typography
Art of type
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type—selecting fonts, sizing letters, adjusting spacing, and organizing text on a page or screen.
Good typography makes text readable and visually appealing; bad typography makes readers struggle or quit.
The term covers both the craft itself and the visual characteristics of printed or displayed text: The typography on that website is terrible.
Visual form of character
- serifLetter terminal flourish
- sans-serifType without terminal strokes
- ligatureCord for binding
- uppercaseCapital letter form
lowercase · italic · bold · blackletter · script · swash · ascender · descender
Framework of intersecting lines
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
- marginEdge of a page
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- columnsUpright structural shafts
gutter · rag · justified · centered · orphan · widow · indentation · pull-quote
Character style set
- familyRelated people together
- weightMeasure of heaviness
- widthDistance across something
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
geometric · humanist · slab-serif · monospace · display · text · condensed · extended
Letter-pair spacing adjustment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- letter-spacingInter-character distance control
- emTypographic measurement unit
en · loose · tight · proportional · tabular
Printing from raised surfaces
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- gravureRecessed-plate printing method
- screenprintingInk-through-mesh reproduction method
woodblock · linotype · monotype · composing · chase · impression · ink · substrate
Clearness of text
- clarityState of being understandable
- contrastNotable difference between things
- measureUnit of quantity
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
eye-strain · accessible · hinting · antialiasing · subpixel · rendering
Printing press inventor's name
- BaskervilleTransitional serif typeface
- incunabulaEarliest European printed books
- illuminatedMade visible by light
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
glyph
Visual form of character
- serifLetter terminal flourish
- sans-serifType without terminal strokes
- ligatureCord for binding
uppercase · lowercase · italic · bold · blackletter · script · swash · ascender · descender · x-height
grid
Framework of intersecting lines
columns · gutter · rag · justified · centered · orphan · widow · indentation · pull-quote · folio
font
Character style set
grotesque · geometric · humanist · slab-serif · monospace · display · text · condensed · extended · regular
kerning
Letter-pair spacing adjustment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- letter-spacingInter-character distance control
letterpress
Printing from raised surfaces
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- gravureRecessed-plate printing method
screenprinting · woodblock · linotype · monotype · composing · chase · impression · ink · substrate · registration
legibility
Clearness of text
- clarityState of being understandable
- contrastNotable difference between things
- measureUnit of quantity
comprehension · eye-strain · accessible · hinting · antialiasing · subpixel · rendering
Gutenberg
Printing press inventor's name
- BaskervilleTransitional serif typeface
- incunabulaEarliest European printed books
- illuminatedMade visible by light
Jenson · manuscript · roman · uncial
OpenType
Digital font technology standard
- publishingpublishers, editors, editor, publishing house, books
- Design HistoryArt Nouveau, Bauhaus, mid-century modern, Modernism, Postmodernism
- Book Coversbook cover, cover art, cover design, cover image, dust jacket
- design artsapplied arts, decorative arts, industrial design, product design, furniture design
- early printingincunabula, folio, quarto, woodcut, colophon
- visual communicationpainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, illustration
typographyillustration
Picture explaining something
photography · iconography · imagery · drawing · data visualization
typographyspeech
Oral communication ability
orality · oral tradition · spoken word · verbal communication · vocalization
typographyplain text
Unencoded readable characters
handwriting · chirography · raw text · manuscript · cursive
- typographical errorsMistakes in printed text
typographical, typographic, typographer, typographers, typographies, typographically