AR DTP 1 Unit 3 Typography
Dingbat
a decorative element available in font format
Font
a family of alphabetic characters, numbers, punctuation marks and other symbols that share a consistent design; often used synonymously with typeface
Indent
a feature that sets a temporary left, right, or left and right margin for paragraph text
Shadow
a formatting style that adds depth to text or other objects, making them appear more three-dimensional
Small cap
a formatting style that displays uppercase letters in a smaller size than the regular uppercase letters, typically the height of lowercase letters in that font
Em dash
a line the width of a capital M in whichever font is being used; is used to indicate a break in thought
En dash
a line the width of a capital N in whichever font is being used; is used to connect ranges of numbers, dates, letters
Em space
a space that is the width of a capital M in the font and point size being used
En space
a space that is the width of a capital N in the font and point size being used; half the size of a em space
Texture
a special formatting style creates the illusion of actual textures such as wood, metal, objects in nature, etc.
Text wrap
a technique that allows text to flow around a graphic image
Point
a unit of measurement used to describe the size of text; one point = 1/72 of an inch
Orphan
a very short line of text (single sentence or phrase) that appear at the top of a column or page, with the rest of the paragraph at the bottom of the previous page
Widow
a very short line of text (single sentence or phrase) that appears at the end of a paragraph or column
Tracking
adjusting the spacing between words, phrases, and extended blocks of text
3-D
an effect that gives the illusion of depth
Initial cap
an enlarged letter that is used as the first character of a paragraph; may be dropped or raised
Baseline
an imaginary horizontal line along which the base of a letter sets
Character
any written or printed letter, number, or symbol
Upper case
capital letters in a typeface
Bold
font style that makes characters appear darker than the surrounding text
Script
formal or informal typefaces designed to imitate handwriting
Lower case
non-capital letters in a typeface
Greeking
nonsense text used as a placeholder for actual text; also known as lorem ipsum
Italics
printed in or using characters that slope to the right
Display font
see decorative font
Typeface
see font
Reverse type
special formatting style that uses light color text on a dark background
Contoured text
text that follows an outline in some type of curved or irregular pattern
Kerning
the adjustment of space between pairs of letters to improve its appearance or alter its fit
Font style
the appearance of type (e.g., bold and italics)
Drop cap
the first letter in a story that is enlarged and lowered so the top of the letter is even with the first line of text and the base of the letter drops next to the rest of the paragraph
Hanging indent
the first line of a paragraph is flush left, but all remaining lines are indented
Cap height
the height of capital letters from the baseline to the top of caps, most accurately measured on a character with a flat bottom (E, H, I, etc.)
X-Height
the height of lowercase letters, specifically the lowercase x, not including ascenders and descenders
Character width
the horizontal distance of a character
Descender
the part of a character (g, j, p, q, y, and sometimes J) that descends below the baseline
Ascender
the part of a lowercase character (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) that extends above the x-height
Leading
the space between lines of text
Typography
the study of all elements of type as a means of visual communication; includes the shape, size, and spacing of characters
Serif
typeface with projections extending off the main strokes of a character
Sans Serif
typeface without serifs
Decorative font
typefaces designed to attract attention; used in limited situations, mostly in large sizes for headlines or titles
