TYPEFACE CLASSIFICATION

Blackletter

Definition: Based on early written forms, blackletter is a style of typeface that features standard thick to thin strokes and serifs.

Example:

Lucida Blackletter

Fraktur

Cloister Black

Italic

Definition: While roman typefaces are upright, italic typefaces slant to the right. But rather than being just a slanted or tilted version of the roman face, a true or pure italic font is drawn from scratch and has unique features not found in the roman face.

Example:

Brush Script

Courier New

Gill Sans

Modern

Definition: In typography, Modern is a style of typeface developed in the late 18th century that continued through much of the 19th century. Characterized by high contrast between thick and thin Strokes and flat serifs, Modern fonts are harder to read than previous and later typestyles.

Examples:

Arno

Miller

Scala

Old Style

Definition: In typography, Old Style is a style of font developed by Renaissance typographers to replace the Blackletter style of type.

Example:

Janson

Perpetua

Weiss

Roman

Definition: Of the three major type classifications of Western typography, Roman is the style in widest use. The others are Blackletter and Italic. Traditionally, Roman is a serif face based on a style of ancient Rome and is the typical classic serif of today. However,

Roman also refers to any upright typeface (as opposed to italic, slanted, or script), even sans serif faces.

Example:

Times New Roman

Bembo

Garamond

Sans Serif

Definition: Type which does not have serifs - the little extra strokes found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letter forms - are called sans serif (without serif). Within sans serif there are five main classifications: Grotesque, Neo-grotesque Geometric, Humanist, and Informal. Typefaces within each classification usually share similarities in stroke thickness, weight, and the shapes of certain letter forms.

Example:

Arial

Dax

Optima

Serif

Definition: In typography, a serif is the little extra stroke found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letter forms. Some are subtle and others may be quite pronounced and obvious. In some cases serifs may aid in the readability of a typeface.

Examples:

Rockwell

Georgia

Centaur

Slab Serif

Definition: A Slab Serif is a type of serif font that evolved from the Modern style. The serifs are square and larger, bolder than serifs of previous typestyles.

Example:

Apex

Cholla Slab

Egyptiene