ABSTRACT
The 26 letters of the English alphabet can be divided into four groups based on the dominant strokes of the letters: vertical, curved, combination vertical and curved, and oblique. Letters within each group have similar characteristics. A type family includes all the variations of weights and styles that relate to one another by design. Typefaces with large x-heights have lowercase letters that are proportionally large in relation to the ascenders and descenders. From metal type terminology, the term for capital letters, those letters that were kept in the upper of the two wooden cases used to hold the metal type. Sans serif characters that slant to the right but resemble roman characters in structure. The stress of typographic letters is the angle determined by the direction of the thicker stem strokes. In every classification of type, there are thousands of different typefaces and fonts available, useful for different types of design work.
