
Usually, when set next to a rectangular letter, such as H or M, or a straight letter like I, the diagonal line of either A or V would nearly touch the horizontal line of the adjacent letter. Keep an eye out for kern pairs that involve letters such as A, V, W, Y, T, F, L, P, or other similar ones.Ī perfect example, in this case, is the combination between A and V-the symbol used for the kerning tool in various graphic design programs. This is most obvious with capital letters. In these cases, you need to slide the letters into each other’s negative spaces. Certain letter combinations create more perceived space than others. Text kerning mostly involves negative adjustments. In turn, the distance between a straight and a round letter should be slightly bigger than that between two round letters.Ĭonfused? Have a look at the image below.Ī round-to-straight letter combination should have the same spacing as a straight-to-round one.Īlso, if you settled on a certain distance for a specific letter combination, make sure you maintain it in all other instances those letters appear together.Ģ. She recommends that the distance between two straight letters should be slightly bigger than the gap between a straight and a round letter. Typographer Ilene Strizver is the one that best explains this. The words look best when the mathematical distance between letters varies based on their shapes. Kerning is about equalizing the spaces between characters as well as you can, but you won’t achieve the desired result if you set a mathematically equal distance between all letters.ĭifferent combinations of letters create different sizes of perceived space between them. Understand the Spatial Relationship between Letters Here are ten tips to help you kern like a pro. The goal of kerning is to balance the perceived negative space between all the letters of a text, pair by pair, to improve readability, legibility, and make everything more pleasing to the eye.Įven though most modern fonts usually come with hundreds of kern pairs incorporated, sometimes you need to make the adjustments yourself. In typography, kerning is defined as the adjustment of space between two specific characters. If the answer is yes, that means you’re good at spotting kerning issues. Have you ever looked at a logo, a newspaper headline, or a subway sign and felt the need to adjust the awkward space between letters?
