According to the well-known classification system (adapted from the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI)) following typefaces are distinguished:
Small decorative strokes that are added to the end o f a letter's main strokes are called serifs. These cross-lines at the end of a stroke are either: slab, wedge or hair. And they are bracketed or unbracketed.
Research has unveiled that we grasp words as a whole by comparing with the acquired samples in our brain. Serifs help us recognizing these samples. Serifs improve readability by leading the eye along the line of type. The 15315v2115p refore, serifs are the best suited for body text. Generally one serif and one sans serif (used for headlines) are a good mixture. Serif faces are more difficult to read in small scale (smaller than 8pt) and in very large sizes.
Serif form contains four designs called Old Style, Transitional, Modern and Slab Serif designs.
Sans serif faces don't have serifs; cross-lines at the end of a stroke. The appearance of the letters is reduced to the essential figures.
Research has unveiled that we grasp words as a whole by comparing with the acquired samples in our brain. Serifs help us recognizing these samples. A sans serif text has to be read letter by letter. Well, long texts are unfavorable. It is recommended that you use sans serif faces for small (smaller than 8pt) and very large sizes. Therefore, sans serif faces are used for footnotes and headlines. Generally one serif (used for body text) and one sans serif are a good mixture.
History
Venetian typefaces, which
were better suited for the letterpress than the previous (Blackletter) faces,
arose with the invention of the letterpress in 15th Century
The appearance of the original Venetian shows that it was written with the broad feather (in contrast to Geralde).
Features
Characteristic for Venetian typefaces are:
The thickness of the stroke varies hardly. The cross stroke of the lower case e is diagonal.
Examples
History
Geralde typefaces have the same origins as Venetian. A refinement of the letter shape can be recognized during the further development of the letterpress. The well-known variant Garamond is considered the leading typeface of the renaissance and early baroque.
Features
Characteristics of the Geralde typefaces are:
Geralde typefaces show more contrast between thick and thin strokes than Venetian. The cross stroke of the lower case e is horizontal.
Examples
History
This type forms the transition between Renaissance Old Style and Modern typefaces. With the change from the woodcut to copperplate engravings in the 17th Century, the lines of the letters became more fine and rich in contrast.
Features
Examples
History
Modern typefaces arose with the distribution of copper and steel engraving techniques in the 17th and 18th Century. The appearance is technical exact. Modern types are named Didone after Didot and Bodoni.
Features
Examples
History
At the beginning of the 19th Century typefaces for attracting attention were in demand for advertising, posters, flyers, business and private printed matters. Egyptian and Grotesque typefaces arose from Modern typefaces. The name Egyptian is derived from its use in a publication about booty from Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. Three subgroups of Slab Serifs are distinguishable:
Features
Examples
History
Egyptian and Grotesque typefaces arose
from Modern
typefaces. The first Sans Serifs were issued in
Features
Examples
There are three types of Sans Serifs:
History
Advertising needs striking typefaces matching the product. For this use graphic or commercial artists invented decorative typefaces.
Features
All typefaces that cannot be assigned to any other group are called Decorative and Display. Capital letter fonts also fall into this category
Examples
History
By the end of the 15th Century, italic forms of the Roman type developed from the fast handwritten letters. At first the capitals were still showed upright, but later these got the same slope as the minuscules and numbers.
Features
Examples
History
Developed from the handwriting maintaining the connections between the individual letters. Script typefaces imitate handwriting with a pen.
Features
Examples
History
In the 11th Century
letterforms with the letters moved closer together, thus obligedly breaking the
bends, came from
Features
Almost only vertical and sloping lines whose ends look like bee cubes
Examples
History
A soothed form of Textura
developed in
Features
Example
History
With the genesis of the uncial type minuscules a double alphabet existed. At first the Scwabacher contained capitals of the uncial type with both round and angular elements. During the 15th Century this developed into a regular folk typeface.
Features
Examples
History
The origins were the
simple document typeface of the Gothic type. A typically national typeface
developed in
Features
Example
History
In addition to the Fraktur, some variants appeared whose classification as Blackletter was difficult.
Features
Examples
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