What is typography?
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make language more legible, readable and visually appealing. It involves using the understanding of how letters behave as shapes and relate to one another while creating visual structure.
What is a typeface family?
A type face is the design of a letter, a typeface family is a group of weights, styles and variations built from the same typeface design.
A typeface family includes:
WEIGHTS: thickness
STYLES: form
WIDTHS: stretch
OPTICAL SIZE: scaling
Serif vs. Sans Serif
Serif: small decorative strokes or (feet) at the end of a letterform. Used for classic or formal aesthetic.
San serif: no strokes are used making letterform seem more modern.
Ascenders & Descenders
These refer to the parts of letters that extend above or below the main height.
Ascenders: vertical lines that raise above the base line of lowercase letters including b, d, h, k, l, t.
Descenders: extend bellow the baseline for lowercase letters including g, j, p, q, y
What is leading?
The vertical space between lines of text used to make cramped texts more readable.
Example 12/14 meaning 12 points out of 14
What is Kerning?
the adjustment of space between individual pairs of characters to improve visual clarity.
What is Justification?
how text lines are aligned horizontally on the page.
