![]() ![]() It is also good to keep in mind, that an increase or decrease changes the grey “color” of the type on screen or paper. Lighter typefaces have large counter forms and therefore need more line spacing, while bolder faces can usually cope with less. You would want to select a space that enables the eye to jump gently from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. That is a particular problem with monospaced typefaces, where word spaces are as large as an M-space and your eye begins to see grids in the text. Also word spaces should not be larger than the line spacing – this usually results in a distraction of the eye. In his first book on typography, Rhyme and Reason (Berlin 1987), Spiekermann expressed an exception to this rule: “Touching is allowed if it looks better.” 6 While this may be true for headlines and posters (which is the point Spiekermann is making), this is impossible to control in long reads. There is a general rule out there among most typographers, that descenders and ascenders should not be touching. Type tip from Erik Spiekermann: A space equal to the lowercase ‘i’ makes a good word space in headlines. While there is no commandment on how large the ideal word space should be, a helpful rule of thumb comes from Spiekermann, who suggests a space equal to the lowercase ‘i’ in headlines. ![]() When they appear too big (that is commonly the case with early digital typefaces), increasing the tracking may help. Word spaces are also a fixed element of a typeface design. What was once done at advertising agencies in the 1970s on Madison Avenue in New York City, decreasing the tracking to a point that letters began touching (then called “sexy spacing”), is better not applied from a legibility standpoint. Usually large type such as headlines has less tracking, while small type, e.g. Goudy and Erik Spiekermann have expressed it in metaphors involving sheep: don’t letter-space words set in lowercase! 4 However, there is a certain extent to which letter-spacing is allowed and necessary (this cannot be expressed in a particular value, because – again – this depends on the selected typeface). Tracking is a value that defines space between letters and it is a part of the design. Lowercase letters dominate the text and therefore define the appearance of a typeface. The latter has a much larger x-height, therefore it needs to be decreased in size just slightly (second line). Although Petr van Blokland’s Proforma and Łukasz Dziedzic’s FF Good® are set in the same size in this example (first line), they don’t appear even. When comparing and mixing typefaces, their x-heights should be matched. In fact we cannot compare typefaces well if we match their capitals, instead we should bring the x-heights in line – and only then we can properly mix typefaces, but this is a different story. Lowercase letters usually dominate a text and therefore define the appearance of the face. This is due to micro-typographic characteristics such as ascenders, descenders and counter forms. ![]() The choice of the typeface may be made due to aesthetics as well as technical considerations, but most importantly we should not forget that different faces displayed at the same point value in a page description language might appear differently in size. The leading is 6 point, therefore the line spacing equals 30 point. This example shows 24 point Hunt Roman on the left and 24 point FF Franziska™ on the right – both have a fairly large x-height. Line spacing on the other hand (blue lines) is defined from one baseline to another. Leading describes the space between the descenders of one line to the ascenders of the next (light blue space). In metal type the space between lines is made from lead, thus the term leading. When your type size is 10pt and the line spacing is 12pt, then your leading equals 2pt.) It describes the space between the descenders of one line to the ascenders of the next, while line spacing is defined from one baseline to another. He also points out the mutual dependence of some of the factors, such as type size, line spacing and the length of the line and concludes: “With an increase of line width of the same typeface and size comes a demand for more leading.” 1 (Leading is a letterpress term, from a time when the space between lines was made from lead. In the subtitle to Detail in Typography (London 2008) Jost Hochuli lists the cast of his famous publication: letter, letter space, word, word space, line, line spacing, column. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |