2. 1. a written or printed communication addressed to
a person or organization and usually transmitted
by mail.
2. a symbol or character that is conventionally used
in writing and printing to represent a speech
sound and that is part of an alphabet.
3. a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or
character.
4. a particular style of type.
5. such types collectively.
3. 6. Often, letters. a formal document granting a right or privilege.
7. actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied
meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the law.
8. letters, (used with a singular or plural verb) literature in general.
9. the profession of literature.
10. learning; knowledge, especially of literature.
11. an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded
to a student for extracurricular activity, especially in athletics.
12. to mark or write with letters; inscribe.
13. to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity,
especially a sport: He lettered in track at Harvard.
6. • Serif lettering styles are letters that have tails on them.
Tails are decorative, often curved flourishes found at
the end of a letter's descending stroke, which may rest
on or below your baseline. The diagonal stroke on a Q
or R would be likely spots for tails. If you examine a
font on the computer or text in a book, you will notice
that some letters have tails and some consist of straight
lines. Popular serif fonts or letter styles include Times
New Roman, Bodini and Baskerville. Serif fonts are
usually easy on the eyes when reading and work well
for body text
7. • Sans Serif lettering is a style that has no
tails on the letters. These letters are made
of straight lines. Popular lettering styles
or fonts that fall into this category include
Courier, Gill Sans and Ariel. These fonts
are used for their consistency in spacing,
particularly in computer applications.
8. • Gothic style lettering typically features very
sharp edges, based on the styles of Gothic
architecture. Gothic lettering is often used for
headlines and titles, but it doesn't work well for
body text. The sharp lines make it difficult to
read when used as body text, primarily because
the letters often run too close together. Gothic is
a decorative lettering style and, as such, used
less frequently for functionality.
9. • Calligraphy style lettering is
characterized by lines that alternately thin
and thicken. The style is similar to
Gothic, but with smoother edges and
fewer points. Calligraphic lettering often
takes on a ribbon-like effect and is used
primarily for headlines.
10. • Block lettering is a plain,
straightforward lettering style that is
characterized by letters that are
typically very large and written in all
capitals. This is a headline style
lettering that features straight lines
and a blocky appearance.
11. • Graffiti style lettering is characterized by
fat, rounded characters or by sharp-edged
characters. Graffiti lettering is often done
with three-dimensional shading as well.
Graffiti lettering can take on elements of
Gothic or calligraphic lettering.
12. • Within each of the lettering styles are sub-styles that
can be applied to the main lettering types. Roundhand
and cursive, for example, mimic classical penmanship
where letters flow from one into the next. Italic puts a
right-leaning slant on letters, while bold makes the
strokes thicker. Old English is more decadent in its
flourishes and design, while contemporary takes a
simple, minimalist approach.
13.
14. • Your lettering must have the same height,
• style, and size. Lettering is an art that you must practice to obtain
• proficiency and continue practicing to maintain proficiency.
• Guidelines serve as an aid to creating uniform lettering. Guidelines are
• light pencil lines that provide the means to achieve the consistency
• needed for uniformity. When you apply only upper-case lettering, you use
• only the base and cap guidelines. When lettering consists of upper- and
• lower-case letters, you must use the cap, waist, base, and drop
• guidelines
15. • When laying out guidelines for upper- and lower-case letters, the
height
• of upper-case lettering is 1 1/2 times the distance "A" (figure 1-57).
• When establishing the guideline for lettering, set a compass or
divider
• to distance "A" and mark the distance you have selected above and
below
• the midline. These two marks establish the cap line and the
drop line
16. • Next you must locate the base and waist
lines. To locate these lines,
• set the compass or divider to 1/2 of
"A." Then using the same midline,
• mark the distance 1/2 of "A" above