Fonts and Typography Typography in Print Design 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What unit is traditionally used for font sizes in print design?
- Points (pt) (Correct answer)
- Pixels (px)
- Ems (em)
- Percent (%)
Correct answer: Points (pt)
Points (pt) are the traditional unit for font sizes in print design, where 1 point equals 1/72 of an inch.
Question 2: What is a 'widow' in print typography?
- A single word or short line left alone at the top of a column or page (Correct answer)
- An orphan character at end of a paragraph
- A font without italic variants
- A baseline that does not align to the grid
Correct answer: A single word or short line left alone at the top of a column or page
A widow is a single word or very short line stranded at the top of a new column or page, separated from the rest of its paragraph.
Question 3: What is an 'orphan' in print typography?
- A single line of a paragraph left at the bottom of a column before a page break (Correct answer)
- A font without a bold variant
- A glyph missing from a font
- A baseline shift error
Correct answer: A single line of a paragraph left at the bottom of a column before a page break
An orphan is a single line or word from a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a column, visually separated from the rest of the paragraph on the next page.
Question 4: What does 'leading' refer to in print typography?
- The vertical space between lines of text (Correct answer)
- The horizontal space between letters
- The width of a text column
- The top margin of a page
Correct answer: The vertical space between lines of text
Leading (pronounced 'ledding') is the vertical distance between the baselines of consecutive lines of text, controlling how open or tight a block of text appears.
Question 5: What is a 'drop cap' in print design?
- An enlarged first letter of a paragraph that drops below the baseline (Correct answer)
- A lowercase version of a capital letter
- A font style for captions
- A small decorative element at the end of a chapter
Correct answer: An enlarged first letter of a paragraph that drops below the baseline
A drop cap is an enlarged first letter of a paragraph that drops down to occupy multiple lines of text, traditionally used to signal the start of a new section.
Question 6: In print design, what is 'recto' and 'verso'?
- Right-hand and left-hand pages in a spread (Correct answer)
- The front and back of a single printed sheet
- A double-sided font format
- A page numbering system for PDFs
Correct answer: Right-hand and left-hand pages in a spread
In book typography, recto refers to the right-hand page (odd-numbered) and verso to the left-hand page (even-numbered) of an open spread.
Fonts and Typography Typography in Print Design 1
What unit is traditionally used for font sizes in print design?