kerning in adobe illustrator for windows

Tracking is similar to kerning in the sense it adjusts the positions of letters. A paragraph typeface will have looser kerning at larger sizes, because it compensates for its use at smaller sizes. Using each of these out of their intended uses will mean more adjustment is necessary.Ī display typeface will have tighter kerning at smaller sizes, because it compensates for its use at larger sizes. Alternatively one for paragraph uses will be optimised for smaller sizes. If you were to choose a display typeface the kerning will have been optimised for larger sizes. Whereas, if I were to shrink the text down with the particular kerning applied, the spaces may need to be increased.

In the example, large type was used and the kerning applied was to reduce the spaces between letters. Kerning applied to the font depends on the intended use With that said they benefit from a tiny addition of space. The ‘rt’ pairing is an awkward combination, because they meet closely, but also have empty space below that. Particularly the ‘er’ pairing there is too much space, for the size of the type. The example without kerning, you can see less desirable distribution of spacing between many of the letters. In the image there are two examples of text. So while there is nothing stopping you from using a particular font how you wish, you will likely find undesirable spacing between letters.

You also have to consider the usage intentions of the typeface, as it may be more suited smaller or larger sizes. It’s not always perfect and it’s generally make or break for having well designed logo. So where you have, for example, a capital ‘w’ before a letter the space will be adjusted accordingly. This is where the type foundry will define the way certain characters behave together. Letters where the space appears larger need what’s called optical adjustment.

The vast majority of fonts will have their own kerning defined within. You’ll commonly use kerning for logo type, art directed pieces of design, and generally areas where you know the words are never going to change. This is an important benefit of kerning, which I will cover in more detail later in the post. In the image you’ll see on characters like ‘W’ that the guides go under the letter.

Kerning in adobe illustrator for windows