Tipografia

a field guide to love & typography

MEET YOUR TYPE

CONTENTS

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

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

Why settle for casual flirtation when looking for a long-lasting relationship? Findingthe 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:

Ø5

THE BIRDS & THE BEES

typeface vs. font

typography.

TIME FOR ”THE TALK”
the elements of type

fuzz
peach
MILO THIN

08

MILO REGULAR ITALIC

MILOTHIN.OTF = FONT

ABCDEGHIJK LMNOPQRST UVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv wxyz

bra
MILO TEXT

TRAINING

MILO EXTRA BOLD

007

THE BIRDS & THE BEES

typeface vs. font

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.

TYPEFACE

A typeface is a single set of characters that sharestylistic unity. 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 ithappen.

FONT

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.
FF DIN PRO

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

BASELINE
The imaginary, yet crucial line where all obedient letterforms sit.COUNTER
The enclosed negative space within a letter.

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 is important 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.

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

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.

DOES (POINT) SIZE MATTER?
type measurement

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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, using points and picas, measures typographic dimensions. Worrying too much about size can lead to aninferiority 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 page before committing to a size.

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

12 POINTS = 1 PICA

POINT

011

PICA INCH
72 POINTS = 1 INCH 6 PICAS = 1 INCH

Oh,
196 PT 17.5 PT OXTAIL OT

to plea∞e you.

THE LENGTHS I GO
44 PT

ARE WE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER?
type history & classification

SERIF

SANS SERIF

SLAB SERIF

Everyone has a...