Top 7 Font Categories
The exercise of classifying fonts is not an easy one. New fonts
are constantly introduced and there is no standard within the
typographic arts.
The classification system described here is based
on the book Typographic Design: Form and Communication by Rob
Carter, Ben Day, and Philip Meggs. This classic text groups
typeface styles into six manageable categories covering their
origin and use. I've added a seventh category for decorative
fonts. Some systems use as many as 30 different categories.
1. Old Style Fonts
Early font style from the Venetian artisan Aldus Mantius. Characterized
by its bracketed serifs and angled weight emphasis on the rounded
forms and tops of lowercase ascenders.
Examples: Garamond, Minion, Goudy, Palatino
2. Italic (Script) Fonts
Italic letters slant to the right. Some italics are based on
handwriting with connected strokes and are called scripts.
Examples: Snell roundhand, Brush Script, Garamond
Italic
3. Transitional Fonts
Serif fonts developed in the mid-1700s when typestyles evolved
from Old Style to Modern.
Examples: Times, Baskerville, Caslon
4. Modern Fonts
These typefaces have extreme contrasts between thick and thin
strokes. Modern typefaces evolved from Transitional styles late
in the 1700s.
Examples: Bodoni, Didot
5. Slab Serif Fonts
Slab-serif fonts, developed during the Industrial Revolution
of the 19th century, are bold and easy to read with large, square
serifs.
Slab Serif Examples: Aachen, Clarendon, New Century
Schoolbook, Rockwell
6. Sans Serif Fonts
First introduced in the early 1800s sans serif typefaces did
not become widely used until after World War II. French for
"not" sans serif fonts do not have structural details
on the end of strokes. Stroke weights are often uniform.
Examples: Univers, Helvetica, Futura, Verdana
7. Display Fonts
Type that is usually used in headlines to attract attention
or as decorative initial capitals.
Examples: Blockhead, Funkhouse, Hobo, Rosewood
August
2007 Newsletter
