What’s on the Measure poster
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.
- A comfortable line of body text runs between 45 and 75 characters, counting the spaces.
- measure ≈ two to three lowercase alphabets
- Single-column book = 66 characters
- Two-column page = 40 to 50
- Wide screen column = Cap it at 75
- Common mistake: Fixing a long line with more leading → Shortening the measure itself
Longer measures need more leading, shorter ones less. Size, measure and leading are one decision, not three.
Questions about the Measure poster
- What’s on the Measure poster?
- The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. A comfortable line of body text runs between 45 and 75 characters, counting the spaces.; measure ≈ two to three lowercase alphabets; Single-column book = 66 characters; Two-column page = 40 to 50; Wide screen column = Cap it at 75; Common mistake: Fixing a long line with more leading → Shortening the measure itself. Longer measures need more leading, shorter ones less. Size, measure and leading are one decision, not three.
- Who is the Measure poster for?
- Measure belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning typography can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Measure poster?
- Use it when setting body text in any medium, before choosing a type size. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Measure belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Measure?
- Legibility & Readability, The Baseline Grid and Dashes & Quotes sit alongside Measure in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Legibility & ReadabilityThe Baseline GridDashes & Quotes
- Is the Measure poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Measure downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Measure poster print at?
- Measure is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Measure loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Measure on the same wall.
Browse every Art & Design poster, or start from the full catalogue.