terms and definitions part II

01 - absolute measurement: measurements of fixed value that cannot be altered.
02 - relative measurement: measurements, such as character spacing, that are linked to type size; their relationships are defined by a series of relative measurements.
03 – point: the unit of absolute measurement used to measure the type size of a font. there are typically 72 points in an inch
04 – pica: a unit of measurement that is equal to 12 points (1/6”)
05 - em (and em dash): em is a common unit in typography. It is typically the width of the uppercase “M” in the current face and point size. it is more properly defined as simply the current point size. em dash is a dash the length of an em is used to indicate a break in a sentence; used in text to separate a parenthetical note as an alternate to parenthesis.
06 - en (and en dash): en is traditionally defined as the width of the uppercase “N” in
the current face and the current point size. it is more properly defined as half the width of an em. the length of an en dash en is used to indicate a range of values.
07 – legibility: The ease with which text is read in ordinary, continuous reading, usually gauged by reading speed and error rate. Also, Readability.
08 – rag:
09 - type alignments: advantages and/or disadvantages

flush left: Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the right, and the text is against the left margin. Also called ragged right.
Advantage: easy to read
Disadvantage: the asymmetrical ragged right end that is created.

flush right: Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the left,
and the text is against the right margin>
Advantage: easy to read
Disadvantage: the asymmetrical ragged right end that is created.

Centered: text placed at an equal distance from the left and right margins.
headlines are often centered.
centered text is used to distribute residual space on the line equally
to the
right and left.
Advantage: great for headlines
Disadvantage: the asymmetrical ragged right end that is created
And makes text hard to read at times.
Justified: justification involves the use of three values for type setting: minimum, maximum and optimum values.
Advantage: creates balanced formal columns of text, providing visual symmetry and clean margins
Disadvantage:.
10 - word spacing: traditionally has been based upon a space equivalent to the body width of a lower case “i”. the space created can be adjusted to fit a certain design which helps the legibility become clearer when words are closer together.
11 – rivers: visually unattractive gaps appearing to run down a paragraph of text formed by white spaces between words lining up over several lines. They can occur with any spacing, though they are most noticeable with justified text
12 – indent: attribute of a text line that creates a readable entrance to a paragraph
13 – leading: specifying the depth of space between lines (sometimes known as the pitch or line feed). it is used to achieve a balanced text block and usually has a larger point size than the text it is associated with.
14 – kerning: the adjustment of space between pairs of letters to make them more visually appealing. It is normally applied to individual letter pairs in headlines or other large type
15 – tracking: also known as letterspacing, is done by adjusting the overall space between letters, rather than the space between two characters.
16 – weight: Heaviness or blackness of letters. Numerically, the ratio of the widths of vertical strokes to the x-height
17 – scale: increase or decrease in point size
18 - typographic variation: visually clarifies the reader specific kinds of emphasis and prioritization, and establises the distinction between different kinds of content.
19 – orphan: A header or the first line of a paragraph that appear as the last line on a page.
20 – widow: The last line of a paragraph that appears at the top of a page.