Family Classif ications of Type

By: Hakeem,Jonathan,Conner

The Different Types of Font Families

Old Style

• The concept of adhering to manuscript models was the basis of the first 300 years of type design, and typefaces designed during this period are referred to as Old Style.

Oldstyle Characterisitcs

• minimal variation of thick and thin strokes• small, coarse serifs, often with slightly concave bases• small x-heights.• In the round strokes, the stress is diagonal, or oblique, as

their design. s mimic the hand-held angle of the pen nibs of the scribes

• The tops of lowercase ascenders often exceed the height of the capital characters.

• he numerals, called old style figures, vary in size and have ascenders and descenders. Many contemporary versions of Old Style typefaces do not retain the old style figures but, in catering to contemporary taste, use lining, or capital height figures.

Transitional

• The typefaces of this period are called Transitional, as they represent the initial departure from centuries of Old Style tradition and immediately predate the Modern period.

Transitional Characteristics

• A greater contrast between thick and thin stokes.

• Wider, gracefully bracketed serifs withflat bases.

• larger x-height• Vertical stress in rounded strokes• The height of capitals matches that of

ascenders. • Numerals are cap-height and consistent in

size.

Modern

• These types are classified as Modern because they represent the last phase of character evolution from the pen-inspired Old Style types as well as the first effort to use the design of type to establish a contemporary visual style in written communication.

• Within a few decades, the wide acceptance of the Transitional types helped to inspire a new sense of typographic style in Europe, especially France and Italy. Typographers, inspired by Baskerville, further rejected the classic Old Style tradition of pen-inspired letters and continued to refine the notion of the perfect letterform.

Modern Characterisitics

• Extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes

• Hairline serifs without bracketing

• Small x-height

• Vertical stress in rounded strokes

Slab Serif

• The impact of the Industrial Revolution brought profound changes to printing and typography in the 19th century. Manufacturing and mass production of consumer goods had two major effects on print communication: the creation of new kinds of print media and the emergence of more functional type designs for commercial purposes.

Slab Serif Characterisitics

• minimal variation of thick and thin strokes

• heavy serifs with squared-off ends

• large x-heights.

• vertical stress in rounded strkes

Decorative/Display

• For most of type's history, the use of decorative characters was applied to the page design of books, and usually limited to ornamenting title pages, chapter headings, and initials. In the 19th century, the proliferation of Slab Serif typefaces did not ultimately satisfy the insatiable public appetite for distinct and ornate types.

• Posters and advertisements relied heavily on large size type, called display type, to attract attention. Because of the size of display type, readability was less important than visual impact. Display types began to display ornamentation to achieve this impact.

Decorative/Display Characterisitics

• For most of type's history, the use of decorative characters was applied to the page design of books, and usually limited to ornamenting title pages, chapter headings, and initials. In the 19th century, the proliferation of Slab Serif typefaces did not ultimately satisfy the insatiable public appetite for distinct and ornate types.

• Posters and advertisements relied heavily on large size type, called display type, to attract attention. Because of the size of display type, readability was less important than visual impact. Display types began to display ornamentation to achieve this impact.

Sans Serif

• The early 20th century saw continued technological advancement in printing and typesetting, flourishing of advertising and print journalism, and a contemporary movement in type design, influenced by the European Bauhaus and De Stijl design movements. For new generation of designers and typographers, the notion emerged of the typographic character as an expressive design element. Very much a backlash against the typographic excesses of the 19th century, the new design direction sought a basic letterform which was suitable for contemporary communication

Sans Serif Characterisitics

• little or no variation between thick and thin strokes

• lack of serifs

• larger x-height

• no stress in rounded strokes

Script/Cursive.

• Script and cursive typefaces are those designed to literally represent handwriting or hand lettering styles. As a general distinction, scripts have linked or joining lowercase letters, similar to handwriting, while cursives appear as un-joined hand lettering.

Script/Cursive Charactoristics

• Script and cursive designs can be calligraphic, appearing to be pen drawn, formal, bearing the look of engraving, as seen on social printing such as invitations and announcements, or brush, more informal styles appearing to be brush drawn. Most designs feature ornate, swashed uppercase characters, making these typestyles largely confusing and unreadable when set in all caps.

• These typefaces began to appear in the late 19th century, as more and more foundries competed for the commercial printing market. There is a tremendous variety of scripts and cursives available today, most of them designed in the in the 1930s at the height of their popularity.