Contrary to popular concern about lead, leading is one of the most basic style options in Adobe InDesign. In Word, or other common software, it is referred to, and better understood as, Line Spacing - or the amount of space in between to lines of text. This post will not explain exactly how to set the leading, but you can learn how in our free InDesign Foundations class.
Where did the term "Leading" (pronounced "Led-ing," not "Leed-ing") come from? After some quick research on Wikipedia, I verified what I had previously learned from another instructor in our office. When type was set by hand on printing presses, "strips of lead...of appropriate thinkness were inserted between lines...to add vertical space." (see Wikipedia: Leading)What an easy way to add space between lines! I guess you could just push enter a bunch of times...
Either way, sign up for an InDesign class and learn more about digital print layout!
One response to “What is Leading?”
No, that was a joke. Don't push "Enter" a bunch of times :)
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