Design notes: loopy numerals ( 6 9 and 8 )

i I
a c
b o

1
3
6  9
0

4
5  2
8

7

The numbers ‘6’, ‘9’, and ‘8’ are certainly the hardest numerals to design. They contain no straight lines and no obvious guidelines to design from. These numerals largely have to be drawn by eye, though we can employ a circle-method similar to the one we used for the ‘s’ to make the ‘8’.

6 and 9

• Perhaps the best guide we have for drawing the ‘6’ is the lowercase ‘b’, as the stress on the two glyphs’ bowls is similar. The ‘6’ is also about the same width as the ‘b’.
• The joint between the tip of the bowl and the numeral’s arc (left side) is rarely smooth. Usually there is a vertex on the inside.
• The terminal often extends almost all the way to the right extreme of the glyph.
• The ‘9’ is a perfect 180 degree rotation of the ‘6’. There are very few adjustments that should be made to it (though some designers like to shrink the bowl of the ‘9’ slightly). That means that if your ‘9’ looks funny, then it’s probably indicative of a poorly drawn curve in your ‘6’. In this way, the ‘6’ and the ‘9’ are, in a way, designed simultaneously, as each can help you improve the other.

Design notes: the numerals 2 5 7 and 4

i I
a c
b o

1
3
6  9
0

4
5  2
8

7

The ‘2’, ‘5’, ‘7’, and ‘4’ can be derived from the ‘1’ and ‘3’.

2 and 5

The ‘2’ and the ‘5’ take the upper and lower bowls of the ‘3’, respectively, and combine it with a stressed horizontal stroke.

• The ‘2’ is a hard glyph to design. The upper bowl of the ‘3’ has to be extended out all the way to the baseline, where it meets a stressed arm that ends in a beak serif.
• The thickest part of the ‘2’ is the upper right portion of its bowl. The thinnest part is the joint between the bowl and the arm.
• The joint is never a loop (as the ‘2’ is often handwritten), and it almost never bends back out (like it does in some poorly designed sans serif fonts). The vertex is thinner than the arm is.
• The arm of the ‘2’ is slightly wider than the bowl is. It also carries stress, but is geometrically thinner than the stem width for optical reasons.
• The lower bowl of the ‘5’ is almost traced from the lower bowl of the ‘3’. The terminal curves up less, however, and at least in the lining ‘5’, the top part of the bowl angles up before curving down.
• The vertical hairline linking the ‘5’s flag (horizontal stroke) and bowl is sometimes angled slightly to the right.
• The flag of the ‘5’ either has no serif (shown above), or has an overshooting upturn serif.

Design notes: The numbers 1 3 and 0

i I
a c
b o

1
3
6  9
0

4
5  2
8

7

1 and 0

• Numbers are often slightly shorter than capital letters. It can be convenient to set the capital line as the overshoot for the numerals, and the numeral line slightly below it. Lining numerals are also the same weight as capital letters.
• The ‘1’ is a combination of the stem of the capital ‘I’ and the head serif of the ‘l’. The serifs of the ‘1’ are significantly longer than either letter’s.
• The flag (top serif) of the ‘1’ is almost never curved, like it is in handwriting and some grotesque sans serifs.
• The ‘0’ is about the same width as the lowercase ‘o’, just taller. Remember to match weights with the capital ‘O’.

Introduction to Arabic numerals: what are old style and monospace numerals?

Arabic (or more accurately, Indian) numerals are single character numerical glyphs like ‘1’ or ‘6’. Perhaps because of ease of access, Arabic numerals are somewhat overused, but they are mandatory for writing out numbers with more than two digits.

It’s not commonly known that numerals come in both capital and lowercase forms. Capital, or lining numerals, are the type most people are most familiar with today, probably because they are almost always the default. Lowercase, or old style numerals, are rarer, but still common in professional typesetting. Some type designers refer to lining and old style numerals as lining and old style figures—this means the exact same thing as numerals.

Numerals also come in different widths—monospace (or tabular) and proportional. Monospace means that all the numbers (glyph plus sidebearings) have the same width; proportional means that they only take up the space they need. This means that a font might include up to four different styles of numerals—monospace lining (usually the default), proportional lining, monospace old style, and proportional old style. Many fonts also include lowercase versions of symbols like the percent sign and currency symbols to go with the old style figures.

A font might include up to four different styles of numerals.
(The font used here is Warnock Pro, by Robert Slimbach).