Typography Terms and Definitions
Justified
When the text lines up with BOTH margins
Baseline
the line upon which most letters "sit" and below which descenders extend. In the example below, the letter 'p' has a descender
Midline
half the distance from the baseline to the cap height. This may or may not be the x-height, depending on the design of the lower case letters.
Center
The text is aligned in the middle of the page
Topline
This line shows where the top of letters such as k and h touch. Strangely, in a lot of cases, this line is slightly higher than the capital line.
Left
When the text is justified to the left
Right
When the text is justified to the right
Sans
one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes
Leading
the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type.
Beardline
The part of a lowercase letter (as p) that descends below the main body of the letter; also : a letter that has such a part.
Display
Type fonts such as Avant Garde, Caesar, Garmond, that are usually larger than text fonts and give distinctive personality to a printed or displayed publication.
Slab
a type of serif typeface characterized by thick, block-like serifs. Serif terminals may be either blunt and angular, or rounded.
Script
are based upon the varied and often fluid stroke created by handwriting. They are organized into highly regular formal types similar to cursive writing and looser, more casual scripts.
Sans Serif
similar to sans, is one that has the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes
Typography
The style and appearance of printed matter
Tracking
a consistent degree of increase (or sometimes decrease) of space between letters to affect density in a line or block of text.
Blackletter
a heavy angular condensed typeface used especially by the earliest European printers and based on handwriting used chiefly in the 13th to 15th centuries
Capline
the line marking the height of uppercase letters within a font.
Kerning
the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result.