Fancy and alternate characters have been around since Gutenberg thought up the idea of typography. In fact, while the Latin text only required 40 letters— 20 lowercase and 20 caps—Gutenberg used over 240 alternate characters when he produced his famous Bible. All the extra characters were used to imitate the handwriting of scribes. 1. Alternate characters The most common form of alternate character is an optional design for a standard character. These can be simple letter substitutions, like those in Magneto, or creative tours de force, like the “decorated” alternates in Epicure or the “little” caps in Kolo. Alternate characters can be sophisticated and stately, like those in Donatello, or as brash and spontaneous as the graffiti-like designs in Little Louis. Alternate characters are not necessarily flamboyant designs: The alternate S in ITC Vintage, for example, is a much tamer character than the standard design.

2. Optional designs Good typography is about being consistent. For the most part, if you choose to use an alternate character, it should be applied consistently throughout a document. Inconsistencies are sure to create distractions to the reading process. Like most typographic rules, this one has exceptions. The Comrade typeface has alternate characters of different widths that can be mixed within a single line of copy to create drama and texture. And the alternate characters in calligraphic faces like Jaft or Zapfino are intended to mimic the spontaneity of handwriting—which means they can be used sporadically throughout a piece.

3. Custom ligatures Ligatures are another form of alternate character. These are two or more letters linked together as a single glyph. The most common are the fi, fl, and ff ligatures found in many text typefaces. Custom ligatures, however, can take the idea one or two steps beyond what you get in average character sets. Custom ligatures can be the HE or GE combinations found in Sophia, characters like the linked CK and ET in Palazzo Caps, or the unusual We grouping in Gill Facia. Ligatures are also common to script and calligraphic typefaces. The Th and of combinations found in Bible Script and the various L ligatures in Frances Uncial help to create the impression of hand-drawn lettering. The key to using ligatures is to pay attention to inter-character spacing—and to not overuse them. The “built-in” spacing of ligatures should match the character spacing of the copy that surrounds them. If your copy has a lot of kerning or you have the “track- ing knob” cranked up to create tight letterspacing, the relatively open spacing between most ligatured characters will make the character stand out from the rest of the copy. This looks ungainly and can disrupt the reading process. Used correctly, simple f ligatures used throughout a block of copy will blend in with the surrounding text, improving copy “color” and aiding readability. Copy peppered with fancy ct, sp, st, or similar ligatures, however, looks fussy and selfimportant— and neither of these characteristics are welcome typographic attributes.

4. Biform characters Other forms of alternate characters are biform letters. These are either capital letters with lowercase letter shapes or lowercase letters with capital letter shapes, intended to create distinction within display copy. Some typefaces, like Peignot, don’t give you a choice when it comes to biform characters; many of the lowercase letters are only available as capital designs. Others, like the recently re-released Avant Garde Gothic, provide a pack of biform characters that can be used to replace standard designs. Consistency is also the key with using biform characters. Switching from a biform cap e that looks like the lowercase variety back to the standard model can be distracting and even confusing to the reader. If you use a biform letters, stick with them throughout the document.

5. Logotypes Even complete logotypes can be included in a font. These are short words that have been designed as a complete unit. The most common are the, of, and and. They usually share the same basic character design as the rest of the alphabet. The three logotypes in Cancione are perfect examples. Some typefaces, however, have contrasting logotype designs. The stylish script logotypes in Motel Gothic serve as counterpoints to the retro sans serif letters of the alphabet, and the typeface Comic Strip has a complete set of “exclamatory” logotypes. Logotypes should be limited to headlines and only one should be used per headline. They make a strong statement and always call attention to themselves. One can add visual interest to a headline. Two will create a distraction.

6. Stylistic swash letters Swash letters are also available in many fonts. These characters are born out of calligraphy and have fancy flourishes replacing a terminal or serif. Swash letters are generally available in three flavors: • Stylistic swashes • Beginning and ending swashes • Fancy caps Stylistic swash letters can be somewhat restrained, like those in Longfellow, or downright extravagant as in Zapfino. Some swash letters can be added almost anywhere in a word, dancing to their own tune, showing no regard for surroundings. Others, however, display an open regard toward neighboring characters by gently curving over or under them. You can find stylistic swash letters in typefaces as diverse as Cruz Swinger, ITC Bookman, and Fineprint. Habitat even has its own set of swash figures.

7. Beginning and ending swash letters Beginning and ending swash letters are usually relegated to cursive or calligraphic type designs like Avalon and Civilite; although a few, less script-like designs, such as Outpost and Adobe’s newest version of Garamond also have a variety. The key to using beginning and ending swash letters is that they should be confined to, well, the beginning and ending of words or phrases. Using them in the middle of a word ruins character spacing and disrupts readability, and an ending swash letter followed by a comma or a period also looks pretty silly. There are two rules when it comes to using swash letters: Be aware of their combination with characters around them—and don’t use too many. Some very fancy swash letters do just fine wherever they are put in a word. Their flourishes may be above or below surrounding characters or happily intertwine with them. In some instances, however, they may cause odd overlaps or even create confusing character shapes. This is especially true with the more “demonstrative” swashes that are meant to gently curve over or under a surrounding character. Too many swash characters is a more likely problem. One or two words in Poetica can take all the swash characters you want to dish out. If your copy has a number of words or runs into more than one line, however, discretion is a better goal than flamboyance.

8. Fancy caps Fancy caps are alternative uppercase letters with one or more swash characteristics. Some, like those in Buccaneer or Highlander, are enclosed in boxes. Others, like those in Loire and Buccardi, are standalone letters. Fancy caps are best limited to one per page or as markers to a new section in a document. Beginning every sentence or paragraph with a fancy cap will be more distracting than attractive. Like cooking spices, alternate characters have been around for a very long time. And like the culinary variety, these typographic spices can add zest to your documents. The key is to add flavor—and not overpower the recipe. A little typographic spice goes a long way.

SIDEBAR: Controlling Ligatures in InDesign

The Character palette in InDesign controls a number of glyph options accessed through the dropdown menu (at right), including ligatures. For OpenType fonts, automatic standard ligatures are checked by default but can be unchecked to prevent awkward hyphenations, etc. For non-OpenType fonts, InDesign will substitute all standard f-ligatures with the automatic Ligature option checked. For both OpenType and non-OpenType fonts, nonstandard or discretionary ligatures need to be selected manually via the Glyphs function in the Typemenu. For example, in Adobe Garamond (non-OpenType), certain ligatures can only be accessed by switching to Adobe Garamond Expert and manually selecting in the Glyphs palette.