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In European and West Asian typography and penmanship, the baseline is the line upon which most letters sit and below which descenders extend.
For broader context, see Typeface anatomy.
In the example to the right, the letter 'p' has a descender; the other letters sit on the (red) baseline.
Most, though not all, typefaces are similar in the following ways as regards the baseline:
- capital letters sit on the baseline. The most common exceptions are the J and Q.
- All lining figures sit on the baseline: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Some text figures have descenders: 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9
- The following lowercase letters have descenders: g j p q y.
- Glyphs with rounded lower and upper extents (0 3 6 8 c C G J o O Q) dip very slightly below the baseline ("overshoot") to create the optical illusion that they sit on the baseline, and rise above the x-height or capital height to create the illusion that they have the same height as flat glyphs (such as those for H x X 1 5 7). Peter Karow's Digital Typefaces suggests that typical overshoot is about 1.5%.
The vertical distance of the base lines of consecutive lines in a paragraph is also known as line height or leading, although the latter can also refer to the baseline distance minus the font size.
Northern Brahmic scripts have a characteristic hanging baseline; the letters are aligned to the top of the writing line, marked by an overbar, with diacritics extending above the baseline.
East Asian scripts have no baseline; each glyph sits in a square box, with neither ascenders nor descenders. When mixed with scripts with a low baseline, East Asian characters should be set so that the bottom of the character is between the baseline and the descender height.
See also
- Overshoot – High and low points of some letters
References
- Evans, Poppy; Sherin, Aaris (September 2013). The Graphic Design Reference & Specification Book. US: Rockport Publishers. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-59253-851-5.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Baseline typography news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message In European and West Asian typography and penmanship the baseline is the line upon which most letters sit and below which descenders extend The principal line terms in typography For broader context see Typeface anatomy Anatomy of a Devanagari typeface In the example to the right the letter p has a descender the other letters sit on the red baseline Most though not all typefaces are similar in the following ways as regards the baseline capital letters sit on the baseline The most common exceptions are the J and Q All lining figures sit on the baseline 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Some text figures have descenders 3 4 5 7 and 9 The following lowercase letters have descenders g j p q y Glyphs with rounded lower and upper extents 0 3 6 8 c C G J o O Q dip very slightly below the baseline overshoot to create the optical illusion that they sit on the baseline and rise above the x height or capital height to create the illusion that they have the same height as flat glyphs such as those for H x X 1 5 7 Peter Karow s Digital Typefaces suggests that typical overshoot is about 1 5 The vertical distance of the base lines of consecutive lines in a paragraph is also known as line height or leading although the latter can also refer to the baseline distance minus the font size Northern Brahmic scripts have a characteristic hanging baseline the letters are aligned to the top of the writing line marked by an overbar with diacritics extending above the baseline East Asian scripts have no baseline each glyph sits in a square box with neither ascenders nor descenders When mixed with scripts with a low baseline East Asian characters should be set so that the bottom of the character is between the baseline and the descender height See alsoOvershoot High and low points of some lettersReferencesEvans Poppy Sherin Aaris September 2013 The Graphic Design Reference amp Specification Book US Rockport Publishers p 28 ISBN 978 1 59253 851 5 This typography related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte
