02.04 - Other Categories of Type - The Foundations of Typography
Chapter 02 - Classifying Type
Lesson 04 - Other Categories of Type
Mostly all of these other categories are display type. These are just a few more common sorts of type, there are many many other ways to categorize type, but for the purpose of this series, we are only going to cover a few more.
Scripts
Script type is based on handwritten letters and are mostly or partly attached with connecting strokes. These will add some energy and vitality to your piece.
They can be used to formalize your project with elegant, organic script type, but be careful of the big swashes as they can get tangled easily when lines are stacked.
The can also be quite informal with a handwritten or brush written script. Avoid overusing the informal script type as the organic impact is nullified when the the same letters are used twice.
Blackletter (or Fraktur)
Blackletter type is extremely heavy in appearance as there are very little space between the letters and lines. This is after all one of the reasons it became so popular, as you recall from the Brief History of Type lesson, blackletter was created to reduce the use of paper.
Decorative and Ornamental Typefaces
These are continually growing and changing as styles come and go, and designers now have the whole world to share their creations with immediately.
Some typefaces are nearly illegible, so consider your demographic carefully when choosing a decorative typeface.
Dingbat
A dingbat is not just the word you use to describe your friend's annoying brother. A Dingbat is a typographic ornament or character. There are entire fonts dedicated to dingbats, and they can be highly illustrative and specific.
Numbers
Numbers originated from Arabic forms, and there are generally 3 ways to categorize them.
Lining
Lining numbers are all the same height
Monospaced
Monospaced numbers are all same height and fixed width. They're typically used for data or coding to ensure that the syntax is read correctly.
Oldstyle
Oldstyle numbers are varying heights so that they blend with lowercase letters in body copy.
Mostly all number fonts include properly weighted fractions.
Can you think of any other ways of categorizing type?
