: In typography what is an open counter? Wikipedia defines counter then gives examples. Then it proceeds to give examples of open counter without having given any definition of it: In typography,

@Reiling762

Adding to DA's great answer, some more info about open counters and legibility.

First of all, as mentioned a counter is the partially (open) or fully (closed) enclosed space in a letter. As I see it, all these letters have counters: b,d,g,o,p,q,A,B,D,O,P,Q and R. An these have open counters: a,c,g,s,C,G and S.

Another example of an open counter to add to the 'cartography a":



Source

Counters can help with legibility, although they need to be combined with other properties such as x-height:


Taller x-heights (usually) result in an overall increase in
legibility, thus causing a direct correlation between counters and
x-height.


Compare the difference between a typeface with small short counters and a typeface with large counters and taller x-height:



While the first one has large counters, the second one has smaller ones, but larger x-height. Of course larger x-heights is just part of the equation. The most efficient typefaces with the best ratio of x-height and cap height seem to be between 67 to 69 percent of the cap height.

A nice related article on legibility and the related study where the previous information came from.

Source

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@Shelley591

Using a map metaphor:

A counter is a lake.

An open counter is a bay.

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