Typography Anatomy (Part 1)

Any time you engage with printed or digital media with words you engage typography. Typography is, in its simplest definition, the arrangement and appearance of characters. Today we'll dive into the basics of typography by working through an illustrated guide to essential vocabulary. Let's begin!

X-height:

the height of lowercase letters, defined by the height of lowercase x. The x-height does not include ascenders or descenders.

Cap-height:

the height of capital letters (specifically those that are flat)

Stem:

the main stroke of a character, usually a straight line

Bowl:

the oval or round curve of a letter. Bowls are closed, containing space like in the g and d shown here.

Ascender:

the part of a letter that ascends above the main body of the character.

Descender:

the part of a letter that descends below the baseline.

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