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   Quick Reference

Stem Terminal Ear Bowl Eye Shoulder -

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 Aperture BracketHandgloveCrossbar Counter Axis ry Link/Neck Loop/Lobe Tail

   The upward vertical stem on some An imaginary line drawn from top to The curved part of the character that lowercase letters, such as ‘h’ and ‘b’, that bottom of a bisecting the upper and encloses the circular or curved parts extends above the x-height is the lower strokes is the axis. (counter) of some letters such as ‘d’, ‘b’, ‘o’, ascender. ‘D’, and ‘B’ is the bowl. Anatomy    The imaginary line upon which the letters   The aperture is the partially enclosed, in a appear to rest. The bracket is a curved or wedge-like somewhat rounded negative space in connection between the stem and serif — Basic parts some characters such as ‘n’, ‘C’, ‘S’, the of some . Not all serifs are lower part of ‘e’, or the upper part of a bracketed serifs. of a typeface double-storey ‘a’. ../        .  . a

           Quick Reference The height from the to the top Typically found on the lower case ‘g’, an The descending, often decorative stroke of the uppercase letters (not including ear is a decorative flourish usually on the on the letter ‘Q’, or the descending, often ). upper right side of the bowl. curved diagonal stroke on ‘K’ or ‘R’ is the tail.    Further Reading The enclosed or partially enclosed circular Much like a counter, the eye refers    or curved negative space (white space) of specifically to the enclosed space in a The end (straight or curved) of any stroke • FontShop Fundamentals 2 some letters such as ‘d’, ‘o’, and ‘s’. lowercase ‘e’. that doesn’t include a serif. • Erik Spiekermann's Typo Tips • Type Glossary   / -  The (usually) horizontal stroke across the Much like a counter, the eye refers The height of the lowercase letters, • Type Anatomy middle of uppercase ‘A’ and ‘H’ is a specifically to the enclosed space in a disregarding ascenders or , crossbar. lowercase ‘e’. typically exemplified by the letter x. The Online Resources relationship of the x-height to the body  / defines the perceived type size. A typeface • Fontshop.com Any part in a lowercase letter that extends In a double-storey ‘g’, the loop is the with a large x-height looks much bigger • FontFeed.com below the baseline, found for example in enclosed or partially enclosed counter than a typeface with a small x-height at • Spiekermann.com ‘g’, ‘j’, ‘p’, ‘q’, ‘y’, etc. Some types of below the baseline that is connected to the same size. descenders have specific names. the bowl by a link. The enclosed or partially enclosed extenders on cursive ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘l’, and similiar letters are also called loops.

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