Typography Terms Arturth

Typography Terms

Typography Terms

As most graphic designers know, the rabbit-hole of typography is deep. When is comes to type, designers can get into the nerdiest levels of conversation during critiques and reviews. Especially when it comes to typographic terms. In other words, the lingo, or typography vocabulary.

So do you want to sound like a “type-beast”? Scroll down to see our massive list of typography terms.

Aperture_typography-terms_arturth

Aperture

The opening of a partially enclosed counter shape

Apex_typography-terms_arturth

Apex

The point at the top of a letter where two strokes meet

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Arc

The curved part of a letter at the end of a straight stem

Arm typography terms arturth

Arm

A straight or curved portion of a letter that extends upwards or outwards

Ascender_typography-terms_arturth

Ascender

The vertical stroke on lower case letters that extends above the x-height

AscenderLine_typography-terms_arturth

Ascender Line

An invisible line marking the height of all ascenders in a font

AxisStress_typography-terms_arturth

Axis / Stress

An invisible line dissecting the glyph from top to bottom at its thinnest point

BallTerminal_typography-terms_arturth

Ball Terminal

Terminal with a circular or oval shape

Baseline_typography-terms_arturth

Baseline

The imaginary line upon which a letter rests

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Beak

A decorative stroke at the end of the arm of a letter, like a serif, but usually more pronounced.

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Bilateral Serif

Serif or slab serif extending to both sides of a main stroke

Bowl_typography-terms_arturth

Bowl

A fully closed round part of a letter

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Bracket

A curved or wedge-like connection between the stem and serif

CapHeight_typography-terms_arturth

Cap Height

The height of a capital letter above the baseline for a particular typeface

Counter_typography-terms_arturth

Counter

The area of a letter that is entirely or partially enclosed

Crossbar_typography-terms_arturth

Crossbar

The horizontal stroke in letters, usually across the middle of uppercase letters like A and H

CrossStroke_typography-terms_arturth

Cross Stroke

A horizontal stroke that intersects the stem of a lowercase t or f

Crotch_typography-terms_arturth

Crotch

An acute, inside angle where two strokes meet

Descender_typography-terms_arturth

Descender

The portion of a letter that extends below the baseline of a font

DescenderLine_typography-terms_arturth

Descender Line

The invisible line marking the lowest point of the descenders within a font

Ear_typography-terms_arturth

Ear

A decorative flourish usually on the upper right side of the bowl

Eye_typography-terms_arturth

Eye

Specifically the enclosed space in a lowercase ‘e’

Finial_typography-terms_arturth

Finial

a somewhat tapered curved end on letters such as the bottom of c or e

Foot_typography-terms_arturth

Foot

The part of a stem that rests on the baseline

Gadzook_typography-terms_arturth

Gadzook

An embellishment in a ligature that is not originally part of either letter

Glyph_typography-terms_arturth

Glyph

A specific shape, design, or representation of a character

Grotesk_typography-terms_arturth

Grotesk

German name for sans serif typefaces

Hairline_typography-terms_arturth

Hairline

A name for the lightest weight within a font family. Hairline can also refer to the thinnest stroke of a letter

Halbfett_typography-terms_arturth

Halbfett

German name for the semi-bold weight in a font family

Hook typography terms arturth

Hook

A curved, protruding stroke in a terminal, usually found on a lowercase f

Inktrap_typography-terms_arturth

Inktrap

A feature of certain typefaces designed for printing in small sizes

JointJuncture_typography-terms_arturth

Joint/Juncture

The point where a stroke connects to a stem

Leg_typography-terms_arturth

Leg

The lower, down sloping stroke of a letter, most common is a K or R

Ligature_typography-terms_arturth

Ligature

Where two or more letters are joined as a single glyph

LinkNeck_typography-terms_arturth

Link/Neck

The small, usually curved stroke that connects the bowl and loop of a g

Loop_typography-terms_arturth

Loop

The enclosed or partially enclosed counter below the baseline that is connected to the bowl by a link

Midline_typography-terms_arturth

Midline

The imaginary line at which all non-ascending letters stop

Overshoot_typography-terms_arturth

Overshoot

The degree to which a letter extends higher or lower than a comparably sized “flat” letter

Pro_typography-terms_arturth

Pro

Typeface supports additional languages including Central European and Cyrillic and/or Greek

Shoulder_typography-terms_arturth

Shoulder

The curved stroke aiming downward from a stem

Smallcaps_typography-terms_arturth

Small Caps

Lowercase characters typeset with glyphs that resemble uppercase letters but reduced in height and weight

Spine_typography-terms_arturth

Spine

The main left to right curving stroke in the letter S

Spur_typography-terms_arturth

Spur

The small protruding part on a main stroke

Stem_typography-terms_arturth

Stem

A vertical stroke in a character

Swash_typography-terms_arturth

Swash

An exaggerated decorative serif, terminal or tail

Tail_typography-terms_arturth

Tail

The descending, often decorative stroke on the letter Q or the descending, often curved diagonal stroke on K or R

Taper_typography-terms_arturth

Taper

The thinner and/or refined end of a stroke

Terminal_typography-terms_arturth

Terminal

The end of a stroke that doesn’t have a serif

Tittle_typography-terms_arturth

Tittle

A small distinguishing mark, such as an diacritic on a lowercase i or j

Vertex_typography-terms_arturth

Vertex

The outside point at the bottom or top of a character where two strokes meet

Weight_typography-terms_arturth

Weight

The thickness of the character outlines relative to their height

X-Height_typography-terms_arturth

X-Height

The distance between the baseline and the mean line of lower-case letters


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