zero·style

Dictionary entry

tracking

View related-term graphUse in a brief
Was this helpful?
Graphic designCurated · verified

The overall tightness or looseness of spacing applied evenly across a stretch of text, rather than between one pair of letters. Loosening it can make small-caps headings feel more open.

Synonyms

  • letter-spacing
  • letterspacing

Related terms

In plain words

  • how spread out the letters are
  • spacing across a whole word or line

Usage example

She added a little tracking to the all-caps subtitle so the letters didn't feel cramped.

Don't confuse with…

  • kerningTracking spaces a whole run uniformly; kerning targets the gap between two specific letters.

Categories

  • Typography

Related-term graph

Two hops from tracking — click a term to open its entry, or re-center the graph on it

Focus term

Directly related

Two hops away

  • Relatedtracking related of kerning
  • Relatedtracking related of leading
  • Relatedtracking related of small caps
  • Relatedleading related of baseline
  • Relatedsmall caps related of cap height
  • Relatedleading related of kerning
  • Relatedkerning related of leading
  • Relatedkerning related of tracking
  • Relatedleading related of tracking
  • Relatedsmall caps related of tracking
  • Relatedkerning related of typeface
  • Relatedleading related of x-height
  • Relatedsmall caps related of x-height

Stop describing. Start naming.

Turn a plain-language description into a designer-ready brief in minutes.

Start a brief