Whoa… are you already stumped by the title of this post? We aren’t talking about corn and metal here, in fact the terms kerning and leading refer to two graphic design terms that relate to the space in between.

To Kern or not to Kern

Kerning refers to the method of adjusting the space between characters (letters) in a font. If the space between letters runs into negative numbers, this will cause the letters to run together. Having a negative value for kerning in body text is a huge no-no as it becomes very difficult for your eyes to make the distinction between letters and leads to poor readability. The exception would be if it’s intentional for the letters to run together such as in a heading or design element.

An example of bad kerning would turn the word “kern” into “kem.” Notice how the “r” and the “n” run into each other to form a “m?” On the flip side if the the kerning values are plus, there will be more spacing between individual letters. Sometimes this technique is used with headlines or in logos to make a design impact… again not a technique to use on body text.

Too little of kerning. Notice how the letters are too close to each other.

Perfect amount of kerning.

Too much kerning. Notice how the word becomes difficult to read.

Leading

A simple way to think about what leading does is to think, lead (the metal) is heavy so it will drop… meaning leading refers to the adjustment of space in between lines. When the leading between lines goes into a negative value (just like with kerning), the lines become scrunched together making it difficult to read. In certain situations where larger type sizes are used, having more leading can improve the readability of text.

R2F Creative LLC provides graphic design + branding and web design solutions for clients nationwide and locally in Ankeny and Des Moines, Iowa.