![]() That’s why, when you click the insertion point between two characters, this same Kerning field displays a number in parentheses-that’s the kerning value of the auto pair. InDesign applies these kern pairs by default, as you can tell by the Kerning field in the Character palette, which typically says “Metrics.” This means that it’s using the font metrics and applying the kerning value built into the font. These typefaces include a number of these “kern pairs.” In fact, a font might have anywhere from 50 to several thousand kern pairs. Let’s change Kerning to 5 units and click OK.Ĭertain pairs of letters always need kerning, such as “To” or “Va.” A well-designed face has the kerning built into the font metrics so that when you type certain character combinations, they tuck into each other nicely. This means that if you take the point size of the type (called an em), say 24-point, and divide it into 1000 parts, each default kerning space is 20/1000, which is way too much. You’ll notice that the default Kerning value is 20/1000 em. Change this preference while no document is open on your screen and it will set the value as the default for all new documents.įrom the InDesign menu (PC: Edit menu), choose Preferences > Units & Increments. Let’s look at the preference that controls kerning values. ![]() Adjust kerning in the InDesign Preferences dialog box. InDesign has controls for kerning, tracking, letter spacing, and word spacing, and all of these individual controls are affected by the justification, hyphenation, and composition settings. ![]() The bad kerning on the bottom has too much spacing between the wide characters like the capital W the lower case e and o and the result is a too loose collection of characters which looks careless and sloppy because the proximity of the characters is unbalanced giving it a slightly halting look and “sound.” It gets to the gestalt in typographic form. The good kerning on top creates a compact group of characters that looks and feels like a cohesive visual unit. Here is an example of good and bad kerning. Paying attention to details like Kerning makes the difference between good and great design. Inappropriate or unconscious letter spacing can make type difficult to read, difficult to comprehend, and can undermine the credibility of the message or the messenger. It has to do with the adjustment of space between letters in order to improve the visual treatment of typography.Įxcellent letter spacing makes the difference between good type and great type, and it displays the difference between a good designer and a great designer. Kerning: Metric Vs. Optical Kerning is an important aspect of design.
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