The Science of Typography

This is going to be a weird talk. You’ve probably all seen automated “design” software and algorithms come and go. They promise the sky but often restrict you and produce bland and generic results. Should you not use such software at all? What if there are tools that analyse and guide you to create better designs? This talk will explore typographic analysis and what we as designers can learn from math and computer science.

Transcript

1. @bram_stein
   the
   SCIENCE
   typography
   of 2em
   glyph box
   0.5em
   0.5em
   baseline
   kerning
   x-height
   

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5. In olden times when wishing still helped
   one, there lived a king whose daughters were
   all beautiful; and the youngest was so beautiful
   there lived a king whose daughters were all
   In olden times when wishing still helped one,
   beautiful; and the youngest was so beautiful that
   In olden times when wishing still helped
   one, there lived a king whose daughters were
   all beautiful; and the youngest was so
   beautiful that the sun itself, which…
   there lived a king whose daughters were all
   In olden times when wishing still helped one,
   beautiful; and the youngest was so beautiful
   that the sun itself, which…
   In olden times when wishing still helped one,
   In olden times when wishing still helped
   one, there lived a king whose daughters were all there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful
   In olden times when wishing still helped one,
   Hyphenation & Justification
   Math Typesetting
   Font design
   

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6. 1978 2005
   

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7. The web was (and to a large extend still is) not
   a good platform for high quality typography.
   

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9. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
   JavaScript
   

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10. Typeset
    A small and fast hyphenation engine
    written in JavaScript. Can be used in
    Node.js and the browser.
    github.com/bramstein/hypher
    Typeset is an implementation of the
    Knuth and Plass line breaking algorithm
    using JavaScript.
    github.com/bramstein/typeset
    Hypher
    Web Font Loader
    Web Font Loader gives you added control
    when using linked fonts via @font-face.
    github.com/typekit/webfontloader
    

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11. View Slide

12. Fill-in-the-gaps Automated Design
    

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13. Fill-in-the-gaps Automated Design
    

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14. Fill-in-the-gaps Automated Design
    

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17. Fill-in-the-gaps Automated Design
    

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24. a a
    a
    Acumin Pro Madre Script Futura PT
    

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25. a
    

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26. a
    

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27. View Slide

28. Type
    

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29. aexpd
    

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30. Geogrotesque Gill Sans Arial
    a
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the
    youngest was so beautiful
    that the sun itself, which has
    seen so much, was
    astonished whenever it
    shone in her face.
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the youngest
    was so beautiful that the sun
    itself, which has seen so
    much, was astonished
    whenever it shone in her
    face.
    In olden times when
    wishing still helped one,
    there lived a king whose
    daughters were all
    beautiful, but the youngest
    was so beautiful that the
    sun itself, which has seen
    so much, was astonished
    whenever it shone in her
    face.
    a a
    

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31. a a
    a
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the
    youngest was so beautiful
    that the sun itself, which has
    seen so much, was
    astonished whenever it
    shone in her face.
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the youngest
    was so beautiful that the sun
    itself, which has seen so
    much, was astonished
    whenever it shone in her
    face.
    In olden times when
    wishing still helped one,
    there lived a king whose
    daughters were all
    beautiful, but the youngest
    was so beautiful that the
    sun itself, which has seen
    so much, was astonished
    whenever it shone in her
    face.
    Geogrotesque Gill Sans Arial
    

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32. a a
    a
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the
    youngest was so beautiful
    that the sun itself, which has
    seen so much, was
    astonished whenever it
    shone in her face.
    In olden times when
    wishing still helped one,
    there lived a king whose
    daughters were all beautiful,
    but the youngest was so
    beautiful that the sun itself,
    which has seen so much,
    was astonished whenever it
    shone in her face.
    In olden times when wishing
    still helped one, there lived a
    king whose daughters were
    all beautiful, but the
    youngest was so beautiful
    that the sun itself, which has
    seen so much, was
    astonished whenever it
    shone in her face.
    +7% -8%
    Geogrotesque Gill Sans Arial
    

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33. n
    A apple a day kee
    

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34. View Slide

35. View Slide

36. n
    A
    

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37. n
    A apple
    

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38. n
    A apple a
    

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39. n
    A apple a d y
    a
    

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40. n
    A apple a
    

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41. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a
    

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42. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    

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43. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps t e
    h
    

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44. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    

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45. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h
    

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46. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    

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47. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor away.
    

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48. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    

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49. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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50. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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51. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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52. n apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    A
    

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53. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a eeps
    t e
    h octor
    away.
    k
    d
    

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54. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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55. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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56. n
    A apple a
    d y
    a keeps
    t e
    h doctor
    away.
    

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57. View Slide

58. 1. Typeface
    2. Font size
    3. Line length (measure)
    4. Line height (leading)
    5. Typesetting
    

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59. View Slide

60. 1. Typeface
    2. Font size
    3. Line length (measure)
    4. Line height (leading)
    5. Typesetting
    

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61. http://sizecalc.com/
    

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62. 1. Typeface
    2. Font size
    3. Line length (measure)
    4. Line height (leading)
    5. Typesetting
    

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63. Anything from 45 to 75 characters is widely
    regarded as a satisfactory length of line […]
    The 66-character line (counting both letters
    and spaces) is widely regarded as ideal.
    Robert Bringhurst
    

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64. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows — only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows — only
    hard and with luminous edges — and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and
    countrymen.
    Imagine a vast
    sheet of paper on
    which straight
    Lines, Triangles,
    Squares,
    Pentagons,
    Hexagons, and
    other figures,
    instead of
    CPL: 100
    CPL: 66
    CPL: 20
    

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65. Characters per line
    0 100
    66
    

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66. 1. Typeface
    2. Font size
    3. Line length (measure)
    4. Line height (leading)
    5. Typesetting
    

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67. Longer measures need more lead than short
    ones. Dark faces need more lead than light
    ones. Large-bodied faces need more lead than
    light-bodied ones.
    Robert Bringhurst
    

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68. Longer measures need more lead than short
    ones. Dark faces need more lead than light
    ones. Large-bodied faces need more lead than
    light-bodied ones.
    Robert Bringhurst
    

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69. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures,
    instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about,
    on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much like shadows — only hard and
    with luminous edges — and you will then have a pretty
    correct notion of my country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons,
    Hexagons, and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely
    about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it,
    very much like shadows — only hard and with luminous edges — and you will then
    have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of remaining
    fixed in their places, move freely
    about, on or in the surface, but
    without the power of rising above
    or sinking below it, very much like
    Line height: 1.4
    Line height: 1.3
    Line height: 1.2
    

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70. Longer measures need more lead than short
    ones. Dark faces need more lead than light
    ones. Large-bodied faces need more lead than
    light-bodied ones.
    Robert Bringhurst
    

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71. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows —
    only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have
    a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.2 Line height: 1.4
    Line height: 1 Line height: 1.6
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows —
    only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have
    a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows —
    only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have
    a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows —
    only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have
    a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on
    which straight Lines, Triangles,
    Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons,
    and other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the
    surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below
    it, very much like shadows —
    only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have
    a pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.8
    

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72. Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.2 Line height: 1.4
    Line height: 1 Line height: 1.6
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.8
    

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73. x x
    

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74. x x
    

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75. Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.2 Line height: 1.4
    Line height: 1 Line height: 1.6
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.8
    

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76. Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.2 Line height: 1.4
    Line height: 1 Line height: 1.6
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper
    on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares,
    Pentagons, Hexagons, and
    other figures, instead of
    remaining fixed in their
    places, move freely about, on
    or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or
    sinking below it, very much
    like shadows — only hard
    and with luminous edges —
    and you will then have a
    pretty correct notion of my
    country and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.8
    (1)
    (1.1)
    (1.2)
    (1.3)
    (1.4)
    

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77. Line height (normalised)
    0 4
    1.3
    

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78. Longer measures need more lead than short
    ones. Dark faces need more lead than light
    ones. Large-bodied faces need more lead than
    light-bodied ones.
    Robert Bringhurst
    

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79. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or sinking below it, very
    much like shadows — only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have a pretty correct notion
    of my country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move
    freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below it, very much like
    shadows — only hard and with luminous edges — and
    you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country
    and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move
    freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below it, very much like
    shadows — only hard and with luminous edges — and
    you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country
    and countrymen.
    Line height: 1 Line height: 1 Line height: 1
    

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80. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places,
    move freely about, on or in the surface, but without
    the power of rising above or sinking below it, very
    much like shadows — only hard and with luminous
    edges — and you will then have a pretty correct notion
    of my country and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move
    freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below it, very much like
    shadows — only hard and with luminous edges — and
    you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country
    and countrymen.
    Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines,
    Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other
    figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move
    freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power
    of rising above or sinking below it, very much like
    shadows — only hard and with luminous edges — and
    you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country
    and countrymen.
    Line height: 1.2 Line height: 1.3 Line height: 1.4
    

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81. 1. Typeface
    2. Font size
    3. Line length (measure)
    4. Line height (leading)
    5. Typesetting
    

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82. View Slide

83. View Slide

84. View Slide

85. View Slide

86. View Slide

87. View Slide

88. View Slide

89. View Slide

90. Typographic pressure exists when text is set in
    a sub-optimal way. Pressure increases and
    decreases with distance from the ideal setting.
    

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91. View Slide

92. View Slide

93. View Slide

94. the
    SCIENCE
    typography
    of 2em
    glyph box
    0.5em
    0.5em
    baseline
    kerning
    x-height
    Twitter: @bram_stein
    Set in Acumin by Robert Slimbach
    “Metal Movable Type” by Willi Heidelbach
    Thank you.
    

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