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Terminal

A terminal is the endpoint of a typographic stroke. How these details are shaped plays a major role in a font family’s identity, influencing both how readable the text is and the overall artistic character of the design.

The letters “at” set very large in blue Salina with pink circles ringing three stroke endings — the curled top of the a, the tail at the foot of the a, and the finishing hook of the t — the terminal being the shape a stroke takes where it stops.

Within the realm of letterform creation, a terminal designates the concluding point of a typographic stroke. The specific manner in which these details are shaped plays a monumental role in determining the core identity of a font family, heavily influencing how easily text can be read while also driving its artistic flavor.

These features manifest in countless configurations, ranging from the solitary extensions found on the upper and lower horizontal bars of a capital letter “E” to the dual structural extensions anchoring its central crossbar. They can also take the form of rounded bulbous points on a lowercase “a,” widening projections that expand past the main column thickness, or practically any unique geometry that concludes a path, regardless of whether it incorporates traditional ornamental brackets.

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About the author
Iveta Stoyanova

Iveta is the Social Media & Community Manager at Fontfabric. With a background in Rhetoric & Speech Communication, she writes about the human side of typography, the inspiration behind new typefaces, choosing the right font for your project, and font licensing.