What is Kerning & Tracking?

Kerning adjusts space between specific letter pairs (e.g., "AV" or "To") for optical balance. Tracking (letter-spacing) adjusts spacing uniformly across text. Fonts include kerning tables; manual kerning for headlines only. Tracking: tighten headings slightly, loosen uppercase.

When Should You Use This?

Most fonts have good kerning—leave default. Adjust tracking for all-caps text (+5-10% letter-spacing for readability), large headings (tighten -1 to -2%), and accessibility (increase for dyslexic readers). Manual kerning only for logos and hero headings.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• •Over-kerning—manually kerning body text is unnecessary; trust the font
• •Tight uppercase—ALL CAPS needs positive letter-spacing (+0.05em minimum) for legibility
• •Inconsistent tracking—if adjusting, apply consistently across all headings of same level
• •Forgetting web—CSS letter-spacing works, but font-feature-settings for true kerning control
• •Breaking pairs—some letter pairs (AV, To, We) need specific adjustment; tracking alone fails

Real-World Examples

• •Logos—brands manually kern logotypes for perfect optical spacing
• •Headlines—designers tighten large display type for visual polish
• •All-caps navigation—menus use letter-spacing: 0.05em for uppercase links
• •OpenType features—modern fonts include kerning tables that CSS respects by default