Anatomy of Type

ANATOMY OF TYPE

A g f k p xApex Cap lineTerminal

AscenderArm

x-heightLeg

Descender Descender line

BowlStem

Ear

Link

Serifs Counter Baseline

x line (ormeanline)

Crossbar

Typefaces get personality fromthe characteristicsdesigned into them.Type is classifiedbased on anatomy.

Sketch and notes of a design by Frederic Goudy.

TYPE PERSONALITY

o o Handglove

e e Handglove

l l Handglove

d d Handglove

Stressplaced onthe bowls,crossstrokes andserifs ofsome letters af-fects ap-pearance

r r r r rVertical

axis(Times)

Obliqueaxis

(Garamond)

Q QPen-formed

terminal(Tiepolo)

Modeledterminal

(Garamond)

Lachrymalterminal(Times)

Roundedterminal

(Excelsior)

Sharplymodeled(Veljovic)

Bracketedserif

(Garamond)

Modeledor adnate(Caslon)

Thin orhairline(Bodoni)

Squareor slab(Boton)

Sansserif

(Helvetica)

a aModulated,moderatecontrast

(Garamond)

Lineal,no contrast

(AvanteGarde)

KEY IDENTIFIERSAxis

StrokeSerifs

Terminals

KEY IDENTIFIERSx-height:The distance from the baseline of a typeface to meanline;the height of a typeface without as-cenders or descenders.

x-height x-heightx-height contributes to a typefacespersonality and to its readability

CLASSIFYING TYPEOld Style Humanist: Giovanni

HandgloveGaralde: Garamonde

HandgloveTransitional Baskerville

HandgloveTImes

HandgloveModern,or Didone

Fenice

HandgloveCity

HandgloveMechanisticor Slab serif

Boton

Handglove

New Century Schoolbook

Handglove

CLASSIFYING TYPELineal Neo-grot sans serif: Helvetica

HandgloveGeometric sans serif: Gill Sans

HandgloveGlyphic Albertus

HandgloveMistral

HandgloveScript Kauffman

HandgloveHobo

HandgloveGraphic Brody

Handglove

Eras

Handglove

OLD STYLE, NOT OLD FASHIONEDHumanist: Giovanni

HandglovesGaralde: Garamonde

Handgloves Inclined bar on the

lowercase e points toorigin in handwriting

Light in weight withbracketed serifs andan oblique (slanted)stress

Pen-formed terminals

Garalde: contractionof Garamond andAldus

Still with an inclinedstress, but less likescript, with crossbaron e horizontal

Pen-formed terminals

TRANSITIONALBaskerville

HandglovesNew Century Schoolbook

Handgloves Axis of the curves such as bowl of o have be-

come vertical

Bracketed oblique serifs

Lachrymal terminals

The shape of each letter is determined by a mathematical formula based on ideal proportions. x-heights are somewhat larger

MODERN, OR DIDONECapelli

HandglovesFenice

Handgloves Abrupt contrast between thick and thin strokes

Axis of curves completely vertical

Serifs horizontal, hairline, unbracketed

Called modern, but Bodoni designed the first ofthese fonts 200 years ago

Didone is contracted from Didot and Bodoni

MECHANISTIC, OR SLAB SERIFCity

HandglovesBoton

Handgloves Heavy, square, unbracketed serifs

Many of these typefaces have lineal strokes,meaning the strokes are uniform in weight

These typefaces reflect their heritage in stamping machines and typewriters

LINEAL SANS SERIFNeo-grot sans serif: Helvetica

HandglovesGeometric sans serif: Gill Sans

Handgloves The original sans serif fonts from the 19th

century were called grotesques

Helvetica reflects its origin in the Bauhaus

Lineal means these typefaces have uniformstrokes; theyre more rounded and open than theoriginal grotesques

Some follow precise geometric shapes, such as cir-cles, squars, triangles

GLYPHIC, SCRIPT, GRAPHICGlyphic: Albertus

HandglovesGlyphic: Eras

Handgloves Designed to look chiseled

Blunt elephant foot serifs

Imitate cursive or en-graved writing; reservefor special occasions

Made to look drawnrather than written

Script: Kauffman

HandglovesGraphic: Brody

Handgloves

FAMILY

All the weights and styles:Franklin Gothic

HandglovesHandglovesHandglovesHandgloves

Handgloves

Roman orregular

Bold, ordemibold

Italic, oroblique

Bold italicor boldoblique

Heavy (fordisplay purposes)

Times

HandglovesHandglovesHandglovesHandgloves

TYPEFACE

All the characters,symbols and numerals

Times Roman

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890,.?!;: ' " (){}[]@# $%& - _

FONTAll the characters of one size. In

computer typesetting, typeface and font

are synonymous.

SERIES OR SCALETraditionally, a set of fonts in avariety of sizes in distinct steps.

a a a a a a a a a a a a6 10 12 14 18 24 30 36 42 48 60 72

RULE 1Read text before designing it.

TIP I1. Insert only a single space after all punctuation.2. Use proper em and en dashes where appropriate.Tip II3. Use true quote marks and apostrophes.Tip III4. Use a smaller point size for all-uppercase text.5. Add letterspacing to capitalized text and small caps.Tip IV6. Use oldstyle figures when available and where appropriate.7. Use a slightly smaller point size for numbers (when Oldstyle numerals are notavailable).Tip V8. Using boldface text sparingly.9. Avoid using underlined text.Tip VI10. Using boldface text sparingly.11. Avoid using underlined text.Tip VII12. Decrease the size of the ballot boxes.13. Consider using other characters beside bullets.Tip VII14. Increase line spacing to improve readability in body text. 15. Sans serif typefaces are often less legible than serif typefaces.16. You can probably set body text to a point size smaller than you think.

RULE 1Read text before designing it. Discoverthe inner logic of a text, exploit outerlogic of type.

Tip 11. Insert only a single space after all punctuation.2. Use proper em and en dashes where appropriate.

Tip II3. Use true quote marks and apostrophes.

Tip III4. Use a smaller point size for all-uppercase text.5. Add letterspacing to capitalized text and small

caps.

Tip IV6. Use oldstyle figures when available and where

appropriate.7. Use a slightly smaller point size for numbers

(when Oldstyle numerals are not available).

Tip V8. Using boldface text sparingly.9. Avoid using underlined text.

Tip VI10. Using boldface text sparingly.11. Avoid using underlined text.

Tip VII12. Decrease the size of the ballot boxes.13. Consider using other characters beside bullets.

Tip VII14. Increase line spacing to improve readability in

body text.15. Sans serif typefaces are often less legible than

serif typefaces.16. You can probably set body text to a point size

smaller than you think.

RULE 2Choose a typeface or group of typefacesthat bring out the character of the text.

BeowulfAn excerpt translated by Seamus HeaneyBeowulf's name was known through the north. And a young prince must be prudent like that, giving freely while his father lives so that afterwards in age when fighting starts steadfast companions will stand by him and hold the line. Behaviour that's admired is the path to power among people everywhere.

RULE 2Letterforms have tone, timber, character,just as words and sentences do.

BEOWULFAN EXCERPT TRANSLATED BY SEAMUS HEANEY

Beowulf's name was known through the north.

And a young prince must be prudent like that,

giving freely while his father lives

so that afterwards in age when fighting starts

steadfast companions will stand by him

and hold the line. Behaviour that's admired

is the path to power among people everywhere.

RULE 3Start out with only one type family.Twoserif (or sans serif) families wont providecontrast but will muddy type personality.

Styling Life: A DeclarationOne of the revelations in the studio has been

that life doesnt simply happen to us, we produceit. Thats what style is. Its producing life. Its in-verting the energy flow. Rather than acceptingthat life is something that we passively receive,accept, or endure, I believe that life is somethingwe generate. We use our capacities. And that allboils down to style. Style may be presented astheory, serendipity, or happenstance. It may bepresented as all these different things. But, for themost part, style is a decision about how we willlive. Style is not superficial. It is a philosophicalproject of the deepest order.

Garamond & Times

Styling Life: A DeclarationOne of the revelations in the studio has been that

life doesnt simply happen to us, we produce it.Thats what style is. Its producing life. Its invertingthe energy flow. Rather than accepting that life issomething that we passively receive, accept, or en-dure, I believe that life is something we generate.We use our capacities. And that all boils down tostyle. Style may be presented as theory, serendipity,or happenstance. It may be presented as all thesedifferent things. But, for the most part, style is a de-cision about how we will live. Style is not superfi-cial. It is a philosophical project of the deepestorder.

Garamond alone

RULE 4Before using bold, italics or especially bolditalics, ask if you really need it. Bold and ital-ics are tiring to read in large blocks.Styling Life: A Declaration

One of the revelations in the studio has been that lifedoesnt simply happen to us, we produce it. Thats whatstyle is. Its producing life. Its inverting the energy flow.Rather than accepting that life is something that wepassively receive, accept, or endure, I believe that life issomething we generate. We use our capacities. And thatall boils down to style. Style may be presented as theory,serendipity, or happenstance. It may be presented as allthese different things. But, for the most part, style is a de-cision about how we will live. Style is not superficial. Itis a philosophical project of the deepest order.

Styling Life: A DeclarationOne of the revelations in the studio has been that

life doesnt simply happen to us, we produce it. Thatswhat style is. Its producing life. Its inverting the en-ergy flow. Rather than accepting that life is somethingthat we passively receive, accept, or endure, I believethat life is something we generate. We use our capac-ities. And that all boils down to style. Style may be pre-sented as theory, serendipity, or happenstance. It maybe presented as all these different things. But, for themost part, style is a decision about how we will live.Style is not superficial. It is a philosophical project ofthe deepest order.

RULE 5Give full typographic attention to evensmall details or especially small details!

In 1919 Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was appointed tohead a new institution called the Bauhaus in Weimar, theGerman capital. Germany had been crushed in thewar and humiliated at Versailles. The economy was col-lapsing. Mobs of unemployed men roamed the streetswaiting for a Soviet-style revolution to erupt.

Against this background Gropius, chairman of theWorking Council for Art, sought to bring all of the artstogether under the wings of a great architecture. TheBauhaus style of architecture would proceed from cer-tain assumptions:

(1) The new architecture was to be created for theworkers,

(2) The new architecture was to reject all thingsbourgeois; and

(3) The new architecture would return to the origi-nal Classical principles of Western architecture.

New architectural materials dom-inate the building. The walls al-most entirely glass are dividedby slender brick piers. The light-ness of the building is enhancedthrough cantilevering and by theelimination of structural supportsat the corners.

The Bauhaus, dedicated to utopi-an collectivism, chose Expres-sionism as its form of commu-

nism, not Marxism, and the idea of art as a quasi-reli-gion was dominant. Buildings soon became theoriesconstructed in the form of concrete, steel, wood, stuc-co, and glass.A building must have a flat roof and asheer faade, with neither cornices nor eaves. Ascolor was considered bourgeois, buildings were white,gray, beige, or black.

Notes on the Bauhaus

AN EXPERIMENT

On the next three pages, youllsee headline sets in six typefaces.Look at them closely, then rankthem 1 (most appropriate) to 6(least appropriate).

1. Man kills wife, then self

2. Man kills wife, then self3. Man kills wife, then self




1. Wedding bells ring out in Skokie






1. Expect more snow this weekend






This experiment is similar to one performed years ago by Miles Tinker. He found that read-ers did find certain typefaces significantly more appropriate for some news categories thanfor others.

For Man kills wife, then self, 1.Times Roman and 3. Franklin Gothic Heavy come out as most appropiate, with 5.Mistral and 6. Bernhard Modern in last place.

For Wedding bells ring out in Skokie, 6 and 2.Times Italic are thetop choices with 3 last.

For Expect more snow this weekend, no clear choice emergesbetween 1, 2 and 4. Franklin Gothic Regular, but 3, 5 and 6 areusually deemed inappropriate.

This exercise teaches us that:

1.Typeface must fit the subject matter.

2.Typefaces with unusual designs cant serve a wide variety of information such as thatfound in a daily newspaper.

3.Type families with straight-forward designs in several weights and styles provide themost flexibility.

Note in the example at right how each font alters the meaning of the word tragedy.Sometimes youll choose a typeface for that meaning.

THE RESULTS

1. Tragedy2. Tragedy3. Tragedy4. Tragedy5. Tragedy6. Tragedy

Documents

Anatomy of Type