Sooo... why are rounds larger than flats?

[Texas_Signmaker]

We all know rounds are larger than flats. In the last few weeks I've had to educated confused customers that the letters I just put up have different heights. They think it's a problem. Is there a reason rounds are larger than flats? Is there some visual thing that makes that look better? My OCD customers are going nuts.

 

[Jester1167]

Yes, visually they need to extend to appear the same size. A flat character has a lot of weight at the top and bottom, if the round character doesn't go above and or below, it will appear smaller. Same thing with kerning pairs. T's A's and round characters are spaced closer together for the same reason. All these factors make the spacing and height look the same.

This is one of the reasons you measure to flat characters during an install, or the same character when using script fonts, otherwise, you end up installing them crooked.

 

[Jester1167]

Script example:

 

[Notarealsignguy]

What he said. Round letters appear smaller if they're the same height as the flat letters.

 

[GAC05]

We all know rounds are larger than flats. In the last few weeks I've had to educated confused customers that the letters I just put up have different heights. They think it's a problem. Is there a reason rounds are larger than flats? Is there some visual thing that makes that look better? My OCD customers are going nuts.

It's a patriarchal masculinity thing - something to do with young men as they begin to notice the opposite sex.
I think that is what my dad told me.

 

[Andy D]

Kind of reminds me of a show I saw a long time ago that stated (paraphrasing)
" Greeks would purposely bow long horizontal lines in their structures to make them look straight"

https://www.architecturerevived.com/how-greek-temples-correct-visual-distortion/

 

[Gino]

It's an optical illusion.

I'd like to know who decides how much more the rounds got...... or is it the other way around ?? Maybe everything is based on the rounds and the flats just get smaller. Maybe the rounds are female and the flats are neutral ?? Maybe these letters don't have a gender. Perhaps we should ask the chinese, since lotsa new stuff is coming from there lately. Could be, there's a new trend. Yeah, that's the ticket...... rounds rule. It's great to be tall and stocky. Why are rounds fatter than the other letters ?? Wait, what about a 'W' how did that slip in ?? Ohh, this lettering world is just so confusing. I'm gonna go have a fudgecicle. Now,, where's the ketchup ??

 

[Stacey K]

FEMALE: A I G J L M S V W X Y Z
MALE: B C D E F H K L N O P Q R T U

They've always had a gender in my mind...

 

[Gino]

There aren't enough letters in our alphabet to cover all the genders anymore. Even if we doubled it, there wouldn't be enough. Weird to think of it that way...............

 

[Johnny Best]

In the 1500s, Albrecht Durer, my favorite artist, put together the alphabet using geometry to make aesthetically pleasing letters.
All done with straight lines and circles with perspective and proportion. My grandfather gave me Durer's book when I was in the 10th grade and complaining to him about my geometry class, lost it over the years, Just Shaping of Letters.
Times Roman was derived from his alphabet that he drew. So Tex, when your OCD clients start to freak out, tell them the story about Albrecht Durer and it will calm them down until they can take their meds.
Stacey: with the male and female thing, the Jackson 5 had a song about that, "ABC baby, you and me", or something like that.

 

[Billct2]

When I was taught sign painting at Butera in the 70s we learned about visual balance and it starts with letters. Round letters look smaller than flat letters if they are exactly the same size.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

There aren't enough letters in our alphabet to cover all the genders anymore. Even if we doubled it, there wouldn't be enough. Weird to think of it that way...............

I think that you may be gender confused.

 

[Gino]

So, with the earth being found out to be round is now smaller since 1492, then when it was flat ?? Sounds a little iffy to me.

 

[Johnny Best]

There aren't enough letters in our alphabet to cover all the genders anymore. Even if we doubled it, there wouldn't be enough. Weird to think of it that way...............

Gino: Those people are covered by commas, semicolons, parenthesis and all those symbols on the top row if you hold the shift down! The Keyboard of Life, where we all get along on our own space.

 

[Gino]

Ohhh..... I see said the blind man..... I mean I hear ya, I'm listening......................

I don't see any color or rainbows.........................​

 

[Johnny Best]

Gino, put on your rose colored glasses.

 

[Gino]

I don't wear glasses, especially rose colored. That's so 60's..... or do you think I have Irlens syndrome ??

 

[John Miller]

The thing that gets me is the fact that the client is picking on rounded letters being slightly larger in the first place. They should concentrate on their business and let you do yours. Tell them you'd be glad to change them to the same size as the other letters at no charge but you will charge them for all your labor & materials to change them back.

That's just me being crabby today.

 

[signbrad]

In typographical terms, this phenomenon is called overshoot. Usually it measures 1 to 3% of the letter height, depending on the letter style.

Why does a round letter look shorter? Why the optical illusion?
Read my blog post from 2016.

https://signbrad.com/?s=optical+illusions

https://frerejones.com/blog/typeface-mechanics-001/

Brad

 

[The Doo]

Use the words :ascenders: and :descenders: . That should quiet the quell...

https://kazdesignworks.com/graphic-design-terms-ascender-vs-descender/