Block 3D

Its lowercase is tall: the x-height is 82.3% of the cap height, against a median of 76.2% for display fonts, taller than 94 of the 97 other display fonts. Ascenders on b, d, h, k and l rise 3.2% above the capitals, and descenders on g, j, p, q and y drop 22.2% of the cap height below the baseline, shallower than 68 of the 97 other display fonts. Block 3D runs 10.7% wider than the median for display fonts: an average lowercase letter, spacing included, is 99% as wide as the capitals are tall (an average capital, 108.7%). The o is wider than it is tall, 1.15 to 1, and W is the widest capital, at 1.25 times the width of H. Round letters overshoot: O rises 1.1% of the cap height above H and dips 1.1% below the baseline.

Ink covers 48.5% of each lowercase letter's box (its advance width by the cap height), darker than 73 of the 97 other display fonts. Each letter carries a solid 3D extrusion joined to its face.

Its 3,329 characters include 2,967 Chinese, 170 Japanese kana and 105 Latin letters, plus 87 figures, punctuation marks and symbols; 53 of the Latin letters are accented or special forms beyond A to Z. The word space measures 36.4% of the cap height, and the blank space either side of a lowercase letter takes up 15.8% of its width. Spacing is adjusted with 63 kerning pairs, fewer than 54 of the 97 other display fonts. The tightest of them is AY, which closes up by 23.3% of the cap height. The figures have different widths, so columns of numbers set in Block 3D will not line up exactly.

12 other library fonts share Block 3D's underlying letter structure. Compared with Block 3D, Frame Sans keeps the letters plain, without the 3D effect, sets 23% narrower and puts down 61% less ink. Fieldhouse Block rings each letter with an outline and adds Korean (2,350 common syllables). Mezzanine Deco keeps the letters plain, without the 3D effect, sets 8% wider and puts down 39% less ink.