Perfect your kerning skills

How-to
By
published

Kerning is crucial to producing beautiful typography. Tom Sewell of Red Design shares his recommendations for perfect letter spacing.

Kerning is the art of spacing individual characters in a word so that they sit in correct relationship to one another, creating a subtle harmony and rhythm. In the increasingly fast-paced world of graphic design kerning is often underrated and forgotten. While it is one of the hardest arts for a designer to master, it can be involving and interesting - and yes, even fascinating.

Above all, kerning feels like a true craft. Explaining it to someone who's not a designer often elicits raised eyebrows and cries of "Why bother?". But it's the subtleties in typesetting that distinguish competent work from true typographic beauty. That said, to be truly great at kerning takes years of practice. There are some really simple things that will help you no end and get you started down the path of the obsessive kerner.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

TOPICS
Creative Bloq Staff

The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq. 

Related articles