Typography is the art and technique of arranging type. It involves type design and modifying type glyphs. Key terms in typography include: Typeface - A design for a set of characters (e.g. Times Roman, Helvetica). Font includes typeface plus characteristics like size and style. Serif - Typefaces with small decorative marks on characters (e.g. Times New Roman). Sans serif lacks these marks (e.g. Helvetica). Uppercase/lowercase - Capital and lowercased letters. Uppercase starts sentences and names while lowercase makes up most text. Other terms are baselines (letter bases), ascenders (parts above x-height), descenders (

1. Typographic Terms

2. Typography is the study of letter forms in
graphic design. How you say something
can be a supporting and expanding
example of what you are trying to say.
Got a Light by DesertViper

3. What is typography?
Typography is the art and technique of
arranging type, type design, and modifying
type glyphs.

4. The earliest writing was scratched in clay
or carved in stone.

5. With the invention of moveable type by
Johan Gutenberg in 1436, the modern
printing press was born.

6. From this early technology, we draw a
great deal of our current terminology.

7. On one new slide per term, define each
terms as it relates to typography. Include
an example or a picture if it aids in the
explanation of the term.

8. typeface
• A design for a set of characters. Popular
typefaces include Times Roman,
Helvetica, and Courier. The typeface
represents one aspect of a font. The font
also includes such characteristics as size,
weight, italics, and so on.
Arial

9. serif
This is one of the general categories of
typefaces. Serif typefaces use small
decorative marks to embellish characters
and make them easier to read. Times
Roman is a serif type.
Times New Roman

10. sans serif
• This is the other general category of
typefaces. Sans serif typefaces are
composed of simple lines. Helvetica is a
sans serif type
Helvetica

11. uppercase
• The capital letters of the alphabet are
uppercase glyphs. Uppercase letters are
normally used at the beginning of
sentences and as the first letter of proper
names.
AaUPPERCASE

12. lowercase
• The little letters or non-capital letters of the
alphabet are lowercase glyphs. They
make up the bulk of written text, with
uppercase or capital letters used primarily
only to start sentences or proper names.
Bb lowercase

13. capline
• A line marking the height of uppercase
letters within a font.
THE END

14. midline (meanline)
• A line marking the middle of the letters
within a font.
Hello

15. baseline
• The line along which the bases of all
capital letters (and most lowercase letters)
are positioned
Baseline

16. ascender
• The part of certain lowercase letters that
extends above the x-height of a font.
• X-height -The height of those lowercase
letters such as "x", which have no
ascenders or descenders.
• For example : t, h, l, k, d, f, b, and i
t n

17. descender
• Is the part of certain lowercase letters that
extends below the base line of the letter.
• For example: g, j, y, and p
p o

18. counter and bowl
• Counter is the curved negative space in some
letters such as d, o, and s.
• Bowl is the circular or curved parts (counter) of
some letters such as d, b, o, D, and B is the bowl.
Some sources call any parts of a letter enclosing
a space a bowl, including both parts of a double-
storey g and the straight stem on a D or B.
O Negative space = counter/bowl

19. On the next slide, match the
terms appropriately. Move the
dotted lines and the arrows to
where they belong.

20. Alpha bet
uppercase
lowercase
serif
ascender
descender
sans serif
counter
baseline
meanline
capline