Kern Type: Practice Publishing the Old Fashioned Way

By Jason Boog 

Think you have what it takes to be a book designer? Test your skills with the addictive Kern Type game.

The free game gives you a word, testing your ability to evenly space, or “kern” the letters, an old fashioned skill from the days of the printing press. Even though modern printers don’t physically lay out letters on a printing press, kerning is still very important for modern designers as they straighten letters in digital space.

Adobe’s glossary provides the simplest definition of kerning: “The adjustment of horizontal space between individual characters in a line of text. Adjustments in kerning are especially important in large display and headline text lines. Without kerning adjustments, many letter combinations can look awkward. The objective of kerning is to create visually equal spaces between all letters so that the eye can move smoothly along the text.” (Via Book Bench)