1.

a written or printed communication

addressed to a person or organization and
usually transmitted by mail.
2. a symbol or character that is
conventionally used in writing and
printing to represent a speech sound and
that is part of an alphabet.
3. a piece of printing type bearing such a
symbol or character.
4. a particular style of type.
5. such types collectively.
6. Often, letters. a formal document granting a right or
privilege.
7. actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from
implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the
law.
8. letters, (used with a singular or plural verb) literature in
general.
9. the profession of literature.
10. learning; knowledge, especially of literature.
11. an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school,
awarded to a student for extracurricular activity, especially in
athletics.
12. to mark or write with letters; inscribe.
13. to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity,
especially a sport: He lettered in track at Harvard.
• Serif
• Sans Serif
• Gothic Styles
• Calligraphy Styles
• Block Lettering
• Graffiti
• Sub-Styles
• Serif lettering styles are letters that have tails on
them. Tails are decorative, often curved
flourishes found at the end of a letter's
descending stroke, which may rest on or below
your baseline. The diagonal stroke on a Q or R
would be likely spots for tails. If you examine a
font on the computer or text in a book, you will
notice that some letters have tails and some
consist of straight lines. Popular serif fonts or
letter styles include Times New Roman, Bodini
and Baskerville. Serif fonts are usually easy on
the eyes when reading and work well for body
text
• Sans Serif lettering is a style that has
no tails on the letters. These letters
are made of straight lines. Popular
lettering styles or fonts that fall into
this category include Courier, Gill
Sans and Ariel. These fonts are used
for their consistency in spacing,
particularly in computer
applications.
• Gothic style lettering typically features
very sharp edges, based on the styles of
Gothic architecture. Gothic lettering is
often used for headlines and titles, but it
doesn't work well for body text. The sharp
lines make it difficult to read when used as
body text, primarily because the letters
often run too close together. Gothic is a
decorative lettering style and, as such,
used less frequently for functionality.
• Calligraphy style lettering is
characterized by lines that
alternately thin and thicken. The
style is similar to Gothic, but with
smoother edges and fewer points.
Calligraphic lettering often takes on
a ribbon-like effect and is used
primarily for headlines.
• Block lettering is a plain,
straightforward lettering style
that is characterized by letters
that are typically very large and
written in all capitals. This is a
headline style lettering that
features straight lines and a
blocky appearance.
• Graffiti style lettering is
characterized by fat, rounded
characters or by sharp-edged
characters. Graffiti lettering is often
done with three-dimensional
shading as well. Graffiti lettering can
take on elements of Gothic or
calligraphic lettering.
• Within each of the lettering styles are sub-
styles that can be applied to the main lettering
types. Roundhand and cursive, for example,
mimic classical penmanship where letters flow
from one into the next. Italic puts a right-
leaning slant on letters, while bold makes the
strokes thicker. Old English is more decadent
in its flourishes and design, while
contemporary takes a simple, minimalist
approach.
• Your lettering must have the same height,
• style, and size. Lettering is an art that you must practice to obtain
• proficiency and continue practicing to maintain proficiency.
• Guidelines serve as an aid to creating
uniform lettering. Guidelines are
• light pencil lines that provide the means to achieve the
consistency
• needed for uniformity. When you apply only upper-case lettering,
you use
• only the base and cap guidelines. When lettering consists of
upper- and
• lower-
case letters, you must use the cap, waist, base, and drop
• guidelines
• When laying out guidelines for upper- and lower-
case letters, the height
• of upper-case lettering is 1 1/2 times the distance "A"
(figure 1-57).
• When establishing the guideline for lettering, set
a compass or divider
• to distance "A" and mark the distance you
have selected above and below
• the midline. These two marks establish the cap line and the
drop line
• Next you must locate the base and
waist lines. To locate these lines,
• set the compass or divider to 1/2 of
"A." Then using the same midline,
• mark the distance 1/2 of "A" above