lowercase running

as text. Because the x-height

varies so much among faces,

a designer will need to judge

the leading appropriate to the

appearance of the lowercase,

rather than try to assign a leading

to a point size by way of a specific

formula.

range, it is easy to see that

a paragraph must widen as

the type size increases and

narrow as it decreases, to

maintain the optimal number

of characters on a line.

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design elements

147

The leading of the lines, as noted, depends

somewhat on the width of the paragraph,

the type size, and its spacing. The space

between lines should be noticeably larger

than the optical height of the lines, but

not so much that it becomes pronounced.

Similarly, the leading must not be so tight

that the reader locates the beginning of the

same line after the return and begins read-

ing it again. As paragraph width increases,

so must the leading, so that the beginnings

of the lines are more easily distinguished.

Oddly, as the width of a paragraph nar-

rows, the leading must also be increased:

otherwise, the reader might grab several

lines together because the snapshots he or

she takes while scanning encompass the

full paragraph width.

The optimal quality of the column widths for the

running text in this page spread is evident in lines of

relatively consisent length, a comfortable rag, and

notably few occurrences of hyphenated line breaks.

This column width also appears to accommodate

heads and subheads of different sizes.

MARTIN OOSTRA NETHERLANDS

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