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type basics



100% practical. Sketches have been made to explain some basic issues in type design during the workshops. They get used to point out some problems which raise while creating a new typeface. Only some foundations are shown, no deep sophisticated details.
Any suggestions? Let us know.
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same size for all

type terminology

fluent shapes

calligraphy

spacing

black vs. white

italic vs. cursive

one for all

readability

proportions

small caps

swash caps

x-heights

bold-faced

digitizing

copy-paste?

balance shapes

kerning

ligatures




   picture 10 of 19

Proportions. Which x-height to define? Which descender depth? Defining these proportions are essential, and very strongly connected to the purpose of the type. The proportions within a certain typeface are influencing the way your type will work & look. For example, it's impossible to create a space saving newspaper typeface with an extremely wide body width.

Extremely short descenders will give a strange look to a text typeface. Even worse, they might not be visible at all anymore. But extremely short descenders can also be a smart decision, while creating a display or headline type. For a text typeface the ascender height should be as big or, even better, bigger than then cap height to give a optical pleasurable result (see drawing).



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