TypeTalk: Good-looking Figures

Ilene Strizver

TypeTalk is a regular blog on typography. Post your questions and comments by clicking on the Comments icon above. If Ilene answers your question in the blog, you’ll receive one Official Creativepro.com T-Shirt!
Q. I’ve noticed that a lot of the new OpenType fonts have two kinds of numerals: oldstyle figures and lining figures. When should oldstyle figures be used as opposed to lining figures?
A. Most of us are used to seeing lining figures, which are numerals that all have the same baseline and cap height. Lining (also called “aligning”) figures have been the standard for most Type1 and TrueType fonts, which don’t have room for more. But the OpenType font format has room for thousands of characters, allowing fonts to include both lining and oldstyle figures (numerals that have ascender and descenders).
Lining (top) and oldstyle (bottom) figures set in Adobe Chaparral Pro.

I recommend that you use oldstyle figures in upper and lowercase text settings because they blend in beautifully and create a better color and texture.
In text, lining figures text interrupt the color, texture, and flow of the setting. Oldstyle figures blend in beautifully. Also set Adobe Chaparral Pro.

Lining figures look best with all cap settings, or in situations where you want them to stand out a bit more, such as in certain headlines, business cards, prices in ads, etc.
When using OpenType fonts that have both oldstyle and lining figures, be aware of two things: First, lining figures are often the default figures style, so you might have to select the oldstyle option in the OpenType menu. Second, select the proportional version of either figure style for running text, and save the tabular versions for price lists and columns of numbers where you need them to line up vertically.
Love type? Want to know more? Ilene Strizver conducts her acclaimed Gourmet Typography workshops internationally. For more information on attending one or bringing it to your company, organization, or school, go to her site, call The Type Studio at 203-227-5929, or email Ilene at [email protected]. Sign up for her e-newsletter at www.thetypestudio.com.