The italic problem in display type

Most display italics are too tight. This is a small typography post about why.

Take any modern serif you have on hand. Open the regular weight, the italic at the same weight, and the same pair at large display sizes. Look at the spacing between the italic letters. In nearly every typeface I can think of, the display italic is set considerably tighter than the display roman. The default kerning, optical or otherwise, has assumed that the italic will be used inline in body text, where the tightness is visually correct because it sets the italic apart from the surrounding roman.

In display, the italic is not surrounded by anything. It is a heading on its own. The tightness, which read as “this is italic” in body, now reads as “this is cramped”.

The cleanest solutions, in rough order of effort.

The lazy fix: add a small amount of letter-spacing to the display italic, between 0.005em and 0.015em depending on the typeface. You will know you have the right value when the italic looks like it is breathing.

The better fix: use a typeface designed with proper display italic spacing. Fraunces is one of the few I trust at large sizes without intervention. The optical sizing axis covers the spacing problem along with the contrast problem. Recoleta is generally well-spaced in italic. Editorial New by Pangram Pangram is fine if you respect their use cases.

The right fix, if you are designing the brand: pick a typeface family whose display cuts genuinely have separate italic optical sizing, not just a synthesised slant. Fraunces, again. GT Sectra at display weights. Migra for stronger contrast. Klim’s Söhne Breit is sans, but the same logic applies in reverse: their breit cut is properly spaced for display, in a way most “wide” fonts are not.

There is a related problem with bold italics in display, which are often dramatically over-spaced because the foundry assumed they would only be used in callouts. I will write about that one separately.

For now: the next time you set a display italic and it looks slightly off, before reaching for a different typeface, try opening up the spacing. You may already have the right typeface. It just thinks it is being used in a paragraph.