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ELEMENTAL OF TYPOGRAPHY

Type Measurement

Point

  • The best teachers are patient with students, and understand when they are under stress or have problems with material. They do whatever is necessary to get their students back on track, and are able to recognize that everybody has bad days.

  • Type size regularly from 4 to 96 point. Types bigger than 96 point are measured for typesetting in inch measurement

Pica

  • Pica is measurement unit equivalent to 12 point in width.

  • One pica is 12 points.

Em & En

  • Em is measurement important unit in graphic designing.

  • Actually, it is used in order to know the square box with the same type. For example 36-point Em measured by 36 point, or ½ of inch at each plane. Em 12 point, or one pica at each division is referred as pica Em.

  • Other measurement for the area but not square is called ‘En’.

  • Measurement En is half from width of Em. En at 36 point, or inch height ½ equals to 36 point En length and 18 point En width.

Letter Spacing

  • Bringing distance between letters closer in a word called ‘kerning’.

  • It involves total of spacing between each letter and character function.

Stroke in Type

  • Vertical: The upward stroke of a letter. Example “i, l”

  • Horizontal: The side-to-side stroke of a letter. Example ‘Z, E”

  • Incline: The slanting stroke of a letter. Example A, X,Y,W

  • Cursive: The curvy stroke of a letter. Example S,C,O,Q

Volume Optical

  • The space that is found between letters. This volume must be equal or balanced in order to the letters with another letters to be placed in one view eye position.

  • If the volume between these letters is extremely big, the eye will see two separate letters and be separated.

Letter Space

  • To find distance between letters that fulfill visual need, it must follow the system of space distance, which was determined

  • This distance is different based on stroke letters; like vertical stroke or horizontal that is adjacent, and the distance scale that is used must be big.

Base & Hanging

Base

Hanging

  • Cursive letters are designed slightly taller than straight stroke letters.

  • As such they will look exactly of the same height.

  • Cursive, inclined and some of the horizontal letters usually have their strokes situated on the left hand margin. Illusion wise they appear to be on the margin.

  • A designer must be concerned with hanging letters when adjusting the headline.

Word Spacing

Line Spacing

  • Word spacing, which is too much or too little, will become difficult to read. It should differ according to type size, typeface and place of type.

  • There are two types of systems, which are used for measuring spacing between letters.

  • Line spacing is also called ‘leading’ where there is a vertical space between the lines of each type. Line spacing is measured in points.

  • The closest line spacing is called ‘minus leading’ involving the reduction of space between lines.

EXCERCISE

QUESTION

  1. Tabulate the function of each elements such as;

  2. Kerning

  3. Tracking

  4. Leading

  5. Alignment

  6. Ligatures

  7. Hyphenation

  8. Rag

  9. Widows and Orphans

ANSWER

The function of each elements such as :

Kerning - Is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result

Tracking - Tracking involves adjusting the spacing throughout the entire word. Tracking is generally used to fill a space that’s larger or smaller.

Leading - Is derived from the practice of placing lead strips between lines type on older hand set printing presses such as a letterpress.

Alignment - Alingment define as reading area of your page by separating the main text from the surrounding environment.

Ligatures - Two or more letter combined into one character make a ligatures. Some ligatures represent specific sounds or words. 

Hyphenation -Automated process of breaking words between lines to create more consistency across a text block.

Rag - Refers to the irregular vertical margin of block type.

Widows and Orphans - A widow is a very short line. Usually one word, or the end of hyphenated word at the end of a paragraph or column. Like a widow, an orphan is  a single word, part of a word or very short line, except it appears at the beginning of a column or a page. 

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