In graphic design, people often confuse the terms kerning and tracking, since both deal with the spacing between letters. Kerning is the spacing between two letters that makes them appear more visually pleasing. Tracking is the constant distance between each letter in a block of text. You can generally distinguish the two by looking at how many letters are being adjusted. Kerning is a precise adjustment to make two individual letters look correct next to each other, and tracking is a broad adjustment to make a block of text fill a space.

Tracking describes the distance between all of the letters in a word. The top example has tight tracking, while the bottom example shows looser tracking.		Kerning refers to the spacing between just two letters in a word. In these examples, the kerning between the "N" and "G" is too close, while in the bottom example, the kerning is correct.

Use these rules as guides for adjusting kerning and tracking to create a visually appealing design with the proper spacing between letters.

Letters with parallel sides should be spaced fairly far apart.

A diagonal or curved letter should be placed closer to a vertical sided letter, because the slanted letter leaves more open space between them.

Two diagonal or curved letters are placed as close together as possible, because they both slant away from each other and leave much open space.

The letter T is placed as close as possible to the neighboring letter, sometimes overlapping it, because of the open spaces under each arm of the T. The same is true for letters that have slanting strokes in the same direction like the A and V in the second example.

Tracking can also have a big impact on your designs. Tight, close tracking creates an intense, solid effect. Tight tracking is best when you have something big and bold to say, or when you need to fit a lot of text in a tight space. Loose, wide tracking gives a feeling of airiness and importance, and the space between the letters really draws the eye to the message. Use loose tracking when you want to isolate an important idea, or give the design a serious, professional look.

The tight tracking for the title of the movie Jaws creates a sense of closeness and immediacy, evoking the feeling of being trapped in the water with a killer shark.		The title for the movie Alien has extremely loose tracking, giving the viewer a sense of distance and isolation. This fits perfectly with a movie about being alone in outer space with a deadly alien.