Typography

Definition

Typography is the art of arranging and setting type traditionally for print and now extended to digital devices and interfaces.

Anatomy of a font

Fonts, also referred to as typefaces, can be recognized by looking closely at a particular set of defining characteristics used to describe them.

Font sizes

In the world of print and typesetting, font sizes were measured in points (1/72 of an inch) and their size referred to the number of points from the baseline to the cap height. Other measures important to type-setting and determining legibility at prescribed sizes are the x-height: the height of the letter x of a particular typeface and the height of the ascenders and descenders (See figure above).

Font sizes in CSS

See also CSS text styling tutorial