Anatomy of a Typeface: Why Letters Lie to Your Eyes
Typeface anatomy is a system of optical illusions. Letters are drawn with inconsistent dimensions to appear uniform. This is why a circle must be taller than a square to look the same size. The footgun is trusting bounding boxes over your eyes for alignment.
Typeface anatomy isn't about math, but optical illusion. Letters are intentionally drawn with different weights and dimensions to make them appear uniform and balanced to the human eye. This is why a circle must be taller than a square to feel the same size. The biggest footgun is assuming geometric precision; relying solely on a letter's bounding box for alignment will create visually unbalanced layouts. Always make final adjustments by eye.
Read the original → Wikipedia: Typeface anatomy
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- #optical effects
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