Understanding Descenders in Typography

In typography, a descender is a portion of a letter that extends below the baseline. It is typically found in letters such as "g," "j," and "q," where the stem or tail of the letter extends below the main body of the letter.

In the example you provided, the letter "g" has a descender, as the stem of the letter extends below the baseline. The descender helps to distinguish the letter from other similar-looking letters, such as "c" or "o," which do not have descenders.

Descenters are an important aspect of typography because they can affect the overall look and feel of a font. For example, a font with many letters that have descenders may give the text a more dynamic and energetic feel, while a font with fewer descenders may be more formal and conservative.