TypeTalk: Character Reference

TypeTalk is a regular blog on typography. Post your questions and comments by clicking on the Comments icon above. If Ilene answers your question in the blog, you’ll receive one Official Creativepro.com T-Shirt!
Q. What is the difference between a character and a glyph?
A. The age of digital fonts has brought with it a new vocabulary that can be a bit bewildering. These two words constitute a perfect example of terms whose meanings are often confused or used interchangeably.
A character is the symbol representing a letter, while a glyph is the actual shape or design of a letterform or character, or the representation of a character. Several glyphs may represent one character. For example, a lowercase d may be represented by glyphs of a small cap d, a swash d, a superscript d, etc. However, a cap D and an italic d are different characters (Figure 1).
Figure 1. On the left are four glyphs representing the lowercase d character in Garamond Premiere Pro: the standard d, swash d, small cap d, and superscript d. The cap D and italic of the same font are different characters, as shown on the right.

OpenType fonts can accommodate thousands of characters, including many glyphs for a single character, such as the nineteen alternate characters for the lowercase h in Adobe Bickham Script (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Adobe Bickham Script Pro contains nineteen glyphs representing one character – the lowercase h, as shown in the InDesign glyph palette.

A glyph can be a numeral, a ligature, punctuation, a symbol (such as a trademark or copyright symbol), or a decorative image such as a border, an ornament or a dingbat. It can also refer to a pictogram or an ideogram in other writing systems. A glyph palette, which is included in much of today’s software, is so called because it shows every glyph in a font.
Love type? Want to know more? Ilene Strizver conducts her acclaimed Gourmet Typography workshops internationally. For more information on attending one or bringing it to your company, organization, or school, go to her site, call The Type Studio at 203-227-5929, or email Ilene at [email protected]. Sign up for her e-newsletter at www.thetypestudio.com.

Ilene Strizver is a noted typographic educator, author, designer and founder of The Type Studio in Westport, Connecticut. Her book, Type Rules! The designer’s guide to professional typography, is now in its 4th edition.
  • JulesSiegel says:

    Thanks, Ilene.

  • JimEConner says:

    I enjoy glyphs, but I have a hard time finding which ones are best suited for a particular project; which ones to enlarge as opaque motifs; which ones require accents over certain letters, if they do how do I place it when the font doesn’t carry it. In other words, what is a good way to narrow down searching for a glyph and when to use one? (I know that is a loaded question) Any industry suggestions?

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