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

Optical Alignment

The point of hanging the punctuation is to keep a strong left or right edge. Often this means aligning the edge with a stem (vertical stroke) rather than with a bar (horizontal stroke), as in the letter “T.” Align the second line of type with whatever is the strongest edge of the initial character you see — remember, your eye is always right! If it doesn’t look aligned, it isn’t. You might have to align with the bottom point of the capital “V,” or just inside the outside curve of an “O.” Whichever part of the letter is the closest or most obvious visual connection, align with it. This is called “optical alignment” because you are not aligning by a ruler, but by your eye.

Even though the top edge of the letter “Y” is aligned ...