These are some typographic terms that you should be familiar with. There is a visual representation of each term. These terms come from "Typographic Design: Form and Communication" by Rob Carter, Ben Day and Philip Meggs.

Ascender-the part of the lowercase letter that rises above the meanline.

Baseline-an imaginary horizontal line upon which the base of each capital letter rests.

Capline-the imaginary horizontal line defined by the height of the capital letters.

Counter-The negative space that is fully or partially enclosed by a letterform.

Descender-part of the lowercase letter that falls below the baseline.

Kerning-a process of adding or taking space away from specific pairs of letters.

Leading-space between lines of type.

Meanline-an imaginary line marking the tops of lowercase letters not including ascenders.

Stroke- Any of the linear elements within a letterform.

X-height-measured by the lowercase x; is the height of lowercase letters excluding ascenders and descenders.

Type is an important element in your design, and can be viewed as text, as shape, or as a visual element that conveys mood or meaning.

How do you choose creatively choose type, but make sure that it accurately gets your message across? The first step in choosing a typeface for your communication to think about what overall theme or mood of the piece will be? Are you designing a wedding invitation, a menu, an annual report or a poster? Each of these communications is unique and a typeface that would be appropriate for one design piece, might not be appropriate for another.

After considering the communication, consider who the audience is. For example, if the type size is too small, it may be difficult for some people to read. On the other hand, type that is too large may overpower the piece and end up detracting from the message rather than enhancing it. Legibility is an important factor when choosing typefaces. Look closely at how the letterforms are shaped and work together. For example, if the letters in a line are too close together, the text will be difficult to read.

When choosing typefaces do:

Choose a typeface that is appropriate to the communication as well as the audience.

Choose a typeface that is legible. Set body copy in a serif typeface and headlines in sans-serif. Don't use display or script typefaces for body text.

Choose a size that is legible. In general set body copy between 9 and 12 points. If you go below 9 points, it can illegible for some readers.

Keep your type choice to two in a piece. Too many typefaces will overwhelm you reader.