: Why do fonts set to the same (pixel) number of size differ drastically in actual size when displayed on screen? Something that has always puzzled me is the fact that when I change the font

@RJPawlick971

Or is it actually that font size doesn’t really mean a lot regarding the real size of individual characters


Yes. That's the reason.

This is how fonts looked originally:



The type size referred the height of the block of metal the glyph was placed on--not the size of the letter itself.

All fonts at 72 point were cast in blocks of metal 72 points high. But the actual glyphs could be any size (though usually less than 72 points).

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@Shelton719

The short answer could be: because a pixel isn't a unit of measure and depends of the screen size where you display your design.

The not so short answer should start asking you What do you understand a pixel is? As I mentioned before, a pixel isn't a concrete length magnitude.

The second detail you have to understand is how is build a type. Nowadays a type for us is a simply set of Bézier curves that define the form of a letter. But anciently it was a piece of metal well built and with a 3D body. It's important because from those times come many design decisions that create subtle differences in the proportions of the letters design.

The length, angle, proportion of many of the ascenders and descenders have to do with the ancient metal dimensions. That's the reason why you can have two different fonts in the same size (i.e. 13 pt) and you can see one bigger than other. It's a question of proportion between the parts of the letter and meanly, the lower case height so called x-height.

You should read about typometry or how to measure and comapre typefaces.

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