Unit 5 | Typography

Introduction

Unit 5 covers typography in Adobe Illustrator: reading and classifying letterforms, controlling spacing and rhythm with the Character panel, working with type on a path, and managing longer text. All building toward an original typographic poster.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Read and classify letterforms and typefaces
Control kerning, tracking, leading, and baseline shift
Work with point type, area type, and type on a path
Flow and manage longer text, including converting to outlines

Calendar of Events for This Unit

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
11/30	12/1	12/2	12/3	12/4
S \| 4	S \| 4	F \| 5.1	F \| 5.1	F \| 5.2
11/30: Grade Correction Deadline (MP1)
12/7	12/8	12/9	12/10	12/11
F \| 5.2	F \| 5.3	F \| 5.3	F \| 5.4	F \| 5.4
12/10: Interim grades open in Infinite Campus (MP2)
12/14	12/15	12/16	12/17	12/18
S \| 5	S \| 5	S \| 5	S \| 5	S \| 5
12/16: Interim grades due, close 4:00pm (MP2); 12/18: Interim Reports Available
1/4	1/5	1/6	1/7	1/8
S \| 5	F \| 6.1	F \| 6.1	F \| 6.2	F \| 6.2

Lessons

5.1 – Type Anatomy & Classification. Reading letterforms and classifying typefaces
5.2 – Character Settings. Kerning, tracking, leading, and baseline shift
5.3 – Type on a Path & Special Type. Point type, area type, and type on a path
5.4 – Text Flow & Converting to Outlines. Threading, wrapping, styles, and outlines
S5 – Typographic Poster. Summative project, with a structured peer review pass

Unit Vocabulary

Typeface vs. Font: A typeface is a family of related letterform designs (for example, Helvetica); a font is one specific weight, style, and size within that family (for example, Helvetica Bold, 12 pt). In everyday speech the two words are often used interchangeably.
Serif: A small line or stroke finishing off the end of a letter’s main strokes.
Sans-Serif: A typeface without serifs. Generally cleaner, more geometric letterforms.
Script / Display: Script typefaces imitate handwriting or calligraphy; display typefaces are drawn for large, attention-getting use (headlines, logos, posters) rather than long passages of body text.
Baseline: The invisible line that most letters visually “sit” on.
X-Height: The height of a lowercase “x” in a given typeface. A rough measure of how large its lowercase letters appear at a given point size.
Cap Height: The height of a capital letter, measured up from the baseline.
Ascender / Descender: The part of a lowercase letter that extends above the x-height (an ascender, as in “b” or “h”), or below the baseline (a descender, as in “p” or “g”).
Counter: The fully or partially enclosed space within a letterform. For example, the hole inside an “o” or “e.”
Font: The specific typeface applied to selected text.
Size: The height of the type, measured in points.
Font Style: A variant within a type family. Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic, and so on.
Kerning: Adjusting the space between two specific letters to improve visual spacing (for example, tightening the gap in “AV”).
Tracking: Adjusting the spacing evenly across a whole range of selected characters, rather than one pair at a time.
Leading: The vertical space between lines of type, measured baseline-to-baseline.
Horizontal / Vertical Scale: Stretching or compressing type width-wise or height-wise as a percentage of its original proportions. Generally a technique to avoid, since it distorts the letterforms’ original design.
Line Length: The horizontal width of a block of text. A key factor in readability. A line that’s too long or too short both hurt reading comfort.
Baseline Shift: Moving selected characters up or down relative to the baseline without changing their size. Used for effects like superscript or subscript.
Point Type: A single line of text anchored to one point, that keeps growing horizontally as you type unless you add a manual line break. Good for headlines and short labels.
Area Type: Text flowed inside a closed shape (a rectangle, or any custom path), automatically wrapping to the next line when it reaches the shape’s edge. Good for paragraphs and body copy.
Type on a Path: Text that flows along the contour of an open or closed path instead of a straight line or a shape.
Glyph: A specific visual representation of a character. The same letter can have multiple glyph variants (alternates, ligatures, swashes) within a single font.
Placeholder Text (“Greeked” Text / Lorem Ipsum): Dummy text used to preview a layout’s typography and spacing before final copy has been written.
Threading Text: Linking two or more type areas so text flows continuously from one into the next.
Wrapping Text: Forcing type to flow around the contour of another object (like an image), instead of running behind or through it.
Overflow Text: Text that doesn’t fit inside its type area. Flagged by a small red plus (+) icon at the area’s bottom-right corner.
Character Styles: A saved set of character-level formatting (font, size, kerning, and so on) that can be applied to a range of selected text, and updated everywhere it’s used at once.
Paragraph Styles: A saved set of paragraph-level formatting (alignment, indents, space before/after, plus a nested character style) applied to entire paragraphs at once.
Converting Text to Outlines: Turning live, editable type into standard vector paths. Locks in the exact letterforms, so the file displays correctly on any computer even without the font installed, but removes the ability to edit it as text afterward.