Typeface Concepts
A typeface is a set of letters for typesetting. Originally a font was a set of metal type of a particular typeface in a particular size, but today the terms are generally used interchangably.
Typeface Families
Typefaces come in sets called families. The typefaces within a family will share a common design of the letter shapes but differ from one another in regular ways.
The similarities without the family likely include:
- Whether the letters all occupy the same width on the page, like on a type writer, or whether they occupy only the space they need, like in a newspaper. If they all occupy the same width, the typeface is monospaced. If the ‘W’ takes more space than the ‘i’ or the ‘l’, then the typeface is proportionally spaced.
- Whether the letters has serifs. Serifs are the little caps on the ends of the long strokes of the typefaces used in books and newspapers.
- The length and width of the serifs, if present, in relationship to the lengths and widths of the main strokes.
- The height of the lower-case letters in relationship to the upper-case letters. This is known as the x-height because it is expressed as the lower-case letter ‘x’.
- Regular differences in widths of strokes, such as horizontal verses vertical strokes or strokes along the two diagonals.
The regular variations include:
- Weight: light, medium, and dark variants are created by varying the width of the strokes.
- Width: the family may include versions of the typeface which have been squeezed or stretched horizontally.
- Slant: The letters may be slanted a few degrees to the right. If they are slanted without significantly altering their forms, they are said to be oblique. If some of the strokes are curved to make the whole letter appear rounder, then the typeface is said to be italic.
Script Coverage
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Metric Compatibility
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