Typography and page layout: classification, measurement, grid and composition
What the exam tests
Typography questions test classification, the point system, spacing controls and layout judgement: can you identify a face, convert measurements correctly, and justify a measure and a grid?
Classification and anatomy
- Vox/ATypI groups: humanist and garalde (old style), transitional, didone (modern), slab/Clarendon, sans serif (grotesque, neo-grotesque, humanist, geometric), blackletter, script, display.
- Anatomy: baseline, x-height, cap height, ascender, descender, counter, stem, serif, terminal, ear. A high x-height reads well at small sizes; low-contrast serifs suit long text.
Measurement
- 1 point = 1/72 inch = 0.3528 mm; 12 points = 1 pica; 6 picas = 1 inch = 72 points.
- An em is the type size; an en is half of it. Type size is not the same as cap height or x-height.
- Leading is baseline-to-baseline distance, written size/leading (9/12). Tracking is uniform letter-spacing; kerning is pair-specific adjustment.
Grid and composition
- The baseline grid aligns text across columns; the column grid sets the measure; the modular grid controls images and captions.
- A comfortable measure is 45–75 characters, ideally about 66. Too wide and the eye loses the return line.
- Build hierarchy with size, weight, colour and space rather than many typefaces. Align to one axis; keep widows and orphans off the page.
Worked example
An A5 page is 148 × 210 mm. Margins: 20 mm top, 22 mm outer, 25 mm bottom, 18 mm inner.
- Text block width = 148 − 18 − 22 = 108 mm; height = 210 − 20 − 25 = 165 mm.
- Set 9/12 pt text; average character width ≈ 0.5 em = 4.5 pt = 1.59 mm.
- Characters per line ≈ 108 ÷ 1.59 ≈ 68, inside the 45–75 window.
- Lines per page = 165 ÷ (12 × 0.3528 = 4.23 mm) ≈ 39 lines.
Traps that cost marks
- Converting with 72.27 pt (the TeX point) instead of 72.
- Confusing leading with font size, or tracking with kerning.
- Judging a face by its name rather than its x-height and contrast.
- Setting a 120 mm measure at 8 pt because it fits the column.
- Centring long body text, or leaving a one-word last line.