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Type Styles

Design experts will divide fonts into a bunch of different categories, some of which are based on details which most people never notice. There are categories like Blackletter, Venetian, Modern, Glypic, Garalde, Transitional, Grunge, Engraved, Woodcut, Cyrillic, Swash, Slab Serif, and more.

For our purposes, I'm going to combine font categories with reckless abandon, condensing everything into just four categories. This isn't an exactly science, and there is plenty of overlap. But in general, for the average person, I think it's sufficient for you to think in terms of these categories.

serifSerif Type

  • Serif types are distinguished by flags (serifs) on the letters.
  • Serif types are usually easier to read than sans serif types. For this reason, they are commonly used in books, magazines, and anything else with a lot of text.
  • The most readable serif types have a medium x-height (see Type Anatomy).
  • Serif types with a low x-height, like Garamand, have a classic or academic look.
  • Serif types with a high x-height, like Stone Serif, work well when projected onto a screen, because the lowercase letters are larger and more recognizable.
  • Serif type can be more difficult to read at small sizes; the "counters" (enclosed spaces, like on the letters d and e) tend to fill in.
  • Times (or Times New Roman), Palatino, Bookman, and Century (New Century or Century Schoolbook) are the most common serif types in laser printers.

Sans Serif Type

  • Sans serif types do not have flags on letters ("sans" means "without"--in othe words, without serifs).
  • Sans serif types are commonly used as a secondary type (a serif type being the primary type). They work well in captions, sidebars, and headings.
  • When you need very small letters, like captions, use a sans serif type.
  • Sans serif fonts produce better results than serif fonts on photocopiers and through FAX machines.
  • Helvetica, Arial, and Avante Garde are the most common sans serif types in laser printers.
  • Helvetica's strokes are mostly horizontal and vertical--very little roundness. At small sizes, the characters 1, l, I, and ! are sometimes hard to tell apart.
  • Some newer faces, like Frutiger, Stone Sans, and Ocean Sans, have more distinctive letters, so they work better for body type.
  • stylesVerdana, a sans serif type designed more for the web, is what you're reading right now.

Script Fonts

  • Script fonts simulate handwriting. The letters can be connected (cursive) or not.
  • Script fonts aren't practical for lengthy text, because they are difficult to read. Script works best as a headline or accent font.

fancyHeadline Fonts

  • Headline fonts (also called "display" fonts) come in an endless assortment of looks and shapes. They should never be used at small sizes, but should be reserved for headlines and other large type needs.
  • There are headline fonts with all kinds of themes--Christmas, Halloween, winter, summer, sports, children, hearts, you-name-it.
  • Headline fonts should be used exactly as is. Don't use bold, italics, outline, or anything else. A headline font is designed to look exactly one way.