Uppercase versus Lowercase diacritics

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Michael Jarboe
Michael Jarboe Posts: 265
edited August 2015 in Type Design Technique & Theory
I'm curious what the opinions are on uppercase versus lowercase diacritics height/size/positioning, and what one thinks is best practice.

I've seen examples of:

1. Either no, or almost no perceptible difference between uppercase/lowercase mark height and positioning
2. Difference in positioning only, uppercase/lowercase marks are equal in height (lowered positioning on caps to decrease overall vertical height of accented glyph)
3. Difference of mark height only (positioning looks more relative to lowercase, but uppercase marks aren't as tall, therefore again, decreasing overall vertical height of accented glyph)
4. Difference in positioning and height of mark (these are most extreme, greatly reducing overall vertical height of accented glyphs)

And then there are examples where the mark isn't necessarily adjusted in height linearly, but the form looks rotated to decrease its vertical reach.

Are these differences and the decisions behind these variations more genre specific overall or more personal preference?

Are the extreme examples more so typical in display faces where all caps setting with tight leading could be desired?
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Comments

  • attar
    attar Posts: 209
    Speaking of which, is it okay to have flattened cap acute for Polish?
  • Dmitry Goloub
    Dmitry Goloub Posts: 10
    @Adrien Tétar 
    I'm not sure, but since the Polish kreska is almost vertical, maybe a shorter one instead of a flattened one would be good for the job?

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