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Letter spacing and paragraph spacing in Figma - Dashboard Guide

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Dashboard Mode - Letter spacing and paragraph spacing
Goal

Understand how adjusting letter spacing and paragraph spacing affects text readability and presentation in reports and dashboards.

Sample Text Data
ParagraphText
1Sales increased steadily over the last quarter.
2Customer satisfaction ratings improved by 15%.
3New product launches contributed to revenue growth.
4Marketing campaigns reached a wider audience.
5Operational costs were reduced by optimizing processes.
Dashboard Components
  • KPI Card: Displays a key message with letter spacing set to 0.05em to improve readability of short text.
  • Paragraph Text Block: Shows multiple paragraphs with paragraph spacing set to 1.5em to visually separate ideas.
  • Comparison Text Block: Two versions of the same paragraph side by side: one with default spacing, one with increased letter and paragraph spacing for clarity.
Dashboard Layout
+----------------------+--------------------------+
|      KPI Card        |   Comparison Text Block  |
|  (Letter spacing 0.05em) | (Default vs Spaced Text) |
+----------------------+--------------------------+
|                Paragraph Text Block               |
|           (Paragraph spacing 1.5em)               |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Interactivity

Users can toggle letter spacing and paragraph spacing settings using sliders or dropdowns. Changing these settings updates all text blocks live, allowing users to see how spacing affects readability and layout.

Self Check

If you increase letter spacing to 0.1em and paragraph spacing to 2em, which components update their text appearance?

  • KPI Card updates letter spacing.
  • Paragraph Text Block updates paragraph spacing.
  • Comparison Text Block updates both letter and paragraph spacing in the spaced version.
Key Result
Dashboard demonstrating effects of letter spacing and paragraph spacing on text readability in BI reports.

Practice

(1/5)
1. What does letter spacing control in a text block?
easy
A. The space between individual letters
B. The space between words
C. The space between paragraphs
D. The font size of the text

Solution

  1. Step 1: Understand letter spacing meaning

    Letter spacing means adjusting the space between each letter in a word.

  2. Step 2: Differentiate from other spacing types

    Word spacing is space between words; paragraph spacing is space between paragraphs.

  3. Final Answer:

    The space between individual letters -> Option A

  4. Quick Check:

    Letter spacing = space between letters [OK]
Hint: Letter spacing = space between letters, not words or paragraphs [OK]
Common Mistakes:
  • Confusing letter spacing with word spacing
  • Thinking paragraph spacing affects letters
  • Mixing font size with spacing
2. Which CSS property correctly sets letter spacing to 2 pixels?
easy
A. paragraph-spacing: 2px;
B. letter-spacing: 2px;
C. spacing-letter: 2px;
D. text-spacing: 2px;

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify correct CSS property for letter spacing

    The correct CSS property is letter-spacing.

  2. Step 2: Check syntax correctness

    Setting it as letter-spacing: 2px; is valid CSS syntax.

  3. Final Answer:

    letter-spacing: 2px; -> Option B

  4. Quick Check:

    Correct CSS property = letter-spacing [OK]
Hint: Remember CSS property is exactly 'letter-spacing' [OK]
Common Mistakes:
  • Using non-existent properties like paragraph-spacing
  • Swapping property names
  • Missing hyphen in property name
3. Given this CSS snippet:
p { letter-spacing: 3px; paragraph-spacing: 10px; }

What will happen when applied to paragraphs in a BI report?
medium
A. Letters will have 3px spacing; paragraph-spacing will be ignored as invalid
B. Both letter-spacing and paragraph-spacing will be ignored
C. Paragraphs will have 3px spacing; letters will have 10px spacing
D. Letters in paragraphs will be spaced out by 3px; paragraphs will have 10px space between them

Solution

  1. Step 1: Understand letter-spacing effect

    Letter-spacing: 3px will space letters by 3 pixels correctly.

  2. Step 2: Check validity of paragraph-spacing

    CSS does not have a paragraph-spacing property, so it will be ignored.

  3. Final Answer:

    Letters will have 3px spacing; paragraph-spacing will be ignored as invalid -> Option A

  4. Quick Check:

    Valid CSS property works; invalid ignored [OK]
Hint: Only valid CSS properties apply; invalid ones are ignored [OK]
Common Mistakes:
  • Assuming paragraph-spacing is valid CSS
  • Mixing letter and paragraph spacing values
  • Expecting both properties to work
4. You want to increase space between paragraphs in a BI report using Figma. Which approach fixes this incorrect CSS?
p { letter-spacing: 1px; paragraph-spacing: 15px; }
medium
A. Use padding-left: 15px; on paragraphs
B. Change letter-spacing to 15px
C. Add line-height: 15px; instead
D. Replace paragraph-spacing with margin-bottom: 15px;

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify invalid property

    paragraph-spacing is not a valid CSS property.

  2. Step 2: Use correct CSS to add space between paragraphs

    Using margin-bottom: 15px; adds space below each paragraph, effectively spacing paragraphs.

  3. Final Answer:

    Replace paragraph-spacing with margin-bottom: 15px; -> Option D

  4. Quick Check:

    Margin controls spacing between blocks [OK]
Hint: Use margin-bottom to space paragraphs, not paragraph-spacing [OK]
Common Mistakes:
  • Using line-height to add paragraph spacing
  • Changing letter-spacing instead of paragraph spacing
  • Using padding-left which affects horizontal space
5. In a BI dashboard, you want text to be easy to read with balanced spacing. Which combination of settings is best?

letter-spacing: 0.05em;
margin-bottom: 1.5em;

Why is this better than letter-spacing: 0; and margin-bottom: 0.5em;?
hard
A. Letter spacing should be negative; margin-bottom should be zero
B. Zero letter spacing is clearer; smaller margin saves space
C. Slight letter spacing improves clarity; larger margin separates paragraphs clearly
D. Letter spacing and margin-bottom do not affect readability

Solution

  1. Step 1: Understand letter spacing impact

    Slight positive letter spacing (0.05em) helps letters not crowd each other, improving clarity.

  2. Step 2: Understand paragraph spacing impact

    Larger margin-bottom (1.5em) clearly separates paragraphs, making text easier to scan.

  3. Final Answer:

    Slight letter spacing improves clarity; larger margin separates paragraphs clearly -> Option C

  4. Quick Check:

    Balanced spacing = better readability [OK]
Hint: Small letter spacing + bigger paragraph margin = clearer text [OK]
Common Mistakes:
  • Thinking zero spacing is always best
  • Ignoring paragraph spacing importance
  • Using negative letter spacing which reduces clarity