Kerning is the adjustment of space between individual characters in a line of text. It's an essential element in typography that affects readability and visual appeal. Unlike tracking, which adjusts spacing uniformly across a range of characters, kerning focuses on the space between two specific characters. Common letter pairs often requiring kerning include capital 'T' followed by lowercase 'o,' 'a,' or 'e' (To, Ta, Te), 'W' followed by 'a' or 'o' (Wa, Wo), 'f' followed by 'i' or 'l' (fi, fl), and 'r' followed by 'y' or 't' (ry, rt).

Kerning matters because it:

• Enhances readability: Proper kerning makes text easier to read
• Improves aesthetics: Well-kerned text looks visually balanced
• Highlights importance: It can be used to emphasize certain words or sections

Designers usually apply kerning in headlines, logos, and other areas where text size is large. Subtle changes can have a significant impact, so it's crucial to pay attention to kerning when working on any design project involving text.^[1]