KERNING

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What the kern
is this all about?

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Kerning is the spacing between individual letters or characters. Unlike tracking, which adjusts the amount of space between the letters of an entire word in equal increments, kerning is focused on how type looks — creating readable text that’s visually pleasing.

→no kerning applied

the space between V and A are technically the same, but look optically different to the one between A and L

VAL

→kerning applied

the spaces, although not the same between all the letters, look optically even thanks to the kerning

VAL

Kerning types

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Kerning can be negative or positive. More common is negative kerning (known as undercutting), i.e. moving characters that look unnaturally far apart from each other. Positive kerning is the pushing back of characters that appear too "compressed" (i.e., too close together).

→metric kerning

also known as automatic kerning or default kerning, it relies on pre-defined spacing values stored in the font file included by the font designer

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→optical kerning

also known as visual kerning, adjusts spacing based on the visual appearance of each character pair, providing better visual results

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→negative kerning

it refers to the adjustment of spacing between characters in a way that decreases the space between them

Text

→positive kerning

it refers to the adjustment of spacing between characters in a way that increases the space between them

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Usage

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The use of kerning is particularly important in passages of text written in large typeface, where any gaps or clusters of letters are particularly easy to spot. There are even special typefaces produced, so-called title typefaces, designed only for large lettering, which are not suitable for ordinary fine print.

The use of kerning is also fundamental in the design of logos for the sake of legibility and visual impact.

DISCOVER

about
types of kerning
usage

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