Letter Anatomy 101 - Letterhanna Studio

🧠 Why Learn Letter Anatomy?

Knowing letter anatomy helps you:

Evaluate typefaces like a pro
Spot subtle (but powerful) design choices
Create better pairings of type
Understand spacing, alignment, and scaling more intuitively

Also, because saying things like “I prefer this terminal shape” makes you sound 300% smarter. And you are.

🔬 The Anatomy of a Letter

Let’s meet the main parts of letterforms—think of this as your crash course in typographic biology.

1. Stem

The main vertical or diagonal stroke in a letter. For example, the straight line in a capital “L” or “T.”

2. Bar

A horizontal stroke. In the letter “A,” it’s the bridge connecting the two stems. In “H,” it’s the middle connector.

3. Bowl

The curved part that creates an enclosed space, like in “b,” “d,” “o,” “p,” and “q.” Kind of like a soup bowl, but for your eyes.

4. Counter

The enclosed or partially enclosed space inside a letter. An “o” has a closed counter. A “c” has an open one.

5. Spur

A small projection off a main stroke—often found in serif fonts. Check out the bottom of a capital “G” in Times New Roman. Fancy little foot, right?

6. Terminal

The end of a stroke that doesn’t have a serif. It could be rounded, teardrop-shaped, or flat.

7. Serif

Those delightful (or sometimes pesky) “feet” at the ends of strokes in serif typefaces. They can be bracketed (curved, like in Garamond) or unbracketed (sharp, like in Didot).

8. Ascender

The part of a lowercase letter that extends above the x-height, like in “b,” “d,” “h,” and “l.”

9. Descender

The part of a lowercase letter that drops below the baseline—like the tail in “g,” “p,” or “y.” Descenders love to party in the basement.

10. X-Height

We talked about this yesterday—it’s the height of a lowercase “x.” But why does it matter? Because it affects how big the type feels. A font with a high x-height often looks more legible and “bigger” at small sizes.

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11. Shoulder

The curved part in letters like “n,” “m,” and “h.” Imagine a shoulder shrugging, like “I guess I’m legible.”

12. Ear

A little flourish—like the one on the top right of a lowercase “g.” It’s the letter’s earring. Only cooler.

13. Aperture

The opening between strokes, especially in partially enclosed letters like “c,” “e,” or “s.” Wider apertures generally increase legibility.

14. Link

The connecting stroke between the upper and lower bowls of a two-story “g.” This little guy is underappreciated, but vital.

🎨 A Note on Styles

Different typefaces style these parts differently, and that’s what gives fonts their personality. For example:

A humanist serif like Garamond has soft, rounded terminals and a calligraphic influence.
A geometric sans-serif like Futura uses perfect circles and clean, minimalist lines.
A modern serif like Didot has extreme contrast in thick and thin strokes and thin, unbracketed serifs.

Understanding the anatomy helps you understand why fonts feel the way they do.

🧩 Unique Fact of the Day

The dot above the letters “i” and “j” is called a “tittle.” Yep. That’s a real word. Typography has more delightfully nerdy names than a sci-fi convention. And if you remove the tittle, the letter might get lost in body copy—proving that even tiny things can make a big difference.

🔍 Typography Scavenger Hunt

Here’s your hands-on challenge:

Pick a book, a magazine, or a website you like.
Identify three different letterforms and label their parts (bowl, stem, counter, etc.).
Bonus: Try to find a typeface with a two-story “g” and examine its ear and link.