Question: From what I see [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning), it seems kerning is just rearranging the space between letters. However, the comments [here](http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/1924/graphic-design/1929#1929) lead me to believe there's more to the story. Is kerning really that simple? Is the only purpose of it to look nicer or is there some practical reasoning for it?

Answer: 
(via [Ironic Sans](http://www.ironicsans.com/)):

![alt text](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Q4wcd.gif)
The main reason to pay close attention to kerning is for readability. Visual appeal is also very important. Another reason is that a properly kerned word will typically take up less horizontal space than an unkerned word, therefore allowing larger type sizes (this is useful for book cover design and poster design). 

For more information, check out this previous article by me: [What the Heck is Kerning? The Fundamentals of Good Typography](http://www.hensher.ca/what-the-heck-is-kerning "What the Heck is Kerning?")