In [typography](/glossary/typography), color refers to the overall presence of type on a page—its lightness and darkness compared to the negative space—rather than literal color in the sense of a palette or swatch.

<figure>

![An approximation of typographic “color”](images/thumbnail.svg)

</figure>

Changing a [typeface](/glossary/typeface), its [weight](/glossary/weight) or [grade](/glossary/grade), or the [line height](/glossary/line_height_leading), or any other [typographic treatment](/glossary/typesetting) could be said to affect the overall color of [type](/glossary/type) on the page.

Note that typographic color in this sense is unrelated to [color fonts](/glossary/color_fonts).