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RvdT
RvdT
Inspiring
November 3, 2023
Question

Why is there a different style of letter 'a' for italic in some fonts?

  • November 3, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1864 views

Why is there a different style of letter 'a' (and 'e') for italic in some fonts?

i.e.: Calibri

I personally don't like how this looks and would avoid using fonts that have this mix.

Can someone please explain to me why this is done?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 8, 2023

    A "single storey" lowercase 'a' glyph is very common in italic styles of typefaces. The glyphs are designed like that to imply a more cursive appearance. Other italic glyphs have their own unique design cues. It would be cheap looking for a typeface to simply shear upright letters into a slanted appearance and pass that off as an italic style.

      PECourtejoie
      Community Expert
      PECourtejoieCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 28, 2023

      Likewise, some might have a single storey lowercase "g" for Italics. I would also recommend to check in the glyphs panel if there is not an alternate italic a for those who do not like it, some fonts provide them.

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