Are there any rules of thumb I should know about when modifying the `line-height` of text?

Question

Are there any rules of thumb I should know about when modifying the line-height of text?

Answer

As a general rule of thumb, as the font size increases the line-height can decrease. We usually want to use line-height to establish a good vertical rythm on our body copy first before adjusting the line-height of our headings.

Line-height usually ranges from 1.35-1.85. I recommend applying a line-height of 1.5 to your body copy just to establish point of reference. You may want to test and adjust this value to establish a vertical rhythm that is best suited to your particular font face.