I work with designers every day and while many have their perfect font pairs they use almost every time, there are some who grapple to mix-n-match. Look around you and you’ll notice many designers don’t have an in-depth knowledge of typeface families, fonts and glyphs – yet they use all three of them in designs ranging from a brand logo design to a website. Let’s take the plunge! Struggles Of A Designer Finally, what are the rules of font pairing?.How can you use typeface anatomy to pair fonts?.What are the different parts of a font?.This is why, I recommend you study the basics of typeface anatomy to ease your way through finalizing the best font team for your designs. Whether you’re designing for print or the web, font pairing is a specialized technique that’ll help you master your typography skill and it’ll consequently make you a professional graphic designer. Matching two different fonts to create harmony or an appealing contrast is a daunting task many designers sweat on. To learn more about typography, read the first article in this series here.Do you struggle to find the perfect font pair? Understanding the anatomy of type is just one tool in your typographic toolbelt. The main, vertical, full-length stroke of an upright letterform. The disparity between thick and thin strokes that alters optical perception. LOOPĪ stroke added as a stop to the beginning and end of the main strokes of a character. TAILĪ trailing/descending outstroke as in j y J Q and R. FINIALĪ tapered, curved end seen on letters such as c e and a. TITTLEĪ small projection off a main stroke. The main area of lower case letters between the baseline and x-height. The thinnest stroke of a letterform common to serif typefaces. BARĪ short horizontal stroke such as the middle stroke of an E or F. DESCENDERĪ stroke which drops below the baseline, as seen in q y p g and j. LINK/NECKĪ stroke connecting the top and bottom bowls of a lowercase double-story g. BILATERAL SERIFĪ serif extending across both sides of a letter’s main stroke. CROTCHĪn acute, inside angle where two strokes meet seen on characters such as v w and y. ARMĪ longer horizontal stroke at the top or bottom of a letter such as an E or F. SPINEĭetail at the ends of some strokes, also known as a serif. OPEN COUNTERĪn open area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes in letters such as c f h i s m and n. APERTUREĪn open area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes in letters such as c f h i s m and n. CLOSED COUNTERĪ closed area of negative space (white space) formed by straight and/or curved strokes. HEAD SERIFĪ serif at the top of an ascender. BEAKĪ style of decorative stroke at the end of the arm of a letter, such as a capital T and E. CROSSBARĪ short stroke connecting to other strokes, such as the stroke of an A H f or t. Short, descending portion of a letter, seen on a K, R and Q. The end of an instroke or outstroke that does not include a serif. BOWLĪ closed curved stroke as seen in b d o p q D O P Q and B which has two bowls. The part of the letter that extends above the x-height of a font as seen in l h f t h d and b. Here is a brief overview of 30 anatomical parts of typography that you can begin using now! 1. Just like it’s important to learn the anatomy of a human in order to make informed diagnoses, understanding the anatomy of type will enable you to see what is right and wrong in type, use it effectively and appropriately talk about it with other designers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |