Emily Ryan: Chapter 2 Reading Response

Chapter 2 in our book was all about the anatomy of typography, which I learned, there is much more than meets the eye. This chapter starts off by explaining the origins of typography from writing and brush strokes to chisels. Then it goes on to dissect the parts of the individual letters. After taking a fundamental design class I thought I was aware of the different names for parts of letters, but there are so many more that I never knew about. For example I learned about eyes, shoulders, tails, etc. There is a lot to take into consideration when understanding the letters within a font family. This chapter talks about the proper proportions and ratios important in letters. There are many visual and psychological variables that can affect a typeface and how it is perceived. When a font is designed it may seem as if it is completely equal but most often it is a design trick that makes our eyes see it as such. We need to adjust a font so it is visually appealing as opposed to mathematically precise. The chapter then discusses the different types of classifications for type such as old style, italic, transitional, modern, Egyptian, and sans serif. Then is goes on to explain the different ways to distinguish characteristics of type such as weight, posture, and x-height. These characteristics are used to further classify different typefaces. Next the chapter goes on to explain how type is measured. A point system of measuring fonts was first invented in 1773. Type is measured in either points or picas. There are 72 points in an inch and 12 points in a pica, and about 6 picas in an inch. Depth of type is measured in points. Width of a type is called set width and is measured in picas. Besides measuring the letters themselves, we also need to measure the spaces in between them, and how they relate to one another in order to be appealing.