Interesting concept by the folks at FWIS. The purpose of their initiative is to establish a new typographic term that defines the missing areas of a stencil typeface. They call it a “pylon”. I do appreciate the effort but I have to agree with Steve who commented:
The named typographic parts or details (serifs, crossbars, etc.) refer to the actual form of the letter and not the white space around it with the only exception being a counter. If white space were considered a physical thing then a pylon, which also is a physical object, could be an appropriate term.
He’s right. There is no reason to name this area because it’s just part of the white space surrounding the letter form. It already has a name, it’s “white space” or “negative space”. Counters are different because they’re completely surrounded by the letter form.
What does everyone think about this? I’d love to read your comments.
