It may look simple, but there's a whole lot more thought going into good typography than you might imagine. You don't need to be an expert at it to use typography effectively, but it does help to have a rudimentary understanding of typographic terms.

Not only will learning some basics help you see more of the intricacies within the fonts you use, it will enable you to make better, more considered design choices. Add to that, it will also make for some smashing trivia around the dinner table!

So without further ado, here are the terms you'll need to describe all your typographical needs.

Baseline: Imaginary line upon which a line of text rests. All type is sitting on that line (ignoring special cases where the typeface would extend past that line e.g. lowercase y's or g's).

X-height: Distance between the baseline of a line of type and the top of the main body of a lowercase letter (similarly ignore special cases where the typeface would extend past that line e.g. h's or t's).

Cap height: The height of an uppercase (capital) letter. Mainly focusing on uppercase letters that have a flat top e.g. uppercase I or T. Round letters such as a letter C, will usually marginally breach the cap height.

Ascender: When a letter goes beyond the x-height that can approach or breach the cap height, e.g. h, t, l.

Ascender height: The height of ascenders.

Descender: Extends the letter past the baseline, e.g. p, q, y.

Descender height: The lowest point of the descenders.

1. Apex: The point at the top of a character where the left and right strokes meet, e.g. A.

2. Bowl: The shapely, enclosed parts of letters such as 'a' and 'p'

3. Finial: A tapered or curved end, e.g. e or t.

4. Stroke: A straight, curved or diagonal line.

5. Serif: A stroke added as a stop to the beginning and end of the main strokes of a letter. Fonts divide into serif and sans-serif (without serif) fonts.

6. Counter: Area that's enclosed within a typeface, e.g. o or g.

7. Bar: The horizontal stroke in letter form.

8. Stem: The vertical stroke of a letter form.

9. Ear: A small stroke extending from the upper-right side of the bowl of lowercase g; also appears in the angled or curved lowercase r.

10. Open counter: The partially open space within a character that is open on one end.

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Written by Divya Abe on Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Divya Abe is an expert graphic designer ready to share her knowledge with the crowd. Besides spending quality time on the internet she enjoys anything to do with cats. Get in touch via Google+.