Meet your tipe

a field guide to love & typography

MEET YOUR TYPE

CONTENTS
TIME FOR “THE TALK”
the elements of typography page 04

CONTENTS

COULD THIS BE THE ONE?
appropriate typeface selection page 16

MAKING IT WORK
typographic details page 26

TIME TO COMMIT

font licensing and creation page 38

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THE BIRDS & THE BEES

typeface vs. font

Why settle for casual flirtation whenlooking for a long-lasting relationship? Finding the perfect match is easy if you know the rules. MEET YOUR TYPE will help you overcome common obstacles, and keep your heart thumping for your one true love:

typography.

TIME FOR ”THE TALK”
the elements of type

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THE BIRDS & THE BEES

typeface vs. font

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You may notice that you’re changing. You’re noticing different letterforms. You may feel different around them. Don’t be embarrassed; these feelings are natural. A few basics can help you through the awkward years.

TRAINING

TYPEFACE

A typeface is a single set of characters that share stylisticunity. A typeface usually comprises an alphabet of letters, numbers, punctuation and diacritical marks. Old school typographers defined a font as a complete character set of a particular typeface in one size. When type made the leap to the digital realm, a font became an electronic file that rendered the typeface in all sizes.
A typeface is what you see– a font is what you use to make it happen.FONT

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YOU JUST WANT ME FOR MY BODY
type anatomy

Double chin, big feet, or bowed legs. Little details will tell you a lot about your type. Go ahead and check them out – it’s not shallow. It’s your job.
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More than any other part of the body, the x-height can dramatically affect type readability. Avoid extremely small or very large x-heights if that isimportant to you.

X-HEIGHT
The height of a lower case x or the height of lower case letters.

ASCENDER
Quite ambitious, this part of a lower case letter rises above the x height.

SET WIDTH
Width of a character in relation to the height. Being wider than you are tall isn’t always a bad thing.

CAP HEIGHT
The distance between the baseline and the top of a capital letter.

BASELINE
Theimaginary, yet crucial line where all obedient letterforms sit.

COUNTER
The enclosed negative space within a letter.

DESCENDER
The male anatomy of a lower case letter that hangs below the baseline.

TERMINAL
Even though it sounds life-threatening, it is just the endpoint of the letterform.

12 POINTS = 1 PICA

POINT

DOES (POINT) SIZE MATTER?
type measurement

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PICAINCH
72 POINTS = 1 INCH 6 PICAS = 1 INCH

You’ve probably heard the rumor: the bigger your type, the better. While that is sometimes true, on other occasions smaller is better. No matter what size you’re working with, if used properly, it can be effective.

THE POINT SYSTEM

The point system is used by women everywhere to reward their men for good behavior. A similarly archaic system, usingpoints and picas, measures typographic dimensions. Worrying too much about size can lead to an inferiority complex. Point size has very little to do with the actual size of your type anyway. Some typefaces can appear much larger than others at the same point size. So measure however you want – points, picas, inches, centimeters, or (gulp) millimeters. Just remember to always print a test pagebefore committing to a size.

POINT SIZE When concerned about readability, pay as much attention to the x-height as the point size. X-heights that are too small or too large can dramatically affect readability.

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ARE WE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER?
type history & classification

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