What These Typography Terms Mean
Kerning, tracking, and leading all deal with spacing, but in different ways.
What Is Kerning?
Kerning is the space between two individual letters.
It is adjusted pair by pair, usually where the natural shapes of letters create awkward gaps. A classic example is the letter pair AV. Without kerning, the angled sides can make the space between the letters look too wide.
Good kerning makes the space between letters feel even, even when the actual measurements are not equal.
So when a type designer is done with spacing their font—finding the right amount of space around each letter—they will find the outlier combinations such as AV or AY and add individual kerning to those pairs. A graphic designer may adjust kerning in their layouts because kerning can look a bit off in larger and smaller font sizes.
What Is Tracking?
Tracking is the overall spacing across a word, headline, sentence, or paragraph.
Tracking is done by a designer putting a layout together, not by the actual typeface designer.
Instead of changing the space between two letters, tracking changes the spacing across a larger piece of text. Increase tracking and the letters spread out. Reduce tracking and the letters sit closer together.
Tracking has a strong effect on tone. Wide tracking can feel calm and deliberate. Tight tracking can make a headline feel compact and direct.
What Is Leading?
Leading is the vertical space between lines of text.
It controls how close one line sits to the next. Tight leading makes a block of text feel dense. Looser leading gives the text more air and can make longer paragraphs easier to read.
The term comes from traditional typesetting, when strips of lead were placed between lines of metal type.
Kerning vs. Tracking
The easiest difference is scale.
Kerning fixes the space between specific letter pairs. Tracking changes the spacing across a larger section of text.
If one pair of letters looks wrong, adjust the kerning. If the whole word or headline feels too tight or too open, adjust the tracking.
Leading vs. Tracking
Tracking controls horizontal space. Leading controls vertical space.
Both affect readability. A paragraph with tight tracking and tight leading can feel crowded very quickly. Wider tracking or more generous leading can make the same text feel calmer, but too much of either can make it fall apart.
One More Typography Term: Line Length
Line length is the width of a text block, usually measured by how many characters fit on one line.
If a line is too long, the eye has to travel too far before returning to the next line. If a line is too short, the reading rhythm becomes choppy.
Line length works closely with leading. Longer lines usually need more leading. Shorter lines can often handle tighter leading.
Why Spacing Matters
Spacing changes how a font feels.
The same typeface can look expensive, casual, crowded, quiet, editorial, or commercial depending on how it is spaced. This is why font choice is only part of typography. The setting matters just as much.
Quick Guide
If two letters look awkward, check the kerning.
If a whole word feels too tight or too loose, adjust the tracking.
If a paragraph feels hard to read, check the leading.
If the reading rhythm feels off, look at the line length.
Common Mistakes
One common mistake is adding too much tracking to lowercase text. Lowercase letters are built to sit closer together, so wide tracking can make words harder to read.
Another mistake is using tight leading in long paragraphs. It may look stylish at first, but it often becomes tiring to read.
All caps can handle more tracking than lowercase. This is why spaced-out uppercase often works well in logos, packaging, and editorial headlines.
How to Use Kerning, Tracking, and Leading in Design
For logos, start with the font, then refine the kerning. Logos are usually short enough that small spacing changes make a large difference.
For headlines, adjust tracking first. A headline can become more elegant, louder, quieter, or more compact with only a small spacing change.
For body text, focus on leading and line length. The goal is not to make every paragraph look designed. The goal is to make it easy to keep reading.
