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26 changes: 13 additions & 13 deletions en-US/Creating_Your_Types_Dna.md
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Expand Up @@ -16,33 +16,33 @@ Although the 'o' is especially useful for working out the basic spacing, it is n

The letter 'n', on the other hand, is very useful because it helps making the m, h, and u. The other factor that we need to concern ourselves with in choosing letters for our foundation is how frequently the letter is used. A letter that is used a lot will help us make test words. Some of the letters may be chosen almost exclusively for this second reason.

The letters you choose don't have to be the same ones we suggest. They should simply have the characteristics being discussed. So, for instance, you may want to use "a d h e s i o n" to start with. This set of letters is used in the type design MA course at the University of Reading. But an alternative you may want to use is "v i d e o s p a n." The foundry Type Together uses this set themselves ,and when they teach type design. Either set has enough DNA to be meaningful, and it is relatively small so it is very manageable.
The letters you choose don't have to be the same ones we suggest. They should simply have the characteristics being discussed. So, for instance, you may want to use "a d h e s i o n" to start with. This set of letters is used in the type design MA course at the University of Reading.

While it may be easiest to simply use one of the above sets of letters, you can also build your own.
An alternative is "v i d e o s p a n" which is used by the foundry Type Together to start their projects, and in their own type design workshops. Either set has enough DNA to be meaningful, and both are small so they are easy to make 'global' changes to.

If you do the latter, what set of letters should you pick to add to "n" and "o"? Consider the following.
While it may be easiest to simply use one of the above sets of letters, you can also build your own: Ask yourself what set of letters should you pick to add to 'n' and 'o'? Consider the following options:

a - The letter 'a' is also a very common. The 'a' may also be useful in anticipating what the terminals of s may be like.
* a - The letter 'a' is also a very common starting choice. The 'a' may also be useful in anticipating what the terminals of 's' will be like.

d - The shape of 'd' can let you know quite a lot about the design of b, p and q.
* d - The shape of 'd' can let you know quite a lot about the design of 'b', 'p' and 'q'.

e - In English and many other languages, the letter 'e' is especially common -- which makes it especially valuable. The shape of 'e' can also be used to begin the design of 'c.'
* e - In English and many other languages, the letter 'e' is especially common -- which makes it especially valuable. The shape of 'e' can also be used to begin the design of 'c'.

h - While 'h' can be built fairly rapidly from the 'n,' it also provides variety to the texture you want to test by offering an ascender.
* h - While 'h' can be built fairly rapidly from the 'n', it also provides variety to the texture you want to test by offering an ascender.

i - Like 'e' the letter 'i' is also fairly common, and it has the benefit of letting you know a little bit about what 'j' is like. The shape of 'i' is also partly inferable from the shape of 'n.'
* i - Like 'e' the letter 'i' is also fairly common, and it has the benefit of letting you know a little bit about what 'j' is like. The shape of 'i' is also partly inferable from the shape of 'n'.

s - The letter 's' is a good one to add early on because it adds visual variety to the texture of letters you will be testing. The letter 's' is also unusually hard to get right, so starting on it early makes it more likely that you will be able to spend enough time to get it right by the end of the project. The terminals of 's' may sometimes be useful for anticipating what the terminals of a, c, f, j and y could be like.
* s - The letter 's' is a good one to add early on because it adds visual variety to the texture of letters you will be testing. The letter 's' is also unusually hard to get right, so starting on it early makes it more likely that you will be able to spend enough time to get it right by the end of the project. The terminals of 's' may sometimes be useful for anticipating what the terminals of 'a', 'c', 'f', 'j' and 'y' could be like.

v - The letter 'v' is useful for anticipating what the 'y' and 'w' may be like.
* v - The letter 'v' is useful for anticipating what the 'y' and 'w' may be like.

One you have these letters, it will be useful to spend time refining them by testing words that are made from them. As before with the 'n' and 'o' a great deal of attention should be paid to the spacing of the letters and the relationships of the counters to these spaces.
Once you have these letters, it will be useful to spend time refining them by testing words that are made from them. As before with the 'n' and 'o' a great deal of attention should be paid to the spacing of the letters and the relationships of the counters to these spaces.

## Build a test text

There are many resources for rapidly building your test text;
There are many resources available online for rapidly building your test text;

There is a Libre software solution provided by Dave Crossland at <a href="http://libretext.org/">http://libretext.org</a>
There is a Libre software solution provided by a community of developers at <a href="http://libretext.org/">http://libretext.org</a>

"Adhesion Text" was the first resource of this kind. It was made by Miguel Sousa: <a href="http://www.adhesiontext.com/">http://www.adhesiontext.com/</a>

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10 changes: 5 additions & 5 deletions en-US/Numerals.md
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Expand Up @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ category: workflow
title: Numerals
---

Numerals are often difficult for font designers -- and for several reasons. One is that numerals have a very large number of curves. Another is that numerals often use conventions in their shapes that are different from (or are even in violation of) the visual conventions seen in the rest of the font design. Furthermore, numerals can have very large number of stokes (like 8 and 5 do), or they may have large white spaces (like 1, 7, and sometimes 2 and 4). Both situations can be hard to manage. Finally, there is the problem of how to make sure your zero looks different from the capital O.
Numerals are often difficult for font designers -- and for several reasons. One is that numerals have a very large number of curves. Another is that numerals often use conventions in their shapes that are different from (or are even in violation of) the visual conventions seen in the rest of the font design. Furthermore, numerals can have very large number of strokes (like 8 and 5 do), or they may have large white spaces (like 1, 7, and sometimes 2 and 4). Both situations can be hard to manage. Finally, there is the problem of how to make sure your zero looks different from the capital O.

It can be useful to look at the numerals found in a wide variety of fonts to become more familiar with the ways in which designers cope with these problems.

Expand All @@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ Having the zero narrower than the capital O while sharing its height is the comm

A perfectly round or nearly perfectly round circle is less common, but does exist. Examples of fonts that use this approach include the Google web font Volkhorn as well as other commercial types such as Mrs Eaves, Vendeta and Fleischman BT Pro. Fonts that use oldstyle proportional numerals are more likely to feature this aproach. Sometimes a zero at x-height but which is narrower will also be seen.

Numerals also come in up to 11 identfiable styles when you include fractions, superscripts and subscripts. We will look at the 5 most common ones.
Numerals also come in up to 11 identifiable styles when you include fractions, superscripts and subscripts. We will look at the 5 most common ones.

## Lining style numerals

The most common styles of number found in fonts are Tabular Lining and Proportional Lining. Lining refers to the heights that the numbers use. If it is a lining style the heights for all the numbers will be optically the same. The difference between Tabular Lining and Proportional Lining numbers is that in Tabular Lining all the numbers also share the same widths. This style is useful for speadsheets and any other purpose where it is helpful for numbers to stay stacked up in neat lines both horizontally an vertically.
The most common styles of number found in fonts are Tabular Lining and Proportional Lining. Lining refers to the heights that the numbers use. If it is a lining style the heights for all the numbers will be optically the same. The difference between Tabular Lining and Proportional Lining numbers is that in Tabular Lining all the numbers also share the same widths. This style is useful for speadsheets and any other purpose where it is helpful for numbers to stay stacked up in neat lines both horizontally and vertically.

<img src="images/2Tabularlining2.png" alt="">

Expand All @@ -41,11 +41,11 @@ Proportional lining numbers have the advantage of having the ability to looking
## Ranging or Old style numerals
<img src="images/2Proportional%20oldstyle.png" alt="">

Tabular numbers are a relatively new invention In historical terms. Before they existed there were old style proportional numbers. Old style numbers are useful if you want the numbers to mix in and share the style of a text.
Tabular numbers are a relatively new invention in historical terms. Before they existed there were old style proportional numbers. Old style numbers are useful if you want the numbers to mix in and share the style of a text.

<img src="images/2tabular%20oldstyle.png" alt="">

Tabular oldstyle numbers are fairly rare. They can be useful in an anual report where you want the feeling of an old style number but the tabular spacing typical of that kind of document. The image above is from a typewriter Library catalog card.
Tabular oldstyle numbers are fairly rare. They can be useful in an annual report where you want the feeling of an old style number but the tabular spacing typical of that kind of document. The image above is from a typewriter Library catalog card.

## Hybrid style numerals

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion en-US/Punctuation_and_Symbols.md
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Expand Up @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ When you have your comma it will be fairly easy to make the semi colon (;).

## Exclamation mark and question mark

The exclamation mark can be be deciving in that it <em>seems</em> simple to make. If you look at a range of typefaces you will see that sometimes the design is indeed fairly simple.
The exclamation mark can be be deceiving in that it <em>seems</em> simple to make. If you look at a range of typefaces you will see that sometimes the design is indeed fairly simple.

However, this is a glyph which has a surprising amount of opportunity for expressing design. It often the case that even in a font which has very little contrast, the bar above the dot is somewhat heavier at the top than the bottom. The form of the exclamation mark usually relates to the design of the comma to some degree.

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2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions en-US/Trusting_Your_Eyes.md
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Expand Up @@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ In the example above, the X on the left has two unadjusted bars crossing each ot

<img src="images/voltaire-X.png" alt="">

TODO: Show an X that is adjusted more like Myriad

As you can see in this outline view, the X that appears visually aligned involves an offset.

Glyphs in which this illusion is relevant include x, X, k, K, ×, #, and the icelandic letter 'eth' (ð).
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24 changes: 19 additions & 5 deletions en-US/What_Is_a_Font.md
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Expand Up @@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ title: What Is A Font?

What makes typefaces different from hand-writing, calligraphy, lettering, and logos?

The single biggest issue that makes type design different is the need for every glyph in the typeface to work with every other glyph. This often means that the design and spacing of each part of the typeface ends up being a series of careful compromises. These compromises mean that we can best think about typeface design as the creation a wonderful collection of letters but not as a collection of wonderful letters. In other words we must think about the group and how it will perform together and prioritize this over any question of what is wonderful in a single letter.
The single biggest issue that makes type design different is the need for every glyph in the typeface to work with every other glyph. This often means that the design and spacing of each part of the typeface ends up being a series of careful compromises. These compromises mean that we can best think about typeface design as the creation of a wonderful collection of letters but not as a collection of wonderful letters. In other words we must think about the group and how it will perform together and prioritize this over any question of what is wonderful in a single letter.

This need to prioritize with the system rather than with any single part also leads to a need to analyse our design process on the level of the system. Characteristics which span letters become the things we want to focus on particularly at the begin of the design process.
This need to prioritize with the system rather than with any single part also leads to a need to analyse our design process on the level of the system. Characteristics which span letters become the things we want to focus on, particularly at the beginning of the design process.

The other oddity in type design is that to very large extent the forms we are designing are already significantly established. Our task as type designers is not so much to create an utterly new form but rather to create a new version of an existing form. This can perplex new type designers. Finding the just right amount to change in order to excite but not to alienate a reader is a tricky thing. Often designers get stuck in letter-specific thinking. This mistake can be easily avoided if you realize from the start that what is most meaningful in a typeface are the parts of it that repeat the most. This typeface design is mostly about designing the characteristics applied not just to the common forms we all recognize but to the characteristics that occur the most often.
The other oddity in type design is that to a very large extent the forms we are designing are already significantly established. Our task as type designers is not so much to create an utterly new form but rather to create a new version of an existing form. This can perplex new type designers. Finding just the right amount to change in order to excite but not to alienate a reader is a tricky thing. Often designers get stuck in letter-specific thinking. This mistake can be easily avoided if you realize from the start that what is most meaningful in a typeface are the parts of it that repeat the most. Typeface design is not just about designing the characteristics applied to the common forms we all recognize, but also to the forms that occur most often.

It is also useful to recognize that these characteristics not only help to create a font’s voice or atmosphere, but also determine what the font will or will not be useful for, and they sometimes help determine the technological contexts for which a font is suitable.

Expand All @@ -24,7 +24,18 @@ Let's begin by identifying the main systemic characteristics in type design.

<img src="images/Construction2.png" alt="">

Construction refers to the underlying strokes that form a particular glyph. The kind of construction you use is arguably one of the most important questions to think about, because the construction effects so many of the remaining choices, particularly if your design is going to feel somewhat familiar to readers. In the example above, the white line inside the letters indicate the approximate construction suggested by the shape of the letters themselves.<img src="images/AAA.png" alt="">

Construction refers to the underlying strokes that form a particular glyph. The kind of construction you use is arguably one of the most important questions to think about, because the construction effects so many of the remaining choices, particularly if your design is going to feel somewhat familiar to readers. In the example above, the white line inside the letters indicate the approximate construction suggested by the shape of the letters themselves.

<img src="images/AAA.png" alt="">

Construction refers to the structure of the underlying strokes that form a particular glyph. Perhaps you can imagine the glyph's skeleton. The kind of construction to use is arguably one of the most important questions to think about, because the construction effects so many of the remaining choices, particularly if your design is going to feel somewhat familiar to readers.

However, the way strokes end (the 'terminals') and the 'serifs' (see below) are generally not part of what is meant by 'construction.' Construction is the skeleton of the glyph, while rest - width, weight, terminals - are all parts of the flesh.

In the example above, the white line inside the letters indicate the approximate construction suggested by the shape of the letters themselves.

<img src="images/AAA.png" alt="">

### Proportion of X-height to Cap-height

Expand All @@ -44,7 +55,7 @@ Ascenders usually exceed the cap-height by at least a little, especially in text

<img src="images/Descender%20depth.png" alt="">

Like ascenders, descenders that are long can feel elegant. Long ascenders and descenders can also be difficult to manage.
Like ascenders, descenders that are long can feel elegant. Long ascenders and descenders can also be difficult to manage, especially for samller text row heights, when the elongations begin to overlap other glphs in the next row of text. Descenders can limit how much is a safe line height, before glyphs start ot overlap. Similarly within a word, if not designed well, the elongations (ascenders and descenders) can clash or overlap with other glyphs in the same word.

## Width

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -115,6 +126,7 @@ It is easy to assume that your stems will simply be straight and that there are
<img src="images/2bowls.png" alt="">

### Terminals
Terminals are the end conditions of the construction stroke. This is not same as a serif.

<img src="images/terminals%20f.png" alt="">

Expand All @@ -136,6 +148,8 @@ The following characteristics are not present in all type designs, however they

Notice that in the font on top the flourish is more present in the capital letter and the second one the flourish is more in the lowercase.

### Serif - To be or not to be
This is an early choice to make in type design. This affects how the end conditions (Terminals) are treated. Serifs are so distinct that type is easily classified as serifs vs sans-serfis (without serifs).
### Decoration

<img src="images/4decoration.png" alt="">
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