Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What's up with fonts?

Font classifications:

OLD STYLE
The roman typefaces of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries emulated classical calligraphy. Sabon was designed by Jan Tschichold in 1966, based on the sixteenth-century typefaces of Claude Garamond.
Ex: Bembo, Caslon, and Jenson

TRANSITIONAL
These typefaces have sharper serifs and a more vertical axis than humanist letters. When the fonts of John Baskerville were introduced in the mid-eighteenth century, their sharp forms and high contrast were considered shocking

Ex: Bembo, Caslon, and Jenson

MODERN
The typefaces designed by Giambattista Bodoni in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are radically abstract. Note the thin, straight serifs; vertical axis; and sharp contrast from thick to thin strokes.
Ex: Bodoni, Bauer Bodoni, Walbaum

EGYPTIAN OR SLAB SERIF
Numerous bold and decorative typefaces were introduced in the nineteenth century for use in advertising. Egyptian fonts have heavy, slab-like serifs.
Ex:Serifa, Rockwell, Memphis Clarendon

 SANS SERIF
- Humanist: Sans-serif typefaces became common in the twentieth century. Gill Sans, designed by Eric Gill in 1928, has humanist characteristics. Note the small, lilting counter in the letter a , and the calligraphic variations in line weight.
- Geometric: Sans-serif typefaces influenced by the Bauhaus movement and featuring circular or geometric letters, with little variation in stroke thickness. * Some sans-serif types are built around geometric forms. In Futura, designed by Paul Renner in 1927, the Os are perfect circles, and the peaks of the A and M are sharp triangles.
- Grotesk: The first sans-serif designs developed in the 19th century, and considered grotesque by the English. *Helvetica, designed by Max Miedinger in 1957, is one of the world's most widely used typefaces. Its uniform, upright character makes it similar to transitional serif letters. These fonts are also referred to as "anonymous sans serif"
Ex: Arial, Helvetica, and Gill Sans




SCRIPT
Since a Parisian printer created the first in 1643, script typefaces have become almost as numerous as the handwriting instruments – brush, broad-edged pen or pointed pen – that they were designed to imitate. Script typefaces often mimic handwriting techniques by joining letters with connecting lines.
Ex: Bello, Volgare, Choch

BLACKLETTER
Typefaces created over 600 years ago. Known by its ornate capitals, roughly diamond shaped serifs, and thick lines.
Ex: Fette Frakture, Lucida blackletter, and San Marco

MONOSPACED
All of the characters in a monospaced typeface have the same width. Most typefaces have proportionally-spaced characters, but monospaced characters are often required when setting text on forms, financial statements and other documents where exact spacing is required.
Ex: Courier, Courier New, and Fixed 

GRUNGE
Typefaces that are amalgamated and scratchy
 Ex: Fallen Thyme, Laundromat 1967, Mc Auto

UNDECLARED
Typefaces that contain sans serif structures attached to flared serifs.
Ex: Optima, Copperplate Gothic



My font: Serifa

- Sans Serif or Serif: serif
- Name of the Designer: Adrian Frutiger
- Date it was designed: 1967
- Classification: slab serif (Egyptian)
- List its family members: Roman, Italic, Bold...(small caps):
bold, black, italic, light, roman

The other fonts in this family must be selected by choosing a menu name and then a style option following the guide below.
Menu Name plus Style Option... selects this font
Serifa Std 45 Light [none] Serifa Std 45 Light
Serifa Std 45 Light Italic Serifa Std 46 Light Italic
Serifa Std 45 Light Bold Serifa Std 65 Bold
Serifa Std 55 Roman [none] Serifa Std 55 Roman
Serifa Std 55 Roman Italic Serifa Std 56 Italic
Serifa Std 55 Roman Bold Serifa Std 75 Black

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