Typography Design: Typefaces

Yeah no surprise right? Well recently I've noticed that a lot of people want to be the en-lightener  So rather than answering your questions, they tell you, " I want it like this", "I want it like that". So I decided to dedicate this post to enlighten you on the basic font typefaces.

Fonts come in many different varieties. From Fancy to Foreign and to the most popular Script. With the most basic font typefaces being Sans Serif Fonts and Serif Fonts. Your probably wondering what is Serif and its infamous predecessor Sans Serif when you should be asking yourself what are Sans Serif's and Serif fonts.

(In typography, serifs are the small details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up the letters and symbols. A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”. Some typography sources refer to sans-serif typefaces as "Grotesque" (in German "grotesk") or "Gothic", and serif typefaces as "roman".) (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans-serif)

Still skeptical? This really goes along the lines of give a man a fish. Feed him for a day, or teach him to fish and feed him for life. The problem with this is that the visual approach to typography design always determines final appearance whether you choose a sans serif or serif font.

Colin Wheildon published a book called Type and Layout: How Typography and Design Can Get your Message Across - Or Get in the Way. Berkeley*. Quoting page 57; "Serif fonts are widely used in traditional printed material such as books and newspapers. Many magazines employ sans serif typefaces, as some editors state that they are "cleaner", regardless of any impact on readability from the lack of serifs".

Numerous studies have been done on the readability of serif vs. sans serif typefaces. One in particular Study on Wikipedia indicates that serif typefaces may be more readable in print. Studies of on-screen use are more ambiguous, suggesting that low screen resolutions make serifs more difficult to discern, with a resulting erosion of readability compared to sans serif fonts.

* Wheildon, Colin (1995). Type and Layout: How Typography and Design Can Get your Message Across - Or Get in the Way. Berkeley: Strathmoor Press. p. 57. ISBN 0962489158.