Letter Compositions, Continued
Legibility
Areas between adjacent letters vary according to the shape of the letter and of
(Continued)
the previous letter. Draw adjacent straight-sided letters (such as H, I, M, N)
farther apart. Draw adjacent rounded letters (O, Q, C, G) and slanted letters
(A, V, W) closer together. Where open letters (L, T, J) are beside slanted
letters, the top of one may be drawn above the bottom of the other to avoid
spaces that appear like breaks in the word. Refer to the following chart for
general corrections to common letterspacing problems.
Problem
Round beside round
(OOOOOOOOOO)
Correction
Reason
Decrease
Spacing appears greater where
space
letters curve away from each
other
Round beside slant
Decrease
(OVOVOVOVOV)
space
Spacing appears greater where
letters move away from each
other
Round beside vertical
Decrease
Spacing appears greater where
(OIOIOIOIOIOIOI)
space
round letters curve away
Vertical beside vertical
Increase
Spacing appears less at the top
(HIHIHIHIHIHIHI)
space
and bottom, particularly if serifs
are present
Vertical beside slant
(HVHVHVHVHV)
Decrease
space
Spacing appears greater at the top
and bottom where letter slant
away from the other
Slant beside slant
(AVAVAVAVAV)
Decrease
space
Spacing appears greater at the top
and bottom particularly if the
letters slant away from each other
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