Overshoot (typography)

For other uses, see Overshoot (disambiguation).
Overshoot is the degree that capital letters go below the baseline or above the cap height, and lowercase letters go below the baseline or above the mean line.

In typeface design, the overshoot of a round or pointed letter (like O or A) is the degree to which it extends higher or lower than a comparably sized "flat" letter (like X or H), to achieve an optical effect of being the same size; it compensates for inaccuracies in human visual perception.[1][2][3]

Formally, overshoot is the degree to which capital letters go below the baseline or above the cap height, or to which a lowercase letter goes below the baseline or above the x-height.[4]

For example, the highest and lowest extent of the capital O will typically exceed those of the capital X. Although the extent of overshoot varies depending on the design and the designer, perhaps 1% to 3% of the cap or x-height is typical for O. Peter Karow's Digital Formats for Typefaces recommends 3% for O and 5% for A.[5][6]

  1. ^ Frere-Jones, Tobias (9 April 2015). "This Optical Illusion Tricks You Into Thinking That Typeface Letters Are the Same Height". Slate. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ^ Moore, Ian. "Making Geometric Type Work". Typographica. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. ^ Heidrun Osterer; Philipp Stamm (8 May 2014). Adrian Frutiger – Typefaces: The Complete Works. Birkhäuser. p. 333. ISBN 978-3-03821-260-7.
  4. ^ Evans, Poppy; Sherin, Aaris (September 2013). The Graphic Design Reference & Specification Book. USA: Rockport Publishers. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-59253-851-5.
  5. ^ "Glossary of (some) typographical terms".
  6. ^ Peter Karow (19 January 2012). Digital Formats for Typefaces. Springer. p. 26. ISBN 978-3-642-78107-0.