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Kern Me

A free kerning game: space six words by eye, one letter pair at a time, and compare with the kerning the typeface designer built into the font.

What it does

  • Six words in a real display serif, one letter pair off in each
  • The answer is the font’s own kerning, measured in your browser
  • Diagonal, overhang and open-corner pairs, with the reason after each word
  • Shareable result with your precision per word

FAQ

What is kerning?

Kerning adjusts the space between two specific letters, like A and V, so the gaps in a word look even. Tracking (letter-spacing) changes the space between all letters at once.

Why do pairs like AV or To need kerning?

Letters are spaced by their boxes, but diagonals and overhangs leave empty space inside those boxes. Pulling the pair together makes that gap look as light as the rest of the word.

Do fonts already include kerning?

Good fonts ship a kerning table with thousands of pairs, and browsers apply it by default (font-kerning: auto). Manual kerning is for logos and large headlines where a pair still looks off.

📖 Kerning by eye: how to space letters in headlines and logos

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