Glossary

The invisible line that marks the height of ascenders in a font. See measurements.

The invisible line that marks the farthest distance between the baseline and the top of the tallest glyph in a font.  See measurements.

An imaginary line that bisects the upper and lower strokes. Displays the angle of stress. See anatomy.

The unserifed end of a stroke on a serifed font that has a circular shape.

The invisible line that most characters rest on, or at least what their position is based on, and that descenders extend below. See measurements.

This calligraphic classification is based on early manuscript letterforms and is meant to mimic a pen held at a 45° angle. Characterized by extreme contrast and narrow proportions, though the varieties in the Blackletter classification are quite broad. See the calligraphic classification.

The distance that separates the top of the tallest glyph from the bottom of the lowest one. This measurement runs from the ascent line down to the descent line. See measurements.

The main text or content of a designed piece, typically sized at eight to 14 points. May also refer to a typefaces optical size that is designed for us in body text as opposed to display type. Typefaces chosen for body text should focus on high legibility.

A curved transition found on some serifs. Serifs without curved transitions are referred to as unbracketed. See anatomy.

The height of a capital letter measured from the baseline. It is the measure of the distance between the baseline and the cap line. See measurements.

The invisible line marking the height of uppercase letters within a font. This line is similar to the cap height, only one is an imaginary line and one is a height measurement. See measurements.

The symbol that represents a letter (e.g., an uppercase E). See clarifying confusing terms.

A slab serif characterized by an extremely tall x-height, thick serifs, little contrast, vertical axis, and tight serif brackets. See the serif classification.

The difference in weight between the thickest and thinnest strokes in a typeface. Related to axis and stress. See anatomy.

A partially or fully enclosed area within a character. See anatomy.

A horizontal stroke that intersects a stem. Typically seen on a lowercase e, t or f. See anatomy.

The invisible line that marks the lowest point of the descenders within a font. See measurements.

The invisible line that marks the farthest distance between the baseline and the lowest point on a glyph in a font. See measurements.

Developed in the late 1700’s – early 1800’s, technology advanced enabled typographers to push the limits of typeface refinement. Characterized by extreme contrast, thin serifs, vertical axis, and no serif brackets. See the serif classification.

Typefaces or text intended to be used in large sizes (over 14 points) and with only a few words (e.g., headlines, logos, etc.). Display type will typically have lower legibility and be more decorative than those intended for use in body text.

A unit of measure that is equal to the current point size. If your typeface is set to 12 points, an em is 12 points. See measurements.

A unit of measure that is equal to half the current point size. If your typeface is set to 12 points, an en is 6 points. See measurements.

Refers to the individual styles or variations within a typeface (e.g., Helvetica Bold). See clarifying confusing terms.

This calligraphic classification is typically used for decorative purposes and is based on Classical Gaelic. These typefaces are strongly associated with Scotland and Ireland... and Lord of the Rings. See the calligraphic classification.

Also called Aldine. Developed between the 1400’s – 1700’s, Garalde typefaces are a more refined typeface than the previous Humanist serifs. Characterized by moderate x-height, moderate contrast, angled serifs (less angled than Humanist serifs), moderate axis, horizontal cross stroke on the e, and gentle serif brackets. See the serif classification.

Inspired by industrial methods, these typefaces use repetitive, simple shapes, sometimes with proportional variations. Characterized by single-story a’s and g’s, almost no contrast, and geometric shapes. See the sans serif classification.

A slab serif that is characterized by an extremely tall x-height, thick serifs, geometric shapes, almost no contrast, and an absence of serif brackets. See the serif classification.

Individual representations of a character that may be used for decoration, notation (e.g., super/subscript) or a unique style (e.g., small cap). See clarifying confusing terms.

Also called incised. Influenced by characters engraved or chiseled in stone, this classification is characterized by flared ends rather than serifs and a heavy calligraphic influence in the strokes. See the calligraphic classification.

This calligraphic classification is a bit of a catch-all for any typefaces that use a hand-drawn style but don’t fit nicely into the other categories. Used for decoration and headlines. See the calligraphic classification.

Developed in the early 1800's, these early sans serifs have a tendency toward peculiarity. Named after their perceived ugliness at the time when compared against serifs (e.g., Didone). Characterized by the tendency toward double-storied a’s and g’s, moderate contrast, squarish shapes, and spurred Gs. See the sans serif classification.

Like Humanist serifs, they are based on natural letterforms. Characterized by double-story a’s and g’s, moderate contrast, calligraphic stroke connections, and true italics vs. oblique. See the sans serif classification.

Also called humanes. Earliest serif typeface classification, it was based on calligraphic writing with flat brush or broad nib pen. Developed between the 1470’s – 1490’s. Characterized by small x-height, low contrast, angled serifs, a strong axis, an angled cross stroke on the e, and generous serif brackets. See the serif classification.

Cursive letterforms completely redrawn from the regular style, primarily used for emphasis. See common characteristics.

A slab serif that is characterized by reverse contrast (horizontal stroke is thicker than vertical) and a distinctly western or circus vibe. See the serif classification.

The spacing between individual characters. See frequently used terms.

The distance from one baseline to the next. Pronounced LED-ing, not LEED-ing. See frequently used terms.

The ability to tell letters from one another. It is determined by the design of a typeface, including x-height, shape, width, stroke contrast, size of counters, weight, etc. See clarifying confusing terms.

The invisible line that marks the top of lowercase letters without ascenders (like the letter n vs. the letter f). See measurements.

A typeface where each letter takes up the same amount of horizontal space. These were typically used in typewriters or early computer terminals. This is in contrast to variable-width typefaces, which is what you're probably used to.

The term for leading that is less than 100% of the text's point size (e.g., 24 point text with 20 point leading). Only recommended for very large text.

These sans serifs were developed for simplicity and legibility. They are also the first typeface families with width and weight variations. Characterized by low contrast, single-story g’s, consistency in shape, and mostly spurless G’s. See the sans serif classification.

Slanted or skewed letterforms in an attempt to mimic italics. Common among sans serif typefaces. See common characteristics.

A single word or syllable (due to hyphenation) that lives on a single line at the bottom of a paragraph.

A unit of measure that is equal to about ⅙ of an inch. There are 12 points in a pica. See measurements.

A commonly used unit of measure for typeface sizes. It is 1⁄72 of an inch or 1⁄12 of a pica. See measurements.

Readability is the level of ease with which one can read words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. This is determined by typeface legibility, capitalization, tracking, leading, and more. See clarifying confusing terms.

This calligraphic classification is inspired by handwriting styles using a variety of tools and can range from very formal to very casual. Often characterized by connected characters and the presence of alternate glyphs to help vary character styles and to add swashes. See the calligraphic classification.

The projections off the top or bottom of the main stroke of a character. See anatomy. For the type classification, see serifs.

A term to describe text that has leading that is equal to the point size (e.g., 10 point text with 10 point leading, or 10/10). This is not recommended for body text but is acceptable for display type, though you may find that ascenders and descenders can now make contact.

Also called mechanistic, mechanical, or mécanes. Developed in the 1800's, slab serifs are a diverse classification with numerous sub-categories, all of which include thick or bold serifs. They were originally designed for use at large sizes in advertising. See the serif classification.

A decorative stroke. Often an exaggeration of a serif, tail, or terminal. See anatomy.

Anything set between six and 14 points is considered text type. See frequently used terms.

Uniform changes in the spacing between characters within a selected piece of text. See frequently used terms.

Also called realist, or réales. Developed in the mid 1700’s, these were transitional designs between Garalde and Didone. Characterized by high contrast, flat serifs (flatter than Humanist and Garalde), an almost vertical axis, and gentle serif brackets. See the serif classification.

Refers to the collection of fonts under a single name (e.g., Helvetica). See clarifying confusing terms.

A slab serif that mimics the style used by mechanical typewriters. Some are monospace and many are distressed to mimic the limitations and irregularity of a typewriter. See the serif classification.

The thickness of a character relative to its height. Will typically have names like thin, light, semibold, bold, etc. See common characteristics.

The last line of a paragraph that lives by itself at the top of a new column of text.

The width of the characters of a typeface. Typically will have names like compressed, condensed, wide, extended, etc. See common characteristics.

The measurement of the distance between the baseline and the mean line. This measurement is based on the height of a lowercase x, hence the name. It does not include ascenders or descenders. See anatomy.