The Use of drop caps
A drop cap is a large initial letter that drops below the first line of a paragraph, much bigger in size than the rest of the letters that follow. It is a stylistic choice often used as a marker for the beginning of a section or chapter of a book. Besides its use as an opener to text, drop caps are also used as a placeholder for the readers. The following example illustrates the use of drop caps as a stylistic opening to draw the reader's attention.
Context
In the context of "Vista Vision," which was published by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) under "Computing & Control Engineering," the drop cap serves as an opening. Drop caps often appear in magazine articles such as this publication.
General: Drop caps often appear in articles, novels, journals, and non-academic essays as decoration and navigation. To determine whether drop caps are appropriate for your genre, consider your context.
Ask Yourself: Is a drop cap appropriate for my context? What will I accomplish by adding it?
General: Drop caps often appear in articles, novels, journals, and non-academic essays as decoration and navigation. To determine whether drop caps are appropriate for your genre, consider your context.
Ask Yourself: Is a drop cap appropriate for my context? What will I accomplish by adding it?
Audience
In this article, the use of the drop cap(along with other elements associated with font) is effective for capturing the reader’s attention. Since the article is published in IET, one can assume that the primary audience of this writing would be individuals interested in engineering, technology, and computer science. While acquiring the audience's interest, this particular use of the drop cap serves to set the tone for the rest of the article.
General: Articles that are rich in text may seem busy and dense at a first glance, therefore the use of drop caps also allow “breathing room” for the reader’s eyes to rest, while functioning as a placeholder.
Ask Yourself: Besides using a drop cap as decoration, what other functions will it serve for my writing?
General: Articles that are rich in text may seem busy and dense at a first glance, therefore the use of drop caps also allow “breathing room” for the reader’s eyes to rest, while functioning as a placeholder.
Ask Yourself: Besides using a drop cap as decoration, what other functions will it serve for my writing?
Purpose
In “Vista Vision,” the drop cap appears once at the beginning of the article as a tasteful opening to distribute space, making the article seem less concentrated with text. Assuming the purpose of this article is to briefly inform its audience, the style of the drop cap is simplistic and not overpowering.
General: Since the first use of drop caps, styles have varied, and with the development of typography, they continue. To choose a drop cap that suits the purpose of your writing, keep yourself open to the different possibilities. Straight-forward, simple fonts versus more extravagant illustrations of drop fonts all serve the same purpose.
Ask Yourself: Will an added drop cap support my purpose or distract from the content?
General: Since the first use of drop caps, styles have varied, and with the development of typography, they continue. To choose a drop cap that suits the purpose of your writing, keep yourself open to the different possibilities. Straight-forward, simple fonts versus more extravagant illustrations of drop fonts all serve the same purpose.
Ask Yourself: Will an added drop cap support my purpose or distract from the content?
Persona
Based on the context and overall "look" of the article, some words that can be used to describe the author's persona would be: informed, professional, and amicable. The drop cap, as simple as it is, adds to the article's overall look and contributes to the author's persona.
General: The persona you would like to portray is evident not only in the context of your work but also the added embellishments, whether it be images, graphs, pull-out quotes, or drop caps. Drop caps are versatile in that they have many variations and serve a specific purpose. Compare different possibilities. Find a suitable drop cap that suits your persona without it taking away from or giving a misleading impression.
Ask Yourself: How will this choice of adding a drop cap influence the perception of my persona?
General: The persona you would like to portray is evident not only in the context of your work but also the added embellishments, whether it be images, graphs, pull-out quotes, or drop caps. Drop caps are versatile in that they have many variations and serve a specific purpose. Compare different possibilities. Find a suitable drop cap that suits your persona without it taking away from or giving a misleading impression.
Ask Yourself: How will this choice of adding a drop cap influence the perception of my persona?