Basic typography
T h e f u n d amental s
type size:
How to measure it
We measure type by point size—that
is, the height of the font as calculated
in points. (Points, you’ll recall,
are the smallest unit of printing
measurement, with 72 points to the
inch.) This sizing system originated in
the 18th century, when type was cast
in metal or wood. What’s curious is
this: Back in those olden days, a font’s
point size measured not the type
characters but the printing block that
held those characters.
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TYPE FONTS and FAMILIES
There are thousands of typefaces out there,
with names like Helvetica and Hobo, Baskerville and Blippo, Lobster and Lucida
Bright. Years ago, before printing became computerized, type foundries would cast
each typeface in a variety of sizes. And each individual size of type was called a font:
This is a font—a complete
set of characters comprising
one specific size, style and
weight of typeface, including
numbers and punctuation
marks. As you can see, this
Helvetica Neue Condensed
Bold font contains dozens
of characters—and this font
is just one member of the
Helvetica Neue family.
16-POINT helvetica neue
condensed BOLD
ABCDEFGHJKLMN
OPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmn
opqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
&.,:;“”?!()•/#¢$%*
Uppercase characters
Lowercase characters
Numbers
Special characters and
punctuation marks
All the individual Helvetica Neue fonts are part of the large Helvetica Neue family.
And many type families (like Helvetica Neue) include a variety of weights (light,
regular, bold) and styles (roman, italic, condensed). Most type families are classified
into two main groups: serif and sans serif.
Point size refers
to the height of a
font—or more specifically,
the height of the slug that held
the letters back in the days of metal type. Because
those fonts were manufactured only in standard
point sizes—9, 10, 12, 14, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60,
72—those remain common type sizes today.
Sizing type is a slippery thing because point sizes
don’t always correspond to reality. A 120-point
typeface, for example, is never exactly 120
points tall. And what’s more, the actual height of
120-point typefaces often varies from font to font.
To adjust the space between lines of type, printers
added thin strips of lead below each row of
wooden slugs. That’s why, even today, the spacing
between lines of type is called leading.
Notice the
difference
in leading
between
these lines
of text.
A
A
14-pt. Times
14-pt. Times
14-pt. Times Bold
14-pt. Times Bold
Serif type has
tiny strokes, or
serifs, at the tips
of each letter.
The typeface at
right is Garamond
Regular.
Serif type families
often include a wide
variety of weights and
styles. Times, however,
is crafted in just two
weights (regular and
bold) and two styles
(roman and italic).
Sans serif type
(“sans” means
“without” in
French) has
no serifs. The
typeface at right
is Gotham.
14-point Gotham Black
14-point Gotham Light Italic
14-point Gotham Condensed Medium
The Gotham family is one of many that are available in a wide
range of weights (from light to extra bold) and styles (including
regular, italic and condensed).
type categories
There are lots of different ways to classify typefaces.
Basically, this means there are big, broad groups that all typefaces fall into, based on
their historical backgrounds. Most newspaper designers stick with their newspaper’s
type style, though, so using a wide range of typefaces on a daily basis—picking out a
typeface that “matches” the story of the day, for example—is usually not an option.
script
decorative
Type classifications
can include slab serif,
script, decorative,
distressed, modern,
humanist, traditional
and oldstyle.
distressed
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