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February 22, 2010
Question

Kerning

  • February 22, 2010
  • 2 replies
  • 929 views

Hi,

I'm familiar with some of the general rules for kerning, such as:

-The distance between a straight and a round ( and vice versa) should be slightly less than two straights.

-The distance between two rounds should be slightly less than a straight and a round.

But what about diagnols? Where do they fit into all of this?

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    March 3, 2010

    Graph22 asked about kerning ...

    There are no hard and fast rules, just as kerning shouldn't be done

    mathematically. It's really a question of what LOOKS right. There are

    illusory optical effects that are based on human physiology - such as

    the need for lowering a standard "Oh" slightly below the baseline used

    by other glyphs. Apparent spacing is dependent on such factors as the

    thickness and consistency of nearby strokes, the size of counters and

    negative spaces, the effect of serifs, and countless other parameters

    that affect human perception.

    - HerbVB

    Participant
    March 3, 2010

    Only certain font styles have letters that exist on a diagonal. The letter M is not often seen as an upside-down "W." In those cases it will depend on how well the original font was made. Manual kerning will be required for such cases. It should also be noted that a font requiring this kind of manipulation is not a good choice for body, or large amounts of text.