ANATOMY OF TYPE

The basic typographic element is called a character, which is any individual letter, numeral, or punctuation mark. The capital letters are called caps, or uppercase characters. Small letters are called lowercase characters. Numbers are called numerals or figures.

Within a given typeface each character will have distinctive similarities which define the typeface and give it it‘s individual style.

The distinctions in each character can be described using the terminology/vocabulary of typographic anatomy. Each of the following tables show a different area of the character.

The term uppercase is a vestige of the days when typesetters separated capital letters in a box above the lowercase letters. It can also refer to any character which is accessed with the shift key on a manual typewriter.

Name	Description	Example
Stem	The main vertical section of an upright character