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Display Type

Printing
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Type set larger or more prominently than body text. It is commonly used for titles and headings.

Detailed Definition
Display type is typography designed for conspicuous use at larger sizes, such as on covers, title pages, section headings, posters, and broadsides. It may have stronger contrast, unusual proportions, or decorative details that would be difficult to read in long passages. Poetry publishers use display type to establish a collection's visual identity and to distinguish titles from poems. A well-chosen display face can echo a book's voice, while an ill-suited one may impose a tone the poems do not possess.
Example
Example in poetry:
Display type is large or distinctive type used for titles, headings, and other text meant to attract attention; The title of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land may be set in display type while the poem itself uses smaller reading type; A poetry book can use display type for section titles such as “Winter Letters”; A designer might choose bold display type for a spoken-word poster to make the poet’s name visible from a distance
Additional Notes
Display type refers to larger, stylized typefaces designed to capture attention in titles, chapter headings, broadsides, and covers rather than extended body text. In poetry broadsides and poster poems, the choice of display type establishes the initial mood, historical period, or tone of the poem before a single line is read. For instance, a blackletter display font suggests medieval or gothic themes, while a sleek geometric sans-serif implies modernism or minimalism. Students of book design and poetic layout should evaluate display type for its visual weight, legibility, and harmony with the body font used for the poem's stanzas. Related terms include headline font, poster type, titling caps, and typography.
Also Known As
Display Face Headline Type
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