Section 6 · Typography

X-Height

Definition

The height of a typeface’s lowercase letters without ascenders or descenders, measured from the baseline to the top of a lowercase “x.”

Why it matters

X-height strongly affects perceived size and legibility: two typefaces at the same point size can look very different, and a large x-height generally reads better at small sizes.

Example

Helvetica has a tall x-height and looks large; Garamond has a small x-height and looks more delicate, even when both are set at 12pt.