Pixels To Print: Types Of Typefaces
June 13, 2019
Typography is the appearance, style, and arrangement of
type. One of the fundamental pieces of typography is typeface or font family
selection, but do you know the different categories of typefaces? You may have
heard of serif or sans-serif, but there’s plenty more to choose from when
considering your next type choice.
Serif
The Serif typeface has extra small lines or flared strokes
at the ends or corners of each letterform. This style was popular because the
organic appearance was better for readability.
Popular Serif Typefaces: Georgia, Bodoni,
Palatino, Clarendon, Baskerville, Times New Roman, Garamond.
Sans-Serif
This category is recognizable by their letterforms not
using the extra lines and strokes that Serifs have. An easy way to not mix them
up is to know that “Sans” in French means without. These typefaces were popular
in printing for headlines and advertising due to legibility at a distance.
Popular Sans-Serif Typefaces: Futura,
Helvetica, Avenir, News Gothic, Roboto, Avant Garde, Montserrat
Slab-Serif
This type of serif font is characterized by thick,
block-serif at the ends or corners of their letterforms. This style came about
in the nineteenth century when newer attention-grabbing typefaces started to
become popular in advertising.
Popular Slab-Serif Typefaces: Rockwell, Adelle,
Museo Slab, Memphis, Clarendon, Courier New, Archer
Script
Script typefaces feature elegant, calligraphic letterforms.
From formal cursive to more casual scripts, there’s a wide range in this family
to choose from.
Popular Script Typefaces: Brush Script,
Edwardian Script, Zapfino, Corsiva, Lush Script, Pristina, Lucida Calligraphy
Handwritten
A step beyond Script is Handwritten typefaces. These can
vary from cursive to sans-serif subcategories, but they all appear as though
written by hand. The natural stroke of each font brings a unique, human element
to any design.
Popular Handwritten Typefaces: Andy,
Chalkboard, Lucida Handwriting, Caflisch Script, Alana, Pacifico, Tragic Marker
Decorative
Just as the name suggests, these typefaces are more niche
and unique. With plenty of themes out there, this category is best used for
headlines rather than blocks of text.
Popular Handwritten Typefaces: Stencil,
Bauhaus, Broadway, Banco, Arnold Böcklin, Graduate, Magneto
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