Typography Principles You Need to Know Part Two

Kerning 

Kerning refers to the space between two letters or characters. There are extremes to kerning; letters can be too far apart or too close together.

Both extremes will affect the legibility and readability of type. In this image, the letters are disproportionately spaced out. 

The goal is to have proportional spacing between characters; pay special attention to serifs, flourishes, and angular letters like A, W, or V to achieve a consistent appearance.

Kerning is usually reserved for medium to larger text and headlines, as those letters are more noticeable when the spacing is out of balance. 

Some fonts have what we call bad kerning, making certain letters look improperly spaced. If a font you're using has bad kerning, it's best to cut your losses and choose something else. 

Tracking 

Tracking, like kerning, adjusts the distance between letters. The only difference between these two is that tracking focuses on the space between all letters in a word instead of two letters.

Use this tool with great caution, as too much tracking can make reading a lot more difficult. 

In some designs, you might adjust your tracking to create a certain artistic effect. It can also help you fix fonts that are poorly spaced to begin with. 

Well-crafted text can mean the difference between something ordinary and something extraordinary! Even if you're just getting started with design. All it takes is an interest in typography and you'll start to notice more, see more, and be able to do more in your own work. 

We hope you enjoyed learning the basics of typography and hope you will create your own beautiful invitation card!