letterform
Typographic character design
A letterform is the shape of a letter as a distinct visual element—its curves, strokes, and proportions.
Typographers and designers analyze letterforms when creating or selecting fonts: The letterform of this lowercase g has an unusual double loop.
The term emphasizes letters as graphic objects rather than carriers of meaning.
Letter terminal flourish
- sans-serifType without terminal strokes
- kerningLetter-pair spacing adjustment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
- trackingMonitoring location over time
baseline · ascender · descender · x-height · ligature · typeface · alignment · justification
Uppermost point or culmination
leg · spine · tail · terminal · ear · eye · shoulder · crossbar
Bristled cleaning tool
swash · script · cursive · italic · manuscript · parchment · vellum · quill
Upright letter style
- italicSlanted letter style
- boldCourageous and daring
- lightVisible electromagnetic radiation
- mediumMiddle size or state
condensed · extended · display · text · grotesque · geometric · humanist · slab-serif
Joined handwriting style
- penmanshipSkill of forming letters
- loopCurve closing on itself
- slantOblique angle or bias
- pressureForce upon contact
spacing · legibility · Palmer · Spencerian · copperplate · roundhand · neatness · grip
serif
Letter terminal flourish
- sans-serifType without terminal strokes
- kerningLetter-pair spacing adjustment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
tracking · baseline · ascender · descender · x-height · ligature · typeface · alignment · justification · legibility
apex
Uppermost point or culmination
arm · leg · spine · tail · terminal · ear · eye · shoulder · crossbar · spur
brush
Bristled cleaning tool
flourish · swash · script · cursive · italic · manuscript · parchment · vellum · quill · hairline
roman
Upright letter style
medium · condensed · extended · display · text · grotesque · geometric · humanist · slab-serif · modern
cursive
Joined handwriting style
- penmanshipSkill of forming letters
- loopCurve closing on itself
- slantOblique angle or bias
pressure · spacing · legibility · Palmer · Spencerian · copperplate · roundhand · neatness · grip · practice
kanji
Chinese symbols in Japanese
- hiraganaJapanese phonetic alphabet
- katakanaJapanese phonetic writing system
- ArabicSemitic language family member
Hebrew · Cyrillic · Greek · Thai · Tamil · Ethiopic · Cherokee · Georgian · Armenian · Tibetan
- typographyfont, calligraphy, font design, sans serif, typefaces
- Lettering Stylescalligraphy, script, typography, copperplate, penmanship
- Arabic calligraphykufi, calligrapher, reed pen, bismillah, flourishes
- paleographypaleography, uncial, minuscule, majuscule, cursive
- Hebrew scriptaleph, shin, Hebrew alphabet, vocalization, pointing
- Medieval Writingthorn, runic script, insular script, blackletter, scribe
letterformmeaning
What something signifies
semantics · content · signified · message · denotation
letterformphoneme
Minimal distinctive sound unit
speech sound · spoken word · utterance · vocalization · pronunciation
letterformnegative space
Empty area around forms
white space · whitespace · void · empty page