Parts of The Letter

Parts of The Letter

Typography is the art and technique of writing. All letters start out with a basic stroke – a single line. The distinctive characteristics of typography have evolved over a period of years, making way for numerous ways to display each letter of the alphabet.

Being an art that has prospered for hundreds of years, typography is littered with technical terminology. Two basic characteristics of lettering are the “serif”, short strokes that go beyond the main strokes of a letter, and the “bracket”, the curved point between a serif and a stroke. Each letter is bound by an imaginary baseline, though there are certain letters, such as “q” or “j” that fall below the baseline. Opposite the baseline is the cap height. Unlike the baseline, no letter, uppercase or lowercase, goes beyond the cap height. Between the cap height and baseline is the “x-height”, which is named after, you guessed it, the height of the letter “x”. Not all fonts have the same x-height. Certain letters, such as “b” or “d”, go beyond the x-height. The portion of these letters that pass the x-height is known as the “ascender”. Letters like “q” or “j” mentioned before have points that fall below the baseline. These points are known as “descenders”.

Some letters, like “c” or “b”, have a circular form called the “bowl”. The bowl can be either open or closed. The area in between the bowl is called a “counter”. A counter can be defined as the negative space in between letters. Some designers make use of counters, such as the “FedEx” logo.

Aside from what was previously mentioned, each letter has its own unique terminology. That is what makes typography such a diverse and powerful thing.