In typesetting and calligraphy, an ascender is the portion of a lowercase letter that extends above the mean line of a font. That is, the part of the letter that is taller than the font’s x-height. Ascenders, along with descenders, increase the recognizability of words and help define the overall look of a typeface.
Ascenders are generally the same height as capital letters. In many fonts intended for body text, such as Adobe Garamond, the ascenders are slightly taller than capitals, by about 10%. This gives the body text a slightly more open and airy feel.
Some fonts have excessively tall ascenders, which can create an awkward and unbalanced look. On the other hand, very short ascenders can make a font look too compact and cramped.
In most Latin-alphabet fonts, ascenders are reserved for the letters b, d, f, h, k, l, t and sometimes j, as well as the letter i when used as a stem, such as in the letter i. In many fonts intended for body text, such as Adobe Garamond, the ascenders are slightly taller than capitals, by about 10%. This gives the body text a slightly more open and airy feel.
Ascenders are generally the same height as capital letters. In many fonts intended for body text, such as Adobe Garamond, the ascenders are slightly taller than capitals, by about 10%. This gives the body text a slightly more open and airy feel.
Some fonts have excessively tall ascenders, which can create an awkward and unbalanced look. On the other hand, very short ascenders can make a font look too compact and cramped.
In most Latin-alphabet fonts, ascenders are reserved for the letters b, d, f, h, k, l, t and sometimes j, as well as the letter i when used as a stem, such as in the letter i.