What Is Baseline?
The baseline is the invisible line on which letters sit. Most characters rest on it, while round letters like "o" dip slightly below it and descenders like "g" and "y" hang beneath. The baseline is the primary reference for aligning text, measuring leading, and setting type on a grid.
Typographers align mixed elements — text, icons, rules — to the baseline so a layout feels orderly. "Baseline grids" extend this idea across whole pages.
Leading is measured baseline to baseline, which is why the baseline is the anchor for vertical rhythm in a document.