Typography
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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 family
Fonts are generally divided into three categories according to their most obvious characteristics
- the presence of serifs = Serif fonts
- the absence of serifs = Sans serif fonts
- the presence of even spacing between letters = Monospace fonts
- Others include script fonts, handwritten fonts and typewriter fonts.
Note: monospace, script fonts, handwritten fonts and typewriter fonts can be either serif or non(sans) serif fonts Thousands of variations of these families exist making up a rich selection of typefaces available for print. For the web however, designers who wish to have some control or ability to foresee how their designs will look, must restrict themselves to fonts available on the users' systems, meaning that usually designers select amongst the fonts common to both Mac and PC systems (and even the fonts common to both do not display precisely the same). Link: [www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html Common fonts to all versions of Windows & Mac equivalents]
Font types
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