The number of fonts grows daily. Your website's font is in this pool. Choosing a typeface isn't as simple as picking one from a list. There are various fonts that you can choose from the database of websites like actionfonts.com and more. Past typographers' studies must be used to choose the proper typeface. Faceless artists have designed types and created styles. Like art, type has an evolving history. Studying historical types can help us choose typefaces for our website. This blog provides a brief introduction to type to help you choose.
The handheld chisel influenced the first defined style, old style. Ancient typographers chiselled angled words into stone. This process helped finalise stone-carved letterforms by creating the typical serif. In ancient times, the serif undoubtedly helped the artist's chisel shift from one shape to the next. Modern artists who seek to convey antiquity, stability, or timelessness should use Bembo, Garamond, or Trajan. These typefaces were inspired by stone calligraphy and mediaeval handwriting. They date to the 1400s-1500s. Later, artists began experimenting with lowercase letters.
Transitional fonts developed after the old style in the enlightenment, when challenging old ideas and tradition was widespread. Their history is recorded. Transitional fonts include shorter or thinner serifs, thicker strokes, and more symmetry. This began the progressive diminution of typographers' influence from mediaeval handwritten forms and the eradication of human input from succeeding styles. Times, Baskerville, and Caslon are local fonts. They also evoke tradition, but in a steady degradation of human style. Italic letters were created at this time to distinguish shapes and create hierarchy. These letter shapes are formal enough for business and school writing. These are wonderful possibilities for a modern designer searching for a corporate style that's not bound to history. This font design gives a corporation a sense of versatility.
Block Serif or Slab Serif fonts evolved with print and technology. The printing press created a demand for larger fonts that made large point sizes legible. Square serifs, block forms, no stroke modulation, mechanical style. This type design is a clear break from humanist letterforms and can be understood by researching the industrial revolution. Rockwell, Courier, and Clarendon are era-defining fonts. A modern designer might utilise these fonts to create a design that mimics the 1800s' solid confidence and assertiveness.
San Serif or Gothic typefaces emerged in antiquity but weren't extensively used until after block serif fonts. They mirror the Industrial Revolution, when mathematical efficiency was valued and human imperfections were not. The serif of prior styles was the last human-influenced aspect of type design; deleting it was a strong step away from humanist style. San serif began with smooth, uniform strokes and symmetry. San Serif fonts were immediately embraced as headline fonts but are increasingly used in text. Century Gothic, Futura, Helvetica, and Arial are related fonts. San Serif is the best font for modern art.
Font embellishments Professional designers don't care. They're a new spin on classic, abstract letterforms. Their usefulness is limited to headline-sized text and, if decorated, to a certain design. What's my point? ... Legibility's purpose. Classic fonts that have endured centuries allow readers to readily comprehend shapes and figures to identify meaning. Highly ornate fonts reduce legibility, therefore avoid them. Because they're worthless, these fonts are generally free online. You'll gain a sense of typographic professionalism by using historical types creatively.
The number of fonts grows daily. Your website's font is in this pool. Choosing a typeface isn't as simple as picking one from a list. There are various fonts that you can choose from the database of websites like actionfonts.com and more. Past typographers' studies must be used to choose the proper typeface. Faceless artists have designed types and created styles. Like art, type has an evolving history. Studying historical types can help us choose typefaces for our website. This blog provides a brief introduction to type to help you choose.
The handheld chisel influenced the first defined style, old style. Ancient typographers chiselled angled words into stone. This process helped finalise stone-carved letterforms by creating the typical serif. In ancient times, the serif undoubtedly helped the artist's chisel shift from one shape to the next. Modern artists who seek to convey antiquity, stability, or timelessness should use Bembo, Garamond, or Trajan. These typefaces were inspired by stone calligraphy and mediaeval handwriting. They date to the 1400s-1500s. Later, artists began experimenting with lowercase letters.
Transitional fonts developed after the old style in the enlightenment, when challenging old ideas and tradition was widespread. Their history is recorded. Transitional fonts include shorter or thinner serifs, thicker strokes, and more symmetry. This began the progressive diminution of typographers' influence from mediaeval handwritten forms and the eradication of human input from succeeding styles. Times, Baskerville, and Caslon are local fonts. They also evoke tradition, but in a steady degradation of human style. Italic letters were created at this time to distinguish shapes and create hierarchy. These letter shapes are formal enough for business and school writing. These are wonderful possibilities for a modern designer searching for a corporate style that's not bound to history. This font design gives a corporation a sense of versatility.
Block Serif or Slab Serif fonts evolved with print and technology. The printing press created a demand for larger fonts that made large point sizes legible. Square serifs, block forms, no stroke modulation, mechanical style. This type design is a clear break from humanist letterforms and can be understood by researching the industrial revolution. Rockwell, Courier, and Clarendon are era-defining fonts. A modern designer might utilise these fonts to create a design that mimics the 1800s' solid confidence and assertiveness.
San Serif or Gothic typefaces emerged in antiquity but weren't extensively used until after block serif fonts. They mirror the Industrial Revolution, when mathematical efficiency was valued and human imperfections were not. The serif of prior styles was the last human-influenced aspect of type design; deleting it was a strong step away from humanist style. San serif began with smooth, uniform strokes and symmetry. San Serif fonts were immediately embraced as headline fonts but are increasingly used in text. Century Gothic, Futura, Helvetica, and Arial are related fonts. San Serif is the best font for modern art.
Font embellishments Professional designers don't care. They're a new spin on classic, abstract letterforms. Their usefulness is limited to headline-sized text and, if decorated, to a certain design. What's my point? ... Legibility's purpose. Classic fonts that have endured centuries allow readers to readily comprehend shapes and figures to identify meaning. Highly ornate fonts reduce legibility, therefore avoid them. Because they're worthless, these fonts are generally free online. You'll gain a sense of typographic professionalism by using historical types creatively.