More Meta Characteristics

The font, FF Meta, has many characteristics that are typical of computerized fonts. The Meta font family includes small caps font faces. Small caps are very different from all caps and the difference is very important. In all caps writing, the words shout at you from the page. In small caps fonts, however, the words are emphasized, but do not stick out extensively.

Ligatures are also included with the FF Meta Font. Ligatures are when two letters are combined to make one character. Common examples are fl, ff, and fi. The latest versions of FF Meta contain ligatures, but they are not contained in the older version that I have. An example of this can be seen in my previous post.

A foot mark is sometimes also called a "dumb apostrophe". It is a line that extends straight downward in the place of an apostrophe. A "smart apostrophe" however, is curled to the left. Smart apostrophes are far more visually appealing and are encouraged in typography in almost all circumstances.

This same difference is seen in inch marks versus quote marks. Inch marks are quotes that extend straight down, while quotes curl right to open and left to close.

A hyphen - is used only to hyphenate words or add line breaks. An en dash – is approximately the width of a capital N and is used to denote duration, such as in October – December, or 3 – 5 years of age. An em dash — is twice as long as the em dash, about the width of a capital M and is used in ways similar to parentheses or indicates an abrupt change in thought.