011: Thou shall learn about the anatomy of letterforms

Commentary I’ve always been fascinated by how many intriguing terms there are for the components that make up letterforms: ascenders, balls, chins, dots, and so on. Any designer worthy of the name should really spend time learning the names of these components that make up characters. You’ll find it most useful when it comes to choosing typefaces for a design as you’ll understand how the individual letterforms are constructed and will be able to compare particular typefaces with an “expert” eye. This is particularly important when considering which typeface to use as text matter; you can use this knowledge to help evaluate the appropriateness and legibility of a typeface. If you decide to take on the challenge of designing your own typeface, it’s ev....PD