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Kerning is when you make the space between two letters look good. Sometimes the space is too big or too small because of how the letters are shaped.
You can fix this by moving the letters a little bit until they look nice and even.
Kerning makes your words look pretty and easy to read.
Do you have an example?
Imagine you have some alphabet blocks that you can use to spell words. Each block has a letter on it and a square shape around it. When you put two blocks next to each other, there is some space between them because of the shape of the blocks.
Now, some letters are wider than others, like W and M. And some letters are narrower than others, like I and L. And some letters have parts that stick out or curve in, like A and V. When you put these letters next to each other on your blocks, sometimes they look too far apart or too close together because of their shapes.
For example, if you spell AVA with your blocks, you might see a big gap between A and V, but a small gap between V and A. That doesn't look very nice or balanced. Or if you spell WILLOW with your blocks, you might see that W and I look too close together compared to I and L or L and O. That doesn't look very clear or easy to read.
How Do We Kern?
You kern by moving the letters slightly closer or further apart until they look just right. For example, if you kern AVA with your blocks, you might move A and V a little bit closer so they touch at the bottom point of their shapes. And if you kern WILLOW with your blocks, you might move W and I a little bit further apart so they don't overlap at their top points.
Kerning makes your words look more beautiful and readable by making sure each pair of letters has the right amount of space between them.
It's like playing with your blocks until they fit together nicely on your floor or table.
Funny words to kern
FLICK - can be fuck
Sources
- Kerning - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning
- What Is Kerning In Typography? The Complete Kerning Definition. https://fabrikbrands.com/what-is-kerning-in-typography-kerning-definition/
- Kerning - an introduction for designers | Adobe. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/design/discover/kerning.html
- What Is Kerning Typography? Design Definition | Adobe XD Ideas. https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/ui-design/what-is-kerning-typography/