History of Font Styles

SERIF FONTS


OLD STYLE (1475)
Characteristics:

1. wedge shaped serifs
2. more upright stress
3. horizontal crossbar

Fonts:

1. Bembo
2. Berkeley Old Style
3. Calisto
4. Garamond
5. Goudy Old Style

TRANSITIONAL (1750)

Characteristics:

1. thick/thin contrast increases
2. serifs become thinner
3. base serifs are barely or not rounded at the bottom

Fonts:

1. Baskerville
2. Concord
3. Times New Roman
4. Century
5. Georgia

MODERN (1775)

Characteristics:

1. sharp contrasts within letters
2. strong emphasis on vertical stroke
3. symmetry and sharp transitions to the straight serifs
4. serifs are as thin as the thin part of the letters

Fonts:

1. Bodoni
2. Didot
3. Walbaum
4. Linotype Centenial
5. Onyx

SLAB SERIF

Characteristics:

1. little if any contrast between thick and thin lines
2. Serifs tend to be as thick as the vertical lines
3. usually have no bracket
4. have a bold, rectangular appearance
5. sometimes have fixed-widths

Fonts:

1. Clarendon
2. Rockwell
3. Courier
4. Apex
5. Egiptienne

SANS SERIF FONTS

HUMANIST

Characteristics:

1. short and thick bracketed serifs
2. slanted cross stroke on the lowercase 'e'
3. ascenders with slanted serifs
4. low contrast between horizontals and verticals

Fonts:

1. Verdana
2. Calibri
3. Allerta
4. Gill Sans
5. Tahoma

GROTESQUE (GOTHIC)

Characteristics:

1. some degree of contrast between thick and thin strokes
2. terminals of curves are usually horizontal
3. terminals of curves are usually horizontal
4. frequently has a spurred "G" and an "R" with a curled leg

Fonts:

1. Headline
2. Monotype 215
3. Franklin Gothic
4. Bell Gothic
5. Akzidenz Grotesque
6. Helvetica
7. Univers

GEOMETRIC

Characteristics:

1. same curves and lines are often repeated throughout the letters
2. constructed from simple geometric shapes, circles and/or rectangles
3. minimal differentiation between letters

Fonts:

1. Eurostile
2. Futura
3. Avante Garde
4. Erbar
5. Neuzeit Grotesque