Zigzag Spine Sans

Its x-height is 72.6% of the cap height, near the 72.4% typical of sans serif fonts in the library, taller than 25 of the 49 other sans serif fonts. Ascenders on b, d, h, k and l stop at 95.9% of the capital height, and descenders on g, j, p, q and y drop 26.8% of the cap height below the baseline, shallower than 37 of the 49 other sans serif fonts. It sets narrow: an average lowercase letter, spacing included, is 72.2% as wide as the capitals are tall (an average capital, 82%), 5.7% less than the median for sans serif fonts, so more words fit on a line. The o is an upright oval, 0.89 times as wide as it is tall, and W is the widest capital, at 1.11 times the width of H. Round letters overshoot: O rises 2.5% of the cap height above H and dips 1.1% below the baseline.

The letters stand upright, with no measurable slant. Vertical stems measure 18.5% of the cap height, heavier than 22 of the 29 other sans serif fonts. Ink covers 38.2% of each lowercase letter's box (its advance width by the cap height), darker than 33 of the 49 other sans serif fonts. The contrast is mild: the sides of o and O are 1.27 times as thick as their tops and bottoms.

Its 148 characters include 105 Latin letters, plus 43 figures, punctuation marks and symbols; 53 of the Latin letters are accented or special forms beyond A to Z. The word space measures 46% of the cap height, and the blank space either side of a lowercase letter takes up 14.2% of its width. The font carries no kerning, so spacing comes from each letter’s own side bearings. The figures have different widths, so columns of numbers set in Zigzag Spine Sans will not line up exactly.