THE PARAGRAPH
66 Initial caps and drop caps
INITIAL CAPS MARK THE BEGINNING of a chapter or an article; drop caps may be used throughout the text to mark logical breaks in the text and to provide entry points for the reader. Drop caps may continue the style of the initial cap or be a variation of it. Drop caps and initial caps continue a long tradition that dates back to the earliest illuminated manuscripts (which often had entire scenes depicted within the counter spaces of the letterforms). There are many options for drop caps and initial caps: partial or full indents, partial or full outdents, tops flush with the body copy, baseline alignment with the first line of body copy, baseline alignment with any body copy, and baseline within the depth of the initial cap (these last two are called raised drop or initial caps). Some text does not lend itself well to an initial cap; most common are opening paragraphs beginning with a quote mark or punctuation, or when opening paragraphs are too short to accommodate the height of the cap.
Project
Feature spread
Design Director
Louis Fishauf
Designer
Louis Fishauf
Photographer
Pierre Manning
Client
Toronto Life
The initial cap is partially contained within the opening paragraph, and the wrap hugs its diagonal leg. Its vertical position matches the capital A in the headline, a nice touch of alignment.
Design Director
Carla Frank
Designer
Erika Oliviera
Client
O, The Oprah Magazine
The initial cap sits partially within the text block and links into the photo; the top of its middle crossbar “kisses” the image. It intrudes upon the image, as does the pull quote at the top of the page.
Project
Feature spread
Creative Director
Donald Partyka
Photo Editor
Ramiro Fernandez
Photographers
Nicolas Villaume and Aurora Seleet
Client
Americas Quarterly
This unusual version of an initial cap sitting on top of and aligning with the text column allows it to be scaled up; as an outline, it is lightweight and does not interfere with the overlapping headline.
