Typography Vocab Set

S Duran

GD 230 Typography

1. Alignment: Precise arrangement of letterforms upon an imaginary horizontal or vertical line.
2. Ampersand: Typographic character (&) representing the word.
3. Base alignment: A typesetter or printer specification that the baseline for all letters should be horizontal, even in a line of mixed sizes or styles; also called baseline alignment.
4. Baseline: An imaginary horizontal line upon which the base of each capital letter rests.
5. Bezier curves: A type of curve with nonuniform arcs, as opposed to curves with uniform curvature, which are called arcs. A Bezier curve is defined by specifying control points that set the shape of the curve, and are used to create letter shapes and other computer graphics.        
6. Bitmap: A computerized image made up of dots. These are “mapped” onto the screen directly from corresponding bits in memory (hence the name). Also referred to as paint format.
7. C and lc: Used in marking copy, to instruct the typesetter to use capitals and lowercase.    
8. Cap height: Height of the capital letters, measured from the baseline to the capline.
9. Caps: Letters larger than – and often differing from – the corresponding lowercase letters. Also called uppercase.                        
10. Caption: Title, explanation, or description accompanying an illustration or photograph.
11. Cascading Style Sheets:Web-site design software permitting the specification of type characteristics such as type size, letter-,and line-spacing.                
12. Character: Symbol, sign, or mark in a language system.Character count. The number of characters in a block of text. In typography, spaces are counted but other nonprinting characters usually are not. In data processing, both printing and nonprinting characters are usually counted.    
13. Colophon: Inscription, frequently placed at the end of a book, that contains facts about its production.
14. Column guide: Nonprinting lines that define the location of columns of type.
15. Condensed: Letterforms whose horizontal width has been compressed.
16. Copyfitting: Calculating the area that will be occupied by a given manuscript when set in a specified size and style of type.                        
17. Counter: Space enclosed by the strokes of a letterform.
18. Cursor: Term for the pointer or insertion point on a computer screen.
19. Drop initial/Drop cap: Display letterform set into the text.
20. Egyptian: Typefaces characterized by slab like serifs similar in weight to the main strokes.
21. Ellipses: Three dots used to indicate an omission in quoted material.
22. Em: The square of the body size of any type, used as a unit of measure. In some expanded or condensed faces, the em is also expanded or condensed from the square proportion.        
23. Em dash: A dash one em long. Also called a long dash.
24. Em leader: Horizontal dots or dashes with one em between their centers.
25. En: One-half of an em (see Em ).
26. En dash: A dash one en long. Also called a short dash.
27. EPS: (Encapsulated PostScript/Hyphenation) The syllabic division of words used when they must be broken at the end of a line. In electronic typesetting,hyphenation can be determined by the operator or automatically by the computer.
28. Expanded: Letterforms whose horizontal width has been extended.
29. Export:To send text, graphics, or layouts created in one program from the computer memory in a form suitable for use with other programs.                
30. Face: The part of metal type that is inked for printing. Also another word for typeface.
31. Family: (Type family) The complete range of variations of a typeface design, including roman, italic, bold, expanded, condensed, and other versions.
32. Fit: Refers to the spatial relationships between letters after they are set into words and lines.
33. Flush left (or right): The even vertical alignment of lines of type at the left (or right) edge of a column.
34. Folio: Page number.
35. Font: A complete set of characters in one design, size, and style. In traditional metal type, a font meant a particular size and style; in digital typography a font can output multiple sizes and even altered styles of a typeface design.    
36. Footer: An identifying line, such as a page number and/or a chapter title, appearing in the bottom margin of a document. Footers repeated throughout a document are called running footers or running feet.
37. Format: The overall typo-graphic and spatial schema established for a publication or any other application.
38. Grayscale: An arbitrary scale of monochrome (black to white)intensity ranging from black and white, with a fixed number of intermediate shades of gray.
39. Grid: Underlying structure composed of a linear framework used by designers to organize typographic and pictorial elements. Also, a film or glass master font, containing characters in a predetermined configuration and used in phototypesetting.
40. Gutter: The interval separating two facing pages in a publication.
41. Hairline:Thinnest strokes on a typeface having strokes of varying weight.
42. Hanging indent: In composition, a column format in which the first line of type is set to a full measure while all additional lines are indented.                        
43. Hanging punctuation: Punctuation set outside the column measure to achieve an optical alignment.
44. Header/Heading: An identifying line at the top margin of a document. A header can appear on every page and can include text, pictures, page numbers, the date, and the time. Headers repeated throughout a document are called running headers or running heads/Copy that is given emphasis over the body of text,through changes in size, weight, or spatial interval.
45. Icon: A pictorial representation. The elemental pictures on a computer screen used to represent disk drives, files,applications, and tools, etc., are called icons
46. Import: To transfer text, graphics, or layouts into a program in a form suitable for its use.
47. Indent: An interval of space at the beginning of a line to indicate a new paragraph.
48. Initial: A large letter used at the beginning of a column; for example, at the beginning of a chapter.
49. Interletter spacing: The spatial interval between letters, also called letterspacing.
50. Italic: Letterforms having a pronounced diagonal slant to the right.
51. Justified text: Copy in which all lines of a text – regardless of the words they contain – have been made exactly the same length, so that they align vertically at both the left and right margins.
52. Kerning: In typesetting, kerning refers to the process of subtracting space between specific pairs of characters so that the overall letterspacing appears to be even. (Compare Tracking-The overall tightness or looseness of the spacing between all characters in a line or block of text. Sometimes used interchangeably with kerning, which more precisely is the reduction in spacing between a specific pair of letters.)
53. Ligature: A typographic character produced by combining two or more letters.
54. Line Breaks: The relationships of line endings in a ragged-right or ragged-left setting. Rhythmic line breaks are achieved by adjusting the length of individual lines of type.
55. Line Spacing: The vertical distance between two lines of type measured from baseline to baseline. For example, “10/12” indicates 10-point type with 12 points base-to-base (that is, with 2 points of leading). See Leading, Interline spacing-In early typesetting, strips of lead were placed between lines of type to increase the interline spacing, hence the term.   
56. Masthead: The visual identification of a magazine or newspaper, usually a logotype. Also a section placed near the front of a newspaper or periodical containing information such as names and titles of publishers and staff, along with addresses.
57. Menu: A list of choices in a computer application, from which the user selects a desired action. In a computer’s desktop interface, menus appear when you point to and click on menu.
58. Negative: The reversal of a positive photographic image.
59. Oblique: A slanted roman character. Unlike many italics,oblique characters do not have cursive design properties.                            
60. Old Style: Typeface styles derived from fifteenth- to eighteenth-century designs, and characterized by moderate thick-and-thin contrasts, bracketed serifs, and a handwriting influence.
61. Orphan: A single word on a line, left over at the end of a paragraph, sometimes appearing at the top of a column of text. (See Widow: A very short line that appears at the end of paragraph, column, or page, or at the top of a column or page.These awkward typographic configurations should be corrected editorially.)   
62. Outline font: Letterforms described by a contour line that encloses the entire character on all sides. The interior usually remains open.                        
63. Paragraph mark: Typographic elements that signal the beginning of a paragraph. Example, ¶.
64. Pica: Typographic unit of measurement: 12 points equal 1 pica.6 picas equal approximately one inch. Line lengths and column widths are measured in picas.
65. Pixel: Stands for picture element; the smallest dot that can be displayed on a screen.
66. Point: A measure of size used principally in typesetting. One point is equal to 1/12 of a pica, or approximately 1/72 of an inch. It is most often used to indicate the size of type or amount of leading added between lines
67. Ragged: (Unjustified type) Lines of type set with equal interword spacing, resulting in irregular line lengths.
68. Roman: Upright letterforms, as distinguished from italics. More specifically, letters in an alphabet style based on the upright serif letterforms of Roman inscriptions.
69. Run-around:Type that is set with a shortened line measure to fit around a photograph, drawing, or other visual element inserted into the running text.
70. Running head: Type at the head of sequential pages, providing a title or publication name.
71. Sans serif: Typefaces without serifs.
    72. Serif: Small elements added to the ends of the main strokes of a letterform in serifed type styles.