Letter Geometry, Continued
Letter weight
The weight of letters directly influences legibility and appearance. The
weight of letters may be lightface, open-face, regular weight, or boldface.
Additionally, letter dimensions may be condensed, expanded, geometrically
symmetric, or italicized.
LIGHTFACE: Thin, hairline strokes that give a light, airy illusion to the
letter style are characteristic of lightface letters.
OPEN-FACE: Open-faced letters appear as outlines of letters with center
portions left open. Open-faced letters, when left open, appear lighter in
weight than letters filled in. You may fill in an open-faced letter with a
contrasting color or colors for creative effect.
REGULAR WEIGHT: Neither too thick or too thin, regular weight letters
reproduce with optimum legibility.
BOLDFACE: Boldface letters appear heavy and dense. They add emphasis
and seem to jump at the viewer.
Figure 5-15 shows letter weight.
Figure 5-15.—Using the
letter “O” to demonstrate
letter weight.
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