Editing X-height (section)

==Design considerations==
Medium x-heights are found on fonts intended for body text, allowing more balance and contrast between upper- and [[lowercase]] letters and a brighter page. They then increase again for [[Font#Optical size|optical sizes]] of fonts designed for small print, such as captions, so that they can be clearly read printed small.<ref>{{cite web|title=Optical Size|url=http://www.adobe.com/uk/type/topics/opticalsize.html|publisher=Adobe|access-date=7 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=MicroPlus>{{cite web|last1=Frere-Jones|first1=Tobias|title=MicroPlus|url=https://frerejones.com/blog/introducing-microplus|publisher=Frere-Jones Type|access-date=1 December 2015}}</ref>

[[File:General x-height sample image.png|thumb|Some common fonts on one line, comparing their usage and x-heights]]
High x-heights on display typefaces were particularly common in designs in the 1960s and '70s, when [[International Typeface Corporation]] released popular variations of older designs with boosted x-heights; notable examples of this trend include [[Avant Garde Gothic]] and [[ITC Garamond]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Simonson|first1=Mark|author-link=Mark Simonson|title=Indiana Jones and the Fonts on the Maps|url=http://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/indiana-jones-and-the-fonts-on-the-maps|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bierut|first1=Michael|title=I Hate ITC Garamond|url=http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=2577|website=Design Observer|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> More recently, some typefaces such as [[Mrs Eaves]], [[Neutraface]] and [[Brandon Grotesque]] have been issued with distinctively low x-heights to try to create a more elegant appearance. While computers allow fonts to be printed at any size, professional font designers such as Adobe issue fonts in a range of optical sizes optimized to be printed at different sizes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Slimbach & Brady |title=Adobe Garamond |url=http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/pdfs/AdobeGaramondPro.pdf |publisher=Adobe |access-date=6 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223200029/http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/pdfs/AdobeGaramondPro.pdf |archive-date=February 23, 2015 }}</ref> As an example of this, Mrs Eaves exists in two versions: an original style intended to give an elegant, bright appearance, and a less distinctive 'XL' design intended for body text.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introducing Mrs Eaves XL|url=http://www.typo1.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MrsEaves.pdf|website=Emigre|access-date=6 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106092817/https://www.typo1.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MrsEaves.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> 

Some research has suggested that while higher x-heights may help with reading smaller text, a very high x-height may be counterproductive, possibly because it becomes harder to identify the shape of a word if every letter is nearly the same height. For the same reason, some sign manuals discourage all-capitals text.<ref name=USSC>{{cite web|last1=Bertucci|first1=Andrew|title=Sign Legibility Rules of Thumb|url=http://www.usscfoundation.org/USSCSignLegiRulesThumb.pdf|publisher=United States Sign Council|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Herrman|first1=Ralph|title=Does a large x-height make fonts more legible?|date=9 April 2012 |url=http://typography.guru/journal/does-a-large-x-height-make-fonts-more-legible-r16/|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hermann|first1=Ralph|title=Designing the ultimate wayfinding typeface|date=September 2009 |url=http://typography.guru/journal/designing-the-ultimate-wayfinding-typeface-r30/|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref>