Leading of a typeface Leading plays a crucial part in the overall look and feel of a typeface. If the leading is too narrow, the beauty of a typeface has no room to unfold /26/. Additionally, a change in leading changes the optical colour of a typeface as well as the line rhythm, which is so important for legibility. Today, a rather light density is preferred /27/. The amount of leading depends on the typeface, its size and the line width. While early printers used to set their typefaces with their long ascenders and descenders in a compact form, i. e. without additional space between the lines /09/, this would not be possible with most of today’s typefaces, without a loss in the quality of the overall impression and legibility. Due to an increase in x-height over time, and with a simultaneous reduction in the length of the descender, line formation gets lost in a compact composition and is replaced by a difficultto-read, dark block of text. Typefaces with a vertical alignment, such as the modern ones, and those with a large x-height or with wide counters, need generous leading. Line spacing is also dependent on line width. In a narrow column the same line spacing is perceived to be more open than in a wide column /28/. Long lines therefore need more line spacing than short ones. One rule of thumb: the space between baseline and the following mean line should be at least equal to the x-height.
/25/
Characters of Breughel normal in CRT (cathode ray technology) photocomposition by Linotype.
/26/
Set with far too narrow line spacing – text on Breughel from the trilingual Linotype brochure Typefaces by Adrian Frutiger (1983).
/27/
Breughel LT Regular in 10.2 pt – set solid with 1 pt, 2 pt und 3 pt leading (from top to bottom).
You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find in wine. I once saw a list of Médoc wines featuring sixty diffe You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find in wine. I once saw a list of Médoc wines featuring sixty diffe
You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find in wine. I once saw a list of Médoc wines featuring sixty different Médocs all of the same year. All of them were wines 292
You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find in wine. I once saw a list of Médoc wines featuring sixty diffe You may ask why so many different typefaces. They all serve the same purpose but they express man’s diversity. It is the same diversity we find in wine. I once saw a list of Médoc wines featuring sixty diffe
/28/
Breughel LT Regular in 10.2 pt size and 12.2 line spacing – the line spacing appears to be different
T E X T T Y P E FA C E
37 BREU_17_EN def_BL.indd 292
21.9.2008 21:05:14 Uhr