Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Enhancement buttons simply thicken the character (for faux bold)
or skew it (for faux italic). This can produce text that is much
harder to read and is generally not very elegant. It is always best to
use the true bold or italic versions created by the font's designer.
NoTe
Finding Fonts
Here are a few of my favorite
websites that offer free and
affordable fonts:
•
Chank
•
Fonthead
•
DincType
•
Font Bros
•
Acid Fonts
•
1001 Free Fonts
•
FontSpace
Font Size
Traditionally, type is mea-
sured in points. The PostScript
standard (which was developed
for use by commercial and
laser printers) uses 72 points
per inch. However, this prin-
ciple doesn't hold up very well,
because different fonts will have
different x-heights.
Instead of worrying about point
size, just use it as a “relative”
measurement. Increase the
point size to make text appear larger, decrease it to reduce the size
of the text. If you need to be more precise, such as designing text
for the web, you can measure text in pixels.
To s w it ch t ex t mea s u rement t To pi xel s :
NoTe
Spell Check?
Ewe betcha! Starting with version 7,
Photoshop includes a Check Spelling
command (it's in the Edit menu).
1.
Press Command+K (Ctrl+K) to launch the Preferences
dialog box.
2.
Choose the Units & Rulers category.
3.
In the Units area, switch Type to be measured in Pixels if you
want a more precise measurement.
Leading
Pronounced “
led
-ing” as in the metal, not “
lead
-ing” as in sheep,
leading is the space between lines of type. The name comes from
when strips of lead were used on a printing press to space out lines
of text. Adjust your leading value to improve your text's read-
ability. Leading works best when you are using Paragraph Text.
By default, the leading should be set to Auto; however, adjust as
needed to fit text into your design. Just be careful to avoid setting
leading too tight; otherwise, your ascenders and descenders will
collide, resulting in a negative impact on readability.
