Non-Designer’s Type Book, The, Second Edition

Anatomy of Type

Before we begin, let’s look at a few characters up close so when you read specific typographic terms throughout the rest of the book, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Serif type has “serifs,” as circled above. “Sans” is French for “without,” so “sans serif” type has no serifs.

Notice how the serif letter a changes from a “two-story” a into a “one-story” a when it is italic, but the sans serif does not. That is typical of how ...