From the course: Graphic Design Tips & Tricks

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Why round letters are bigger than straight ones

Why round letters are bigger than straight ones

From the course: Graphic Design Tips & Tricks

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Why round letters are bigger than straight ones

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- Hi everybody, John McWade, Senior Author here at Lynda.com I saw this "No Parking" sign on the pavement at the middle school, and it reminded me of an interesting typographic detail, and that's that round letters always extend slightly above and below their cap and base lines. You don't normally notice this, in fact, you shouldn't notice it. I saw it here because it's exaggerated, and that's because the sign crew put 100% of the extension above the cap line and none of it below. All type is drawn this way. The round letters are a little bigger. Here it is in Helvetica Noue Bold. Type is drawn this way to overcome an optical illusion. Since the round letters touch the line at only one point, if they aligned exactly, they would look too small, which may be easier to see if I remove the blue lines. This applies to lower-case letters, too, and numerals. The round ones extend slightly above the X-height line, which for sure is easier to see up close, and the flat parts stay on the lines.…

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