# The invisible half of a font: spacing

Everyone notices the shapes of letters. Few notice the space between them, yet it decides whether a word reads as a word. A short guide to spacing and kerning.

By Måns Grebäck · Published 2026-11-09 · Source: https://mansgreback.com/journal/the-invisible-half-of-a-font-spacing

Tags: Type design, Tools

## Key points

- Every letter carries some empty space on each side as part of its design. That space decides how evenly a word reads.
- Spacing sets that space for each letter; kerning adjusts single pairs, such as A and V, that still look wrong.
- Type designers usually space a few letters such as n and o first, and fit the rest around them.

When you look at a word, you see letters. What you don't see is the space around them, and yet that space is as much a part of the font as the shapes. Get it wrong and a word falls apart into letters, or the letters pile into each other.

![The word minimum three times: too tight, evenly spaced, and too loose](https://mansgreback.com/journal/media/spacing-three-0f6239fe-2400.webp "The same letters, three ways. Only the space has changed.")

## Every letter brings its own space

In a font, each letter sits in an invisible box, and the box is wider than the letter. The empty strips on its left and right are called *sidebearings*. When you type, the boxes are placed edge to edge, so the space between two letters is simply what each one brings along.

![The word minimum with each letter's box shaded in alternating yellow and blue](https://mansgreback.com/journal/media/spacing-boxes-adace42c-2400.webp "Each letter's box, shaded. The white gaps you see between letters are made of the sides of these boxes.")

The aim is not equal distances but equal *looking* distances. A round *o* needs less space beside it than a straight *n*, because the curve already leaves light at its top and bottom. That is why spacing is judged by eye, not with a ruler.

## Start with n and o

Type designers have a well-tried way to begin: space the *n* and the *o* first, in words like *nnonoo*, until the rhythm looks even. Those two set the pace, and every other letter is fitted around them. Capitals get the same treatment with *H* and *O*.

## Kerning: fixing the awkward pairs

Good spacing handles almost everything, but some pairs still look wrong together: *T* and *o*, *A* and *V*, *f* and a quote mark. Kerning is a list of exceptions that moves exactly those pairs closer or further apart.

How long can that list get? Last Christmas 2.0 contains 83,468 kerning pairs. Part of the reason is that it has more than 1,500 glyphs, and every swash alternate has neighbors of its own to fit against.

## A tip for AI Spacing

The [AI Spacing](https://aringtypeface.com/mans-tools/) plugin follows the same old method. In its full version there is a **lock mode**: you space your reference letters by hand, say *n*, *o*, *H* and *O*, choose them as references, and the plugin spaces everything else around them while leaving yours exactly as you set them.

It is the classic way of working, with the slow part done for you, and your own judgment kept where it matters most.

## Questions

**What is the difference between spacing and kerning?**
Spacing is the empty space each letter brings on its left and right, which applies everywhere. Kerning is a correction for one particular pair of letters, such as T and o, applied only when they meet.

**Is tracking the same as spacing?**
No. Tracking is what you set in a design app to open up or tighten a whole line. Spacing is built into the font by its designer.

## Fonts in this article

- https://mansgreback.com/product/jumper
- https://mansgreback.com/product/last-christmas