Editing Type design (section)

== Basic concepts ==
[[Image:FontForge 2012.png|thumb|[[FontForge]], an open source application for developing [[computer fonts|digital fonts]]]]
{{main|Typeface anatomy}}

=== Stroke ===
The shape of designed letterforms and other characters are defined by strokes arranged in specific combinations. This shaping and construction has a basis in the gestural movements of handwriting. The visual qualities of a given stroke are derived from factors surrounding its formation: the kind of tool used, the angle at which the tool is dragged across a surface, and the degree of pressure applied from beginning to end. The stroke is the positive form that establishes a character's archetypal shape.<ref name=Samara>{{Cite book|last=Samara|first=Timothy|title=Letterforms: Typeface Design From Past to Future|publisher=Rockport Publishers|year=2018|isbn=978-1631594731|location=Minneapolis}}</ref>{{rp|49}}

=== Counter ===
The spaces created between and around strokes are called counters (also known as counterforms). These negative forms help to define the proportion, density, and rhythm of letterforms. The counter is an integral element in Western typography, however this concept may not apply universally to non-Western typographic traditions. More complex scripts, such as Chinese, which make use of compounding elements ([[Radical (Chinese characters)|radicals]]) within a single character may additionally require consideration of spacing not only between characters but also within characters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Takagi|first=Mariko|date=2012|title=Typography between Chinese complex characters and Latin Letters|journal=ATypI 2012 Hong Kong|page=11}}</ref>

=== Body ===
The overall proportion of characters, or their body, considers proportions of width and height for all [[Letter case|cases]] involved (which in Latin are uppercase and lowercase), and individually for each character. In the former case, a grid system is used to delineate vertical proportions and gridlines (such as the baseline, mean line/x-height, cap line, descent line, and ascent line). In the latter case, letterforms of a typeface may be designed with variable bodies, making the typeface proportional, or they may be designed to fit within a single body measure, making the typeface fixed width or [[Monospaced font|monospaced]].

=== Structural groups ===
When designing letterforms, characters with analogous structures can be grouped in consideration of their shared visual qualities. In Latin, for example, archetypal groups can be made on the basis of the dominant strokes of each letter: verticals and horizontals ({{Xt3|E F H L T}}), diagonals ({{Xt3|V W X}}), verticals and diagonals ({{Xt3|K M N Y}}), horizontals and diagonals ({{Xt3|A Z}}), circular strokes ({{Xt3|C O Q S}}), circular strokes and verticals ({{Xt3|B D G P R U}}), and verticals ({{Xt3|I J}}).