Fluent shapes. Designing type is like driving a car. If you drive a car, you always take the curve in a natural way. If you draw a curve (of a character) on paper, this is exactly the same. The curve starts smoothly, never out of a sudden. While driving a car, you don’t start turning the wheel when you are already in the beginning of the curve. A while before you arrive in the curve you anticipate by leading your car gently in the right direction. Think about driving a car when you are sketching type on a paper. 

流線型。設計字體就象開車。你在開車的時候，總是會以自然的曲線過彎。當你在紙面上繪制一條曲線（或是字符）的時候，也是同樣的道理。曲線平滑的開始，而不是陡然出現。開車時，你不會在已經到達了彎道口之后才開始打方向盤，而是在你預計即將進入彎道的時候，就開始慢慢的將你的車引入正確的方向。當你在紙上畫草圖的時候，多想想你是怎樣開車的。
（下面有圖片。）

圖片上的文字：
標題：動態(tài)的曲線
左：怎樣才能最快的駛過這條彎道？
右1：幾何曲線
右2：自然曲線
右下：平滑的開始轉向，更自然，更快速！

(4)書法原型

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Calligraphic origin. The characters on the top line have a different construction than the characters on the bottom line. They have a different calligraphic origin. It doesn’t matter if a typeface has serifs (like Times New Roman) or not (like Arial). It’s about the original way they where constructed.

圖中上下兩行字母有著不同的結構，它們來源于不同的書法原型。不管這種字體是襯線字體（如Times New Roman）還是無襯線字體（如Arial），它們的架構都源于它們的書法原型。

The characters in the top line are constructed with a pointed pen (calligraphic tool). The contrast is caused by changing the pressure on the pen, not because of the form of the pen. Bodoni is one example of this, but also sans serif faces like Helvetica have this origin. The thickest part will be (mostly) totally vertical. From this perspective there is no difference between Bodoni and Helvetica. They both have the same construction. Only the contrast varies.

上面一行的字體的書法原型是一種尖頭的書法鋼筆。其筆畫的粗細對比是通過改變筆壓來實現的，而與筆尖本身的形狀無關。Bodoni字體就是一個例子，但是象Helvetica這樣的無襯線體也是來源于此。筆畫最粗的部分幾乎都是垂直的。從這個角度來看， Bodoni和Helvetica是同出一轍的。它們的架構是一致的，只是筆畫的粗細對比有區(qū)別。

The characters in the bottom line have a origin which is derived from the broad nip. The calligraphic pen itself has a thick and a thin part. The contrast in the type is made because of the form of the pen, not because of the pressure. You slant the pen with an angle of 30 degrees on the paper. In that way your thickest part of a character will not be on a vertical direction, but will be on an angle. Also the thinnest part will not be on the most horizontal parts. Typefaces like Garamond and Minion have this kind of construction. But also sans serif faces like Gill Sans have a construction which is originally derived from the broad nip.

下面一行字體來源于一種筆尖扁平的鋼筆。這種書法鋼筆正面寬而側面窄。字體的筆畫粗細是由于鋼筆本身形狀的差異造成的，而不是筆壓。你書寫的時候筆身是傾斜的，和紙張形成30度的傾角。因此筆畫最粗的部分就不是垂直方向的，而是有一定角度的傾斜。同樣的，筆畫最細的部分也不是位于水平方向上。Garamond 和 Minion 字體就是這種結構。但象Gill Sans 這樣的無襯線字體也同樣是起源于這種筆尖扁平的鋼筆。

#p#副標題#e#

(5)字符間距

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圖片文字說明：

文字間距基礎
上：太緊
下：a和e的內部空間應該是相等的
平衡字符的內空間和外空間

Spacing. Some words about spacing type. Much more important than the shapes of the characters, is the rhythm of the type. A typeface with beautiful characters which are badly spaced is extremely hard to read. However, if the shapes of the letters are not that good, but when they are all perfectly spaced, the type will be fairly easy to read. Defining the rhythm is more important than defining the shapes.

字符間距

這里要說一下字符間距。字符的間距要比它的外形重要得多，這關系到字體的節(jié)奏。一種間距很糟糕的字體，不管外形如何優(yōu)美，一樣難于閱讀。相反的，一款外形稍欠的字體，如果有完美的間距調節(jié)，這種字體一樣可以易于閱讀。因此，定義字體的節(jié)奏，要比定義字體的外形更加重要。

The white spaces inside and in between letters are defining the rhythm, much more than the black shapes of the letters. When you manage to create a good rhythm in your line of text, your type gets more readable and gives a balanced end result. While creating the black shapes, you have to take the white spaces into consideration. Because the white spaces are more important than the black shapes. However, white cannot exist without black. Changing a white shape, inevitable will have an influence on the black shape. From that perspective, one colour cannot be more important than the other.

字體的節(jié)奏取決于字符內部和字符之間的白空間，而非字符的黑色形體。如果你能夠為你的文本建立一種很好的節(jié)奏，你的字體就更易于閱讀，并獲得均衡的整體效果。從開始創(chuàng)建黑色形體的時候起，你就應該同時把白空間的設置考慮在內。當然，白空間和黑空間是相互依存的。白空間的改變也必然的會影響黑空間的形態(tài)。從這個角度來看，我們不能說黑與白哪個更重要。

For example, there has to be a relation between the space inside an ‘n’ and the space between the ‘i’ and the ‘n’ (see drawing). In the top row you can see the space inside the ‘n’ is much much bigger than the space in between the ‘n’ and the ‘i’. In the bottom row they are much more equal, and in this way you’ll get a much better rhythm and more harmony in your line of text.

例如，字母n內部的白空間，以及i與n之間的白空間，兩者之間必然會存在著某種關聯（見圖示）。在上面一行中，字母n內部的白空間要遠大于i與n之間的白空間。在下面一行中，兩者則要均衡得多，你也因而獲得了更好的節(jié)奏，整個文本也更和諧。

The same goes for the inner form of the ‘a’ and the ‘e’ for example. There is a big relation between these two forms. If they have (optically) the same amount of white inside the character (=counter), your type will have a better rhythm as well. 

同樣的，小寫a和e之間的內部空間也存在著這種關聯。兩個形狀之間的關系非常緊密。這兩個字符的內部白空間（counter，中文術語翻譯為字懷/字谷/字幣）在視覺上應當是等量大小的，這樣你的字體才會有更好的節(jié)奏。

(6)黑與白

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圖片上的文字：
注意字符內部和外部的白空間

Black vs. white. Designing type is nothing more and nothing less than harmonizing black and white shapes. Black can’t exist without white, and white can’t exist without black. Black, the shape of a letter. White, the space in or in between letters. The amount of white inside a character defines the amount of white in between two characters.

黑與白

字體的設計，莫過于調整黑白空間的和諧。黑不能離開白而獨立存在，白也是一樣。黑，是字符的形體。白，是字符內部和字符之間的白色空間。兩個字符之間白空間的大小，取決于字符內部白空間的大小。

As it is impossible to create a very black character with a big (white) counter form, a black typeface will always have smaller counters than a light typeface. Hence it follows that there is less space in between the characters (see drawing). A light typeface has much bigger counters. The space in between two letters has to be in proportion. As a consequence there is more white space in between light letters than in between black letters.

你永遠不可能設計出一種筆畫極其粗重而同時字懷（counter，字符內部包圍的白空間）又很大的的粗黑體。一個粗黑體，其字懷永遠要小于一個細線體，因而粗黑體的字符間距也一定要小于細線體（如圖）。細線體的字懷很大，其字符間距也必須相應的大，所以細線體的字符之間就需要比粗黑體更大的白空間。

(7)意大利體與草寫體

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Italic vs. cursive. A roman font can be slanted (having an angle) and a cursive font can be upright (totally vertical like a roman). Urgh!

一個羅馬體（roman，通常也被譯作”正體“）可以是傾斜的（有一定的傾角），而一個草寫體可以是豎直的（就好像是一個正體一樣）。呃？！

The angle doesn’t decide if a character is a ‘roman’ character or an ‘cursive’ character. This depends on the construction. To make it a bit more clear, take a look at the four big n’s. As you would expect, the first letter is a roman character. But the second one as well. Although it’s not totally vertical, it still has the same construction as the first ‘n’. This is called a slanted roman. The third ‘n’ looks like an cursive, but also this one is not a real cursive. Basicly there is no difference between the second and third ‘n’, only some parts of the serifs have been cut off.

傾角并不能決定一個字母是一個“羅馬體”還是一個“草寫體”。關鍵在于其結構。要理解這一點，看看下面四個大n。你想的沒錯，第一個是一個羅馬體。但第二個同樣也是，雖然它并不是完全的豎直，它和第一個n擁有同樣的結構。這種情形我們叫做傾斜的羅馬體。第三個n看起來很象草寫體了。但它實際上還不是一個真正的草寫體。總的來說第三個n和第二個并沒有多大區(qū)別，只是襯線的個別部分被切掉了而已。

Compare the first three letters with the last ‘n’. That’s a real cursive. The big difference with the previous three is the construction. The first three are constructed from separate pen strokes. The last ‘n’ is constructed out of one pen stroke. This is the basic difference between roman and cursive fonts. Not the angle, but the construction.

與前面三個n相比，最后一個n才是真正的草寫體。它們之間最大的區(qū)別在于結構。前三個n的各個筆畫之間都是獨立的。最后一個n完全是一筆寫成的。這就是羅馬體和草寫體之間最根本的區(qū)別：不在于傾角，而在于結構。

Many different explanations can be given for the difference between a ‘cursive’ and ‘italic’ from a historical point of view. However we consider this as the big difference: ‘italic’ is concerning the function, ‘cursive’ is concerning the construction. Almost anything can work as an ‘italic’, it doesn’t even necessarily needs an angle. When making a font family with a roman and an italic font, the italic font can be constructed in many different ways. The third ‘n’ in the example could probably function perfectly as an italic inside your family. But don’t forget, it’s not always a real cursive when it’s called ‘italic’.

如果要從歷史的視角來探討草寫體和“意大利體”之間的區(qū)別，那就說來話長了。但我們可以從這個角度來考慮：“意大利體”關乎功能，而“草寫體”關乎結構。幾乎任何字體都可以當成一個“意大利體”來使用，甚至根本不需要有什么傾角。當你制作一個包含“羅馬體”和“意大利體”的字體家族時，這個“意大利體”可以用各種不同的方式來構建。圖例中的第三個n也許就是你字體家族中一個完美的“意大利體”。但不要忘了，一個叫做“意大利體”的字體不一定是一個草寫體。

譯注：這篇翻的比較別扭。roman一般譯作“正體”，italic譯作“斜體”，嚴格來講都不是準確的翻譯，但卻已經是約定俗成的翻譯了。正確的翻譯應該是“羅馬體”和“意大利體”。在Windows上，對99%的用戶來說，italic就是斜體的意思，word里面甚至為所有字體都提供了一個“斜體”的功能。但實際上“意大利體”指的是一類字體的統(tǒng)稱，并且也并非所有的“意大利體”都是傾斜的。西方拉丁文字系統(tǒng)最早在古羅馬帝國形成完整的體系，代表作品就是古羅馬的石刻文字，非常莊嚴而典雅。而后來意大利人從手寫體中發(fā)展出了意大利體。隨著印刷術的發(fā)展，意大利體一般用來作為正文字體的一種特殊強調樣式，用于注釋、引文之類的場合，與正文字體相區(qū)別。因此許多比較完備的字體家族都提供了一個叫做“意大利體”的變體，和其正體（羅馬體）相比，有些字體中的“意大利體”的字形完全是經過重新設計的，而不僅僅是傾斜那么簡單。）

要了解更多有關意大利體的信息，可以參看下面這篇文章。
http://www.logosky.net/webpage/artreview/italic_font_20060916.htm

(8)風格的統(tǒng)一

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圖上文字：
襯線還是無襯線？看上圖，你自己決定。

One for all What defines if one character can fit to another character? Once you made a decision, how to apply this to all the other characters in a font?

是什么決定一個字符能否匹配另一個字符？當你確定了一種風格，如何將之推廣應用于字庫中的全部字符？

Starting point: ‘e’ (in the center of the drawing). Imagine you sketched this ‘e’, you like it a lot, and now you want to design more characters fitting to this ‘e’. Where to start? Should it be a serif or a sans serif for example?

先從這里開始：圖中有一個“e”。想象你剛畫好這個“e”的草圖，你很喜歡它，然后你想要設計更多的其他字符來匹配這個“e”。該如何開始呢？比如說，它應該是一個襯線字體還是一個無襯線字體呢？

First try: ‘i’ on the left. Sans serif. The black part is as thick as the black parts of the ‘e’. Same x-height. So this should work you think.

第一個嘗試：左邊的“i”，無襯線體。它最粗的部分和“e”最粗部分的筆畫寬度相同，同樣的x-高度。它應該能表達你的想法了。

Second try: ‘i’ on the right. Same thickness, the character has the same x-height, but now it has serifs.

第二個嘗試：右邊的“i”。同樣的寬度，同樣的x-高度，但這次它有了襯線。

The bowl of the ‘e’ is not only having a certain thickness, but the ‘e’ also has contrast. The ‘i’ on the left has no contrast at all. Therefore these two characters don’t belong to each other. The ‘i’ on the right however has the same kind of contrast as the ‘e’, just because it has serifs. Just those tiny serifs make sure there are thick and thin parts, like the ‘e’ has. This means that the starting point, the ‘e’, already defined that the rest of the font cannot be a sans serif typeface.

“e”的字碗不僅僅有著一定的寬度，同時還有著粗細的對比。左邊的“i”完全沒有筆畫粗細的對比。因此這兩個字符不是完美的一對。而右邊的“i”有著和“e”同樣的粗細對比，是因為它有了襯線。這細細的襯線讓它象“e”那樣擁有了粗細的區(qū)別。這就是起點。這個“e”，已經決定了這個字體中的其余字符不應該是一個無襯線字體。

Of course, every so called rule is there to be broken. Mentioning this, doesn’t mean you can’t make a font which has an ‘e’ combined with an ‘i’ like the one on the left. Everything is possible of course. But now you realize better what you are doing, also when you don’t do it. Still get it?

當然了，每一條所謂的規(guī)則到最后都會有例外。從這個意義來說，你完全可以把中間的“e”和左邊的“i”配一對做一個字體。沒有什么是不可能的。但現在你已經能夠更深刻的意識到你為什么這樣做，抑或是你為什么不那樣做。還能理解嗎？

#p#副標題#e#

(9)可讀性

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Readability.  The only important aspect of a text typeface is the readability. Many decisions can influence the readability. Which contrast you create, the length of the ascenders and descenders, the rhythm, the blackness of a type, the strength of the curves and the bowls, etc.

可讀性是正文字體的唯一考量指標。你對字體所做的許多決定都會影響可讀性。例如采用怎樣的粗細對比，上伸部和下伸部的長度，字體的節(jié)奏，黑度，曲線和字碗的力度，等等。

Most of those decision apply to all the characters inside a font. These have to be defined first. For example the contrast. The characters on the top line (see drawing) have a much bigger contrast than the characters on the bottom line. The type on the top line will be more suitable for display use, the type the bottom the bottom line more for text use. Not only because of the difference in contrast, but also because the characters on the top line are much more condensed. This makes them less legible in small sizes, but more eye-catching and flexible for headlines. Defining the contrast and the width are decisions which count for every single character in a font.

大部分的決定會影響到字體中的全部字符。下面這些是應該首先考慮的。比如說粗細對比。圖例中上面一行的字符筆畫粗細對比明顯要比下面一行的要大得多。上一行的字體更適合做特排字體，而下一行更適合做正文字體。不僅僅是因為它們粗細對比的差異，還由于上一行的字符的字寬更小，因而在小尺寸下更難以識別――但是卻更能吸引眼球，在制作標題的時候也更具靈活性。所以在定義字體的粗細對比和寬度的時候，要考慮到字體中的全部字符。

But also while designing every single glyph, you can create details which improve the readability of a font. For example, the ear of a ‘g’ can make sure the reader’s eye will follow the horizontal reading direction more fluently. The ‘g’ on the bottom line will work much better in a text typeface for small sizes (see drawing).

不過，在設計每一個具體字符的時候，你可以通過增加一些細節(jié)來提升該字體的可讀性。舉例來說，小寫字母g右上角的字耳會有助于閱讀者的視線更平滑的水平移動。如果用作正文字體，圖中下面一行中的”g”在小尺寸下的表現會相當不錯。

(10)比例

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Proportions. Which x-height to define? Which descender depth? Defining these proportions are essential, and very strongly connected to the purpose of the type. The proportions within a certain typeface are influencing the way your type will work & look. For example, it’s impossible to create a space saving newspaper typeface with an extremely wide body width.

x高度應該定多高？下伸部應該多長？確定這些比例至關重要，并且與字體的用途緊密相關。字體的比例將影響其外觀及應用。比如說，如果你想設計一種節(jié)約版面的字體，那就不能給它設置極大的字寬。

Extremely short descenders will give a strange look to a text typeface. Even worse, they might not be visible at all anymore. But extremely short descenders can also be a smart decision, while creating a display or headline type. For a text typeface the ascender height should be as big or, even better, bigger than then cap height to give a optical pleasurable result (see drawing).

如果下伸部很短，字體看上去會很怪?；蛘吒?，閱讀者可能根本無法發(fā)現它。但很短的下伸部也可能是一個聰明的決定，當它用于特排字體或者標題字體的時候。 對一個正文字體來說，上伸部最好是和大寫高度一樣（或者更高一些更棒），以獲得良好的視覺效果。如圖。

(11)小型大寫

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Small caps. You could guess it already from the name, small caps are small capitals. Capitals which have the same height as lowercase characters.

你可能看名字就猜出來了，小型大寫就是小號的大寫字母。和小寫字母一樣高度的大寫字母。

Why are small caps needed? Because of several typographical reasons. First of all a whole word set in caps will look awful, it will drown out the rest of the text. Second, in lots of typefaces the capitals are not designed and spaced to work together, but to be followed by a lowercase character. Small caps however are designed to purely work together. They will give a more pleasurable, harmonized result.

為什么會需要小型大寫？基于幾個排印上的原因。首先，全部設置大寫的單詞看起來一塌糊涂，會讓所有文本湮沒其中，難以辨識。其次，大部分字體中的大寫，根本就不是為大寫連排而設計的，它們的大寫字母間距是為后面跟隨小寫字母而設計的。小型大寫才是專為大寫連排而設計的。它們會得到更舒服和諧的效果。

Having said that small capitals are capitals on x-height, it’s mostly not 100% true. To optically give them the same height, the small caps will have to be slightly bigger than lowercase characters of the same font (see drawing).

前面說小型大寫是和小寫字母一樣x-高度的大寫字母，其實是不太準確的。要得到和小寫字母同樣的視覺高度，同字體的小型大寫就必須比小寫字母稍微的更大一些。

(12)花式大寫?

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Swash caps? Admitting that it’s not the most urgent issue to learn in typography, it’s interesting to quickly pay attention to this topic. Not every font family has a Swash variant. Most common are swash capitals, but also swash lowercase characters and swash-beginnings and -endings exist.

我承認，這不是學習字體設計最迫切需要了解的一節(jié)，但是這個話題很有趣，我們稍稍關注一下就好了。不是所有的字體家族都包含有花式的變體。最常見的一般是花式大寫，但同樣也有花式的小寫以及花式的首字和尾字。

Sometimes you want to set a whole line in capitals. It’s possible to do this with roman capitals, although sometimes it’s better to choose small capitals which are designed for this purpose. Roman capitals are not, but mostly they don’t cause problems. Swash capitals however do. Swash capitals are mostly designed to give some extra visual pleasure to your designs. The caps are meant to be followed by lowercase characters (number 1), or used as an initial (number 2), but not to be combined with eachother. Only with some fonts it’s possible to combine swash capitals with normal roman caps (number 3).

有時候你想要設置整行的大寫。可以用大寫正體來完成這一任務，雖然小型大寫可能是更好的選擇――那才是為此而設計的。大寫正體不是為了大寫連排而設計的，但多數情況下它們也不會造成麻煩。而花式大寫就不一樣。花式大寫的設計目的通常是用來為設計增添一些額外的視覺愉悅。其大寫是為后面跟隨小寫字母而設計的（圖1），或是用于首字下沉排版（圖2），但絕非用于大寫連排。只有某些特定的字體才有可能出現花式大寫與普通正體大寫的連排（圖3）。

#p#副標題#e#

(13)x高度

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圖中文字：
上右：正文字體擁有一致的視覺高度。（而物理尺寸是不一樣的）
下右：特排字體的x高度更偏向于物理尺寸上的一致。

x-heights. If you make a light weight and the black weight of one typeface, you’ll have to make sure that the black weight has a bigger x-height than the light weight (top line drawing). If this is not the case, the black weight will look optically too small when it’s combined with the light weight in a line of text.

如果你制作一個包含輕磅（細線體）和重磅（粗黑體）的字體，你應該確保粗黑體的x高度應當比細線體的略大（見圖中上一行）。否則，當粗黑體和細線體在同一行中連排時，粗黑體看上去就要比細線體要小得多。

In display sizes this is not exactly the same. If the type is printed in big sizes there can be a much smaller difference between the x-height of the light and the black weight (bottom line drawing).

但在特排使用中，情況就不太一樣。當字體大字號印刷時，兩者的x高度之間的差異就微乎其微了（參見圖中下一行）。

(14)粗體

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Bold-faced. Since the introduction of the computer, type design has become available to a wide audience like never shown before in history. Of course the digitalization makes many acts easier and particularly faster. This doesn’t mean it automatically gets better, but that’s another story. For example, many font software programs have included an option to ‘bolden up’ your regular weight. The outlines of the perfectly designed font get expanded, but the program is trying to fool you. That’s not a bold. It’s a limousine which got quickly extended by a local blacksmith. The contrast will probably be destroyed (see the second ‘a’ in the drawing). Doing this by hand will give a much more pleasurable result. No matter how well font software programs will improve in the future, there is only one thing that really counts in the end: your critical eye.

計算機的普及，使得廣大的用戶得以接觸到字體設計，這在以前是從未有過的。數字化讓許多操作變得更簡單和快捷，但不意味著它會自動的獲得更好的結果，那完全是兩碼事。舉個例子，許多字體軟件都包含一個字體“加粗”選項，能將原先完美設計的字體輪廓加以擴展。但實際上軟件只是在欺騙你。那并非真正的粗體，那只是一輛由村里的鐵匠臨時改長的“加長型”豪華轎車。筆畫的粗細比率可能全被破壞了（見圖例中第二個a）。手工操作的結果會更令人滿意。不管將來的軟件如何進步，最終起決定作用的東西只有一個：你銳利的眼光。

(15)線稿的數字化

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圖片上的文字：
右：為初學者熱身
下1：將控制點限制在水平或者垂直方向上
下2：只在必要的地方使用節(jié)點（能用一個點完成的，就不要用兩個點）

Digitizing sketches. When the handmade sketches on paper are ready to be scanned, take care of digitizing them in a proper way. More specifically, take care while converting your scanned image manually with a Bezier based pen tool. Too many points on a character, or points at the wrong position can have a negative influence at your font.

線稿的數字化。在紙上畫好線稿之后就可以掃描了，這時候要開始要注意，要用正確的方法將其數字化。說的更明確一點，在你用貝賽線鋼筆工具手工描摹你的線稿的時候，要留神。一個字符如果有太多的節(jié)點，或者是節(jié)點放置在不正確的位置上，都會給你的字體帶來負面的影響。

Too many points (=nodes) can not only cause technical problems -e.g. the printer can’t print the font anymore- but it is also much harder to control the shapes of a character. Controlling a curve between two nodes is much easier than changing a curve with twelve nodes. Of course it’s possible, but it will not end up in a fluent form.

過多的節(jié)點不僅僅會導致技術上的麻煩，例如打印機無法打印輸出，還會使得字符的外形更加難于控制。在兩個節(jié)點之間控制一條曲線，要遠遠容易過操縱一條有12個節(jié)點的曲線。當然這并非不可以，但多余的節(jié)點必然會導致外形的不平滑。

Having the nodes at the wrong position can cause technical problems -e.g. it’s impossible to hint the font perfectly- but also practically it is recommendable to put nodes at extreme positions at your glyph. For example, digitizing an ‘o’ would only need 8 nodes. Four at the outer form, four at the counter form. Putting nodes at extreme positions (most top & down, most left & right) means the BCP (Bezier Control Point) will always be totally horizontal or vertical. In that case they are much easier to control. In most software programs you can use shift key to keep the BCP totally horizontal or vertical.

節(jié)點放置在錯誤的地方也會導致技術問題，例如無法實現字符在屏幕小字號下的完美顯示（hinting-在計算機屏幕上顯示小字號時的優(yōu)化顯示技術，是設計者嵌入字體內部的提示信息）。建議是，把節(jié)點放置在字符的”頂點”位置。舉例說明，用貝賽線繪制一個“O”要用到8個節(jié)點。外面4個，內部的字懷4個。將節(jié)點放置在頂點（最上點、最下點、最左點和最右點），意味著BCP（貝賽線控制點）將全部是水平或者垂直的。這樣它們就非常易于控制。在大多數的軟件中，你可以用shift鍵來將BCP（貝賽線控制點）的移動限制在水平或垂直方向上。

(16)復制粘貼?

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Copy-paste? When you have created a few basic characters, you also want to create the rest of the alphabet. But how? Copy and paste? Euhm, not really. Although, this can help you on the way.

當你設計了幾個基本的字符，你還想繼續(xù)完成整個字母表。該怎樣做？復制粘貼？嗯，不完全對，但，也會有助于你的開始。

There are some things which you can do, and some which you cannot do while copy-pasting. Some forms can be just the same. The ascender of the ‘l’ and ‘h’ for example. But maybe the bowl of the ‘d’ and ‘q’ as well. Once you created a ‘d’, this could work fine as a starting point for a ‘b’ and a ‘p’, by rotating the ‘d’ 180 degrees.

有些東西是復制粘貼可以完成的，有些則不是。有些形狀是完全一樣的。比如“l(fā)”和“h”的上伸部?！癲”和“q”的字碗也有可能是一樣的。當你完成了一個“d”，你就可以把這個“d”旋轉180度，以此為基礎完成“b”和“p”的制作。

Copy-paste should not change the contrast in your typeface. When you make a typeface based on the broad nip, horizontal and vertical flipping will disturb the angle of your contrast, and will destroy your shape. However, by rotating a (part of a) character 180 degrees, the contrast remains perfect and untouched.

復制粘貼不會改變你字體的粗細比率。但如果你設計的是基于平頭鋼筆書法原型的字體（參見第四節(jié)-書法原型），那么水平或垂直鏡像的造字方法，就會影響字體粗細對比所形成的角度（譯注：對于這個角度，有一個更準確的術語：stress，應力），從而破壞字體的形狀。不過，通過把一個字符（或其部件）旋轉180度的方法來造字，則不會有損于粗細比率的完美。

But copy-paste doesn’t bring you all the way there. It can work as a starting point, but manual adjustments will be mostly necessary. For example, if you have a ‘n’, you can quite quickly make a ‘m’ and a ‘h’, but also a ‘u’ (see drawing). Copy, paste and rotate the ‘n’. Then cut some serifs, and… not ready yet! If you cut away the serifs, also on the inner side of the ‘u’, the white space inside the ‘u’ will get bigger then the white space inside the ‘n’. This has to be optically corrected.

復制粘貼大法并不是萬能的，它只能作為一個起始點，大部分的時候都需要手工的調校。比如說，你已經有了一個“n”，你不但可以用來快速生成一個“m”和“h”，還可以用它來制作一個“u”（如圖）。復制，粘貼，然后旋轉這個“n”。切除不要的襯線，然后就…等等，還沒完！當你切除了內部的襯線之后，內部的白空間就會比“n”的要大，所以必須進行視覺上的微調。

One solution for this could be to make the ‘u’ a bit more narrow, or maybe another solution could be to make the serif on the top a bit longer (which also makes the innerform smaller of course). Whatever way you do it, make sure the inner forms have (optically) the same amount of white space. Only in that way you’ll get a harmonious rhythm in your type.

一個解決方法是把“u”稍微擠壓一點，或者還有另外一個方法，加大內部右上角的襯線，這樣也能把內部的白空間減少一些。不管哪種方法，都必須確保字體的內部形狀在視覺上擁有同等的白空間。只有這樣，你的字體才能夠獲得和諧的節(jié)奏。

#p#副標題#e#

(17)形態(tài)的平衡

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Balance shapes. If you make both of the inner forms (counters) of the ‘B’ exactly the same, the top counter will optically look bigger. Your character will look plumby, like it’s falling down. If you make the top counter smaller than the bottom one, your character looks much more balanced.

如果你把字母“B”上下兩個內部形狀（字懷）弄得完全一樣，上面的字懷在視覺上就會更大。你的字母看上去就好像站立不穩(wěn)，搖搖欲墜。如果你把上面的字懷弄得小一些，整個字符看起來會更平衡。

The counter of the ‘B’ doesn’t have to be exactly the same as the counter of the ‘P’ for example. If you would make them exactly the same, the right sidebearing of the P would be much too big. So you have to balance the black and white spaces in every character separately. However, there must be a relationship between the amount of white space inside a ‘B’ and inside a ‘P’.

同樣的，字母“B”字母“P”的字懷也不需要完全一樣。如果兩者完全一樣，“P”的右部空間就顯得太大了。所以對每個字符的黑白空間你都要進行單獨的平衡。但是，“B”和“P”兩者內部白空間的大小一定存在著某種關聯。

About making a lowercase ‘r’: it’s not an ‘n’ with an amputated leg. Your ‘r’ can get very weak and soft in that way. You can make it much stronger if you let the ending of the ‘r’ follow the horizontal reading direction. In that way, the space on the right side of the ‘r’ will be more open, and more balanced. It will not disturb the rhythm of your type because the right sidebearing can be much smaller. The whole letter can be made more narrow as well. As a consequence the white space in the top of the ‘r’ could be has to be changed. In case you change that form, optically you’ll not confuse the ‘r’ so quickly with the ‘n’ as well.

說到怎樣做一個小寫的“r”：它絕對不是一個把一邊腿鋸斷的“n”。如果那樣做，你的“r”會被弄得非常的虛弱。如果你讓“r”的末筆順著水平的閱讀方向，就可以讓它看上去更健壯。同時“r”的右部空間會更開放，更平衡。這不會有損于字體的節(jié)奏，因為“r”右部的安全空間可以設置得非常小。整個字母可以做的更窄。這樣一來，“r”頂部的白空間就不得不改變。形狀改變之后還有一個好處，你就不會在匆匆一瞥之下把“r”錯看成“n”。

譯注：

sidebearing 字符前后預留的安全空間（或者叫緩沖區(qū)），以避免前后字符筆畫發(fā)生碰撞。分為左部空間和右部空間。
參考鏈接：http://www.myfirstfont.com/glossary.html

(18)字距調整

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Kerning. Knowledge about kerning will give a deeper understanding of type. However, forget about kerning for now, spend your time on other things. It’s much more important to properly space your characters.

字距調整的知識會讓你對字體的理解更進一步。但我們現在先暫時把它忘記，先花點時間看看另外的東西。如果你想正確的設置字符間距，這個要重要得多。

A kerning pair is a technical issue for optical reasons. Simply said: when one certain character is followed by another character you can define a different space in between these two characters. This space can vary from the the normal spacing (right sidebearing of the first character + left sidebearing of the second character). The difference can be positive or negative; you can add more space for a certain combination or you can reduce the space. A kerning pair can technically be implemented in a digital font file.

字距配對（kerning pair）是一種因視覺需要而做的技術處理。簡單說，在兩個特定的字符連排的時候，你可以為它們單獨指定與眾不同的字符間距。這個間距可以不同于標準間距（前一個字符的右部安全空間+后一個字符的左部安全空間）。這個間距可以是正的也可以是負的，你可以為某個字符對設置更多或更少的空間。數字化的字庫文件中可以實現這種字距配對。

In some cases kerning is inevitable and necessary. When a capital ‘A’ is followed by a lowercase ‘v’, a big white space will appear which cannot be solved by adapting the spacing of the characters. Changing the spacing would mess it up when they would be combined with other characters again. For this occasion a kerning pair is needed (see drawing). In the sketch you only see some examples where the kerning pair is negative; reducing space. But you can also imagine a positive kerning pair when a ‘f’ is followed by a bracket for example; “f)”. More space has to be added to avoid those characters overlapping eachother.

有些場合這種字距調整是必不可少的。當一個大寫A后面跟隨一個小寫v的時候，兩個字符間就會出現巨大的白空間，這是普通的字符間距所無法解決的。如果改變它們的間距，它們和其他字母連排的時候就會擠成一團。這時候就需要字距配對來處理了（如圖）。圖中只出現了字距配對為負的例子――縮減空間。但你可以想象一個字距配對為正的例子：一個小寫f后跟隨一個括號，例如：“f)”。這時候就需要加入更多的間距以避免兩個字符重疊在一起。

(19)連字

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Ligatures. In a very few cases they are essential. Some well known ligatures are ‘fi’ and ‘fl’. The inevitable need for a ligature is depending on the design of a font. Not every typeface will need a ligature for a ‘fi’ combination. But in some cases the dot of the ‘i’ is interfering with the ‘f’. Get rid of all that annoying row but making a ligature, one glyph which represents two (or more) characters. Next to a functional aspect, there is an aesthetic aspect of ligatures. You could create a ligature for a ‘st’ combination, or maybe for ‘nky’ or ‘ism’. Anything is possible. Admitting that also this is not the most urgent issue in type design, it’s another obstacle on the road to perfection!

只有極少數的場合才需要用到連字。比較常見的連字有“fi”和“fl”。連字是否必不可少，取決于字體的設計。不是每種字體都需要”fi”的連字組合。但有些時候字母“i”上面的圓點會和前面的“f”相撞。一勞永逸的解決方案是做一個連字，用一個字符代替兩個（或更多的）字符。連字的出現的原因，除去功能上的需要，還有審美意義上的。你可以做一個“st”的連字組合，或是一個“nky”或“ism”。任何字符都是有可能的。這個章節(jié)同樣也不是學習字體設計最迫切需要的知識，但這是通向完美之路上另一道必須逾越的障礙。

（譯注：到今天為止，整個《字體設計基礎》系列文章就全部翻譯完了。了卻一樁心事。感謝大家一直以來的支持。）