- whether it is website development, graphics or multimedia - you must know the intricacies of working with kerning. This element is almost invisible to non-professionals, but immediately catches the eye of those who know where to look for it.

Learning effective kerning is, above all, training in observation and attention to detail.

And yet, what does this concept mean?

Kerning is the reduction or increase in the distance between the letters that make up a word. Choosing the right interval turns into a far from simple task, since the characters fill the space in different ways (depending on the case, the height of the main stroke (the trunk of the letter), extensions, the presence or absence of serifs, etc.).

We will tell you how to learn to pay attention to this important element of typography, as well as share links to useful resources with additional information.

When the letter spacing of a font is not defined, each subsequent character is located next to the previous one, starting strictly in its end point. This is clearly seen in the top image with the word “AWE.” There is a lot of empty space between the letters A and W, while W and E are practically stuck to each other. As a result, the text looks sloppy and misleads the reader: is it “A WE” or “AWE”?

Most text processing and editing programs use an automatic kerning algorithm that determines the standard letter spacing for a given font. There are two ways auto tuning kerning: metric and optical.

When choosing optical method letter spacing is set according to values ​​from the kerning pairs table built into . This setting allows you to neatly align the font and is standard for most text editors. Metric kerning is used only when working with professional text software.

In this case, the optimal letter spacing is calculated based on the contour information of each individual letter.

When designing a typeface, you want to be able to have complete control over how the letters are placed next to each other when typed. In this case, kerning must be set manually. Note that the A and W have been moved closer together to eliminate the empty space created by the two diagonal lines in the auto kerning.

Successful designers strive for perfection in every detail, and hand-kerning produces perfect results.

Learn to properly core text!

Before you start designing your own typeface, check out our handpicked resources for the requirements and skills you need:

Apply a stroke similarly to the fill for the selected cap (Fig. 4.27). The default stroke weight is 1 pt, but you can change it in the dialog. Window-Stroke, which opens the palette Stroke(Fig. 4.28).

Kerning

When considering texts typed in proportional fonts of large sizes, a misleading impression is often created that the distance between letters is different. This phenomenon is most clearly manifested in such pairs of letters as "WA" and "AY" (or, for example, in Russian "GA"). Some desktop publishing systems allow you to adjust the inter-letter spacing in pairs of characters in words, depending on the font size. This adjustment process is called kerning. As a result of kerning, optical effect uneven letter spacing. An example of kerning between the letters G and A (in the word PAPER) is shown in fig. 4.29.

For optimal perception of the text by sight, inter-character spaces should not be the same. The larger the text, the greater the value for it. appearance has kerning. Small size text may not be kerned at all. So, for example, in the CorelXARA program, for manual kerning, the cursor must be placed between contiguous characters. When changing the kerning value, the first character remains in place, the second moves. Corporate fonts are equipped with kerning tables, that is, a list of pairs for which you need to reduce the space when typing. These are, for example, GO, GA, AU and others. Layout programs are equipped with the possibility of automatic kerning, i.e. you can organize automatic correction of spaces in kerning pairs in text of any length. After processing the text with automatic kerning, headings and other large text are sometimes additionally carried out manual kerning.

Tracking

Tracking, unlike kerning, is not set for couples, and for several characters and in this program characterizes the amount of intercharacter space in group characters. Spaces change the same for all selected characters. If you set tracking for a selected pair, then it is similar to kerning. Tracking has the strongest effect on text coloration, as it determines the spacing between individual letters. The greater the spacing between letters, i.e. the freer the tracking, the lighter the coloration. If the tracking reaches its maximum, the text starts to tear and lose color because its uniformity is broken. The tracking technique (changing the distance between characters) improves the optical properties of the text at large and small font sizes. In other words, tracking defines character spacing as a function of font size. In order to finally understand why tracking is needed, look at Fig. 4.30. As you can see, the first option with positive tracking (Fig. 4.30, 1) looks stretched - the distances between the letters are quite large (in other fonts, this can be seen even more strongly). In the second example, in order to make the text more readable and perceived as a whole, negative tracking is applied (Fig. 4.30).

When using tracking, it is recommended to take into account a number of features of human perception of typographic text. For example, text in large type looks better if the letters in the words are more closely spaced (than when using standard spacing). This is especially noticeable when the word is typed entirely in capital letters. The degree of necessary correction of the inter-letter space depends not only on the size, but also on the typeface. Some headsets require more tactile tracking, others can get by with little to no tracking. Tracking is especially useful in situations where there is a need for a dense set of some parts of the text, for example, in separate columns of a table. It is relatively rare to increase tracking, but in two cases it is highly desirable. With bold headings, the letters take up all the space, so you don't seem to be able to breathe. Therefore, they introduce a small discharge, which the printers call just that - air. The second case of successful use of tracking is to obtain a special effect that is increasingly popular with printers: the spacing of letters in a word in such a way that the gap between individual letters exceeds the width of the symbol. This technique is good for texts typed in capital letters, especially if the text is small, located on one line and is a header or subheading.

Kerning and tracking units

Kerning and tracking are measured in special relative units - thousandths of ems / 1000, since when shifting in a pair, it is not the exact values ​​that are important, but their relation to the size of the characters in a particular typeface. The use of such a relative unit automatically makes these offsets proportional to the font size. In polygraphy, additional units of measurement are used - round spacing, semicircular spacing, thin spacing, which characterize the horizontal size of the font. They match the width of the capital letters M, N and the lowercase letter t. The em space is approximately equal to the font size, the semi-equation is 0.5 of the font size, and the fine em is 0.25 of the font size. Since all fonts are different, the width of the letter M may also vary. Thus, the value of em spaces varies depending on the size and typeface. Spaces are used to measure indentation, kerning, and other character movement.

Adjusting kerning and tracking in InDesign

Both kerning and tracking can be applied to the same text. So:

Let's see how to change the space between letters in kerning letter pairs. We will decrease the gap in visual holes, and increase it in visual condensations. For example, let's reduce the gap between M and O in fig. 4.33.

Choose a tool Text and by clicking, place the cursor between the letters "M" and "O" in the word "Diploma". On the palette Symbol adjust the kerning of this pair and the rest of the pairs of letters in the word Diploma(Fig. 4.34). Change the space between the letters until the appearance of two adjacent letters suits you aesthetically.

Now using the palette Symbol we will change the tracking value for the title "The story of the short life and tragic death of a kolobok". Before setting the tracking value, you must select the entire range of letters that you want to track (Fig. 4.35 and 4.36).

Working with tabs

Tabs can be used to arrange text in a frame at specific horizontal positions. Choose a team Text Tabs to open the palette Tabs. Create an empty text frame and click on the magnet icon on the palette Tabs (

Kerning when typing - selective change of the spacing between letters depending on their shape.

Simply put, kerning- the process of correct placement of symbols, adjusting the distances between them, as a result of which harmony should be achieved. Although many do not pay much attention to kerning (and in general they do not know), however, attention to detail helps to achieve very good results.

1) Tracking (Tracking) and kerning (Kerning) - two concepts that should not be confused. Tracking- indicates the distance between characters in a word or sentence, regardless of their shape and size. But kerning is a more “local” concept.

2) Each font file has an internal kerning table. The designer adjusts the distances between pairs of lines, defining them in thousandths. For example, VA has -80 kerning and ry has 30 kerning.

3) Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator have optical kenning function when displayed Alternative option. Although there is almost no difference.

4) Capital T, V, W and Y always problematic. Because the top is wider than the bottom. So use Tracking to manually align the words.

5) There is such a technique - imagine that between the letters there are balls of the same volume filled with air. Our goal is that these balls do not spread anywhere, but are securely fixed between the letters

6) One of the most common mistakes lies in the unit) This symbol is narrow and forms a lot of empty space around itself. For this reason, kerning needs to be improved.

7) The number 7 is another problematic character. You should also pay attention to it.

If you are not a layout designer or a designer, then most likely you have not heard such words as size, leading, small cap, glyph, kerning. Today we will analyze what kerning is.

Kerning is an element of typography. If a word or logo has complex letters nearby that have protruding elements that create a large distance between them, then a great solution would be to put them closer to each other, so that the density of the word is visually more uniform. In other words, kerning is a change in the spacing between adjacent letters. It can be negative - when the letters are approaching each other, and positive - when the letters are moving apart.

Kerning is an inter-character spacing in computer science, which can be assigned one of three parameters: compacted, sparse, or normal. Normal spacing is automatically determined for the font. You can make the font sparse or condensed manually.

What is the importance of kerning in text design

The distance between characters is a very important characteristic of the text. You are experiencing the effects of kerning right now as you read this article. Properly selected spacing between letters will make the text easy to read, and if the information in the text is presented correctly and interestingly, then all this together will facilitate the assimilation of new information.

An excellent example of kernig is the Adidas logo: dense and strict, it inspires the reader with a sense of calm and confidence.

What types of kerning are there?

Kerning can be done using automatic functions optical (Optical) or metric (Metric) kerning.

With optical kerning, attention is paid to the shape of the letters, and taking into account this shape, the spacing between adjacent characters is selected and optimized. Some programs provide detailed recommendations for kerning, but if the font has little or no built-in kerning data, or if different sizes and typefaces are used together in a line or a single word, then optical kerning should be applied to the Latin text.

Metric kerning uses specific letter pairs that include most existing fonts. They contain information about the required spacing between letters in specific letter pairs, such as: Ty, Tr, Ta, To, La, Wa, Yo, etc.

In some cases, when using automatic kerning does not improve the situation, manual kerning can be used. If the skill is perfected to the ideal, then manual kerning is preferable to metric or optical. Interesting game to hone a skill - KERNTYPE.

Microsoft Word

Kerning in Word is quite simple. In order to apply kerning, you must:

1. Select the text to be changed.
2. Go the way: Home → Font → Advanced (in 2007 Word you need to go to "Character spacing").
3. Set the "Kerning" checkbox for character size and enter the desired number in the field.

font-kerning property in cascading tables

In CSS, kerning is an implementation of the font-kerning property. The syntax is the following:

• font-kerning: none |normal|auto|initial|inherit|unset

In the case of auto (or initial), the client browser will decide on its own whether kerning is needed or not. Using none prevents the browser from applying kerning, and normal, on the contrary, says that kerning will be applied to the text. Initial or unset - the text inherits the value of the parent.

Header kerning

Many people think that kerning should only be applied to large letters and only to certain letter pairs, but since kerning is a way to increase the readability of all text, this opinion is incorrect. In the American and European traditions, it is customary to put down kerning for uppercase letters, in Cyrillic this is not an automatic option. Until now, it is customary on the Internet to type headings in capital letters, and this is an atavism. usually look prettier and better than capital letters. The text written in capital letters is less readable, since a person perceives not the written word itself, but its image.

Instead of a conclusion, I would like to recall that writing originated a long time ago. Previously, stylus and clay tablets, leather, planks, and birch bark scrolls were used to record speech. They were replaced by paper and pen. When working with a pen, a person had to be careful, since one wrong move spoiled the entire text, and it had to be rewritten. But people sought to decorate and highlight the text even in such difficult conditions. Capital letters decorated with red cinnabar. The text was decorated with curlicues, ornaments were drawn on the margins. There was calligraphy.

The printing process was also very difficult. Manuscripts were printed in a printing house, and this required bulky and expensive equipment, as well as many skilled workers. It was impossible to publish my own manuscript. And only with the advent of computers and with their universal availability, typographic techniques became available to everyone. Kerning is the most common example of improving the readability of texts, and it is a must if you want to draw readers' attention to your publications.

But as soon as more complex forms come into play, "sticking and holes" begin. Here you should equalize the area between the letters. There are many geometric techniques, but, to be honest, they seem to me very complicated, and useful only when designing fonts in creating an array of kerning pairs.

Therefore, we will consider the general rules and the method of arranging "in triplets". General rules are simple: greatest distance will be between the "rectangular letters". A slightly smaller distance is required if a letter with rectilinear elements borders on a rounded letter. An even smaller distance is required between two round letters. And even less - with letters that have open forms.

Trinity Method

1. The most complex kerning pair is selected in the word, the gap between the letters of which will be the narrowest - these are either two rounded letters, or combinations of letters with open forms. Such a pair is thrown first.
2. Further, the word is kerned to the right and to the left of this pair. We add an adjacent letter to the selected otkernenny pair, getting a triple of letters and consider only this triple. By moving the new letter, we achieve the uniformity of the white areas in this trio. Then we shift the three by one letter to the side and core the next letter. And so we go through the whole word. With proper skill, you will do this automatically and very quickly.

Consider this on the example of the abstract word "ingovy". We choose a complex pair of letters. In this word, it is "go". And set the minimum distance between these letters.