Understanding typographic terms and principles

To understand how to achieve effective type formatting, it is necessary to be aware of the various characteristics and terminology. Type characters rest upon an invisible baseline – below it extends descenders, and between the baseline and the top of the lowercase charters where the x height resides. The region above the x height contains ascenders, such as at the top of the lowercase k:

Figure 8.2: Typographic terms that are also utilized in Photoshop

Serif is an accent or embellishment that’s found at the end of the main vertical and horizontal portions of some typefaces. Its counterpart, sans serif, which originates from French, meaning without serif, does not contain the same decorative strokes or accents at the main sections of the type:

Figure 8.3: A comparison of serif and sans serif typefaces

Typefaces come in a multitude of weights, thicknesses, and styles...