Measures

Reference lines that help compare letterforms.

Measurements give a letter a shared coordinate frame. In the public study, the values label locations in the demonstration drawing; they are not a published typeface metric specification.

Reference lines

Line	What it marks
Baseline	Where most letters rest.
x-height	The height of the lowercase body.
Cap height	The top of a typical capital.
Ascender	The upper reach of tall lowercase forms.
Descender	The lower reach below the baseline.

Study coordinates

The Measures tab draws horizontal guides around the current letters. The illustrative data example records them as study coordinates:

Illustrative measures

{
  "kind": "measures",
  "units": "study coordinates",
  "ascender": 212.7,
  "capHeight": 155,
  "xHeight": 111.7,
  "baseline": 0,
  "descender": -46.4
}

Use in comparison

Guides make proportion changes easier to see when comparing weights or styles. They do not replace the contour itself; read both layers together.