typeworkshop.com   home : type-basics : references : archive mailing list type basics 100% practical. Sketches have been made to explain some basic issues in type design during the workshops. They get used to point out some problems which raise while creating a new typeface. Only some foundations are shown, no deep sophisticated details. Any suggestions? Let us know. [Type-basics in hungarian] : [Type-basics in spanish] : [Type-basics in german] same size for all type terminology fluent shapes calligraphy spacing black vs. white italic vs. cursive one for all readability proportions small caps swash caps x-heights bold-faced digitizing copy-paste? balance shapes kerning ligatures    picture 19 of 19 Ligatures. In a very few cases they are essential. Some well known ligatures are 'fi' and 'fl'. The inevitable need for a ligature is depending on the design of a font. Not every typeface will need a ligature for a 'fi' combination. But in some cases the dot of the 'i' is interfering with the 'f'. Get rid of all that annoying row but making a ligature, one glyph which represents two (or more) characters. Next to a functional aspect, there is an aesthetic aspect of ligatures. You could create a ligature for a 'st' combination, or maybe for 'nky' or 'ism'. Anything is possible. Admitting that also this is not the most urgent issue in type design, it's another obstacle on the road to perfection!   background information :  I have a question :  contact : browse :  site-map