Type Basics, part 01

Letterforms come in all shapes and sizes. If you have a need for typography, then someone has probably already designed* a typeface for your specific purpose. (*Yes, I said designed. Well-designed type is a thing of beauty and is more complex than you might imagine. More on this in the future posts.) In order to gain a deeper understanding of type, let’s start by learning about some of it’s parts.

There is a basic and invisible structure that type fits onto, and it may take you back to your days of penmanship in elementary school.

The baseline is the line that all the letters sit on. Obviously, some letters dip below the baseline and are called descenders (typically lower case g, j, p, q, and y). The x-height is exactly what it describes: the height of a lower case x.

Notice how letters with a curves at the top or bottom, like a lower case e will extend slightly above or below their horizontal guidelines, otherwise they appear too small.

Serif typefaces have the foot-like terminal at the end of certain strokes. A typeface without these strokes is called San Serif, and gets it’s name from the french sans meaning “without.” The serif letters are shown with the red callouts and the san serif, with the grey ones. Something to consider when picking between a Serif or San Serif: Large bodies of serif text are easier to read because the serifs pull the eyes through the words and letters more quickly. See for yourself in your favorite book (some exceptions apply).

Some of the more colorful names for typographical elements: Ear, Spine, Shoulder, and last, but not least, the Crotch.

All of this may seem overly technical, but I assure you an understanding of the basics will help you see typography in a new light. The more you learn about type, the more you’ll be able to explain what you love or hate about the details. Stay tuned for future installments of the Type Basics series where we’ll share a bunch more useful basics for understanding typography.

4 Responses to “Type Basics, part 01”

1. Lawrence Kent says:

   September 28, 2009 at 7:21 pm

   Wow. I never knew that. I will definitely will be looking at type differently.
2. Shane LaFever says:

   September 29, 2009 at 1:19 am

   I’m going to love this blog. Thank you for doing it.
3. Lisa Gilbert says:

   September 29, 2009 at 5:22 am

   I am so happy that you’ve posted about how fabulous, and complicated, typography can be. I’m thrilled about this new blog, thank you for sharing all of your wisdom and creativity!
4. Terrence says:

   October 4, 2009 at 2:24 pm

   Well I guess we just can’t pick the first pretty typeset to make a statement about our business… lol