Typography scale

A typography scale is the limited set of font sizes a design system permits — usually six to ten steps — derived from a mathematical ratio (1.125, 1.25, the golden ratio) so the relationships feel harmonious. Combined with line-height and font-weight tokens, the scale becomes the type system every component reads from.

The point of a scale is restraint. Without one, designers and developers reach for arbitrary sizes (15px here, 17px there) and the type system fragments. With one, you get cleaner tokens, faster decisions, and type that reads as a system instead of a collection. Tim Brown's "Modular Scale" article is the foundational read; tools like Type Scale and Utopia automate the generation.

Related: Foundations · Design tokens · Spacing scale · Colour system