Kerning & Tracking

Kerning & Tracking

From pages 80 - 81 'Thinking with Type' by Ellen Lupon


Kerning
'If letters in a typeface are spaced too uniformly, they make a pattern that doesn't look uniform enough. Gaps occur, for example, around letters whose forms angle outward or frame an open space (W, Y, V, T, L). Im metal type, a kerned letter extends past the lead slug that supports it, allowing two letters to sit more closely together. In the digital typefaces used today, the space between letters is controlled by a table of Kerning pairs, which specify spaces between different letter combinations.'

Tracking
'Adjusting the overall space between letters, rather than the space between two characters, is called tracking, also known letterspacing. It is common practice to letterspace capitals and small capitals, which appear more regal when standing apart. By slightly expanding the tracking across a body text, the designer can create a more airy field. Negative tracking is rarely desirable. This device should be used sparingly, to adust one or more lines of justified type. Lowercase letters respond less favorably to letterspacing than uppercase letters do, because they are designed to sit together intimately on a line.'