Letter Spacing (Tracking): Optical Adjustments

Letter spacing (CSS letter-spacing) controls the uniform spacing across all characters in a text block. Fonts are typically designed to look best at body sizes (14–16px). When scaled up or down, optical physics requires adjustment:

• Display Headings (> 32px): As letters grow larger, the physical space between them appears optically wider. To keep headings cohesive and punchy, apply negative tracking (e.g., -0.02em to -0.03em).
• Small Uppercase / Overlines (< 12px): When letters are very small or rendered in all-caps, letterforms blend together and become hard to read. Apply positive tracking (e.g., +0.05em to +0.12em) to open up breathing room.
• Body Copy: Keep tracking at 0 (normal); let the font designer's default kerning pairs do their job.