If you drew a straight line from the thinnest part of an old style character to the thinnest part of the stroke on the opposite side, the result would be an angled line. The thinnest part of each character is at an angle, giving it elegance, a sense of movement and oodles of fancy pantsy-ness. Also known as Humanist, Old Style serif typefaces have thick and thin strokes with slight variations in weight. Let's start with the original serif typeface, Old Style. Serif typefaces typically fall into one of four subcategories: Old Style, Transitional, Modern, and Slab. More and more, I have been using sans serif fonts for body copy. I believe it's a matter of personal taste. People have been debating and studying the validity of these assertions for ages. Many books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications with large blocks of text are set in a serif typeface.Ĭonversely, sans serif text is thought to be easier to read at low screen resolutions and is the more common choice for the web. Makes sense, huh?! It is believed that these little appendages/serifs help the eye flow from character to character and increase readability.

The difference between a serif typeface and a sans serif typeface is that serif typefaces have serifs (little 'feet', or short lines, on the ends of their characters) and sans serif typefaces do not. Build a solid set of tried and true typefaces and throw in a few fun typefaces simply because you like them! Serif vs. The same is true for your typeface library. Even though some of those items aren't staples, they are nice to have on hand in case of an emergency. Oops, it seems I've wandered out of the pantry! Not to worry.

Think of them as pantry staples… items like flour, baking powder, olive oil, chicken stock, sugar, tomato paste, crackers, fun size candy bars, potato chips, and Merlot. It can get incredibly confusing in a hurry!Ī well-stocked font folder should include a few typefaces from each of the above categories.

Within these main categories are a dizzying number of sub-categories such as modern, transitional, humanist, glyphic, calligraphic, digital, grunge, handwritten, geometric, slab, and old style, to name a few.

Most typefaces fall into one of five categories: serif, sans serif, script, display/decorative, and blackletter. More importantly, learn from them and use that knowledge to build a typeface library that works for you! Typeface Categories This article explores 27 typefaces that will serve as a solid foundation for your typeface library.

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