Design Nomenclature / Type

Measure

Also called line length, column width

The horizontal length of a line of text, historically in picas and now most honestly in characters. Somewhere around 45–75 characters is the workable band, with 55–65 the centre of it. Too long and the return sweep loses the next line; too short and the eye is thrown back before it builds momentum.

The same paragraph set in three column widths at one type size and leading: a narrow column broken into fragments, a middle column of even lines, and a wide column whose lines run far enough that the return to the next line is hard to track.

In practice

CSS gives you the ch unit, so max-width: 65ch expresses the rule directly and tracks the face. Measure and leading are one decision, not two — set them together.

Not to be confused with

How this term connects

Baseline gridCJKColumnEmH&JJustificationLeadingOrphanPicaRagReadabilityReflowRiverTrackingTypographic hierarchyVertical writing modeWidowWidthMeasure
Related Confused with