crossbar height and alignment zones

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Craig Eliason
Craig Eliason Posts: 1,469
edited June 2012 in Type Design Technique & Theory
I have always thought of alignments zones as starting right at the mean line, caps-height line, baseline, etc. But if I decide to lower my /f/ and /t/ crossbars a few units for optical balance, should my x-height alignment zone be expanded downwards to keep the top contour of the crossbars within it? Are there any issues with the mean line (for example) landing within, rather than on the edge, of an alignment zone?

Comments

  • Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer
    Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer Posts: 157
    No issues with that. The only thing you need to keep an eye on is that your zones don't get too large. 25 is the maximum, I believe.
  • Göran Söderström
    Göran Söderström Posts: 117
    There are issues, but perhaps they are OK with you? For instance, if you do this, you should know that all letters inside that zone (up to which sizes depends on the Blue Scale) jumps down to the same crossbar height as t and f.

    You can also experiment with the BlueShift (I think) in order to make some stay and some jump down, depending on where inside the alignment zone they are.
  • Craig Eliason
    Craig Eliason Posts: 1,469
    Yes, I guess my real question is can alignment zones adjust contours in two directions, or only one? Would a meanline alignment zone push everything in towards the defined x-height if it falls within, or does it just push everything down toward the defined beginning of the zone? Probably the latter, I'm guessing.
  • PabloImpallari
    PabloImpallari Posts: 820
    Craig, watch this video

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