Kerning

The adjustment of space between individual pairs of letters to make text look evenly spaced and readable.

Why it matters

Type ships kerned for the average case; display sizes surface the exceptions — the diagonal pairs where mechanical spacing reads as gaps. Nobody notices good kerning; everyone feels bad kerning without knowing why.

See it

Same word, same face — only the space inside the diagonal pairs changed.

The numbers

Headlines only — body text takes care of itself
AV, WA, To, Ya — the classic problem pairs

Related terms

Typography
Line Height

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Define "Kerning" using uxspot.

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