Lessons From A Type Geek: Part I
Before I had my first typography class in college, I was totally oblivious to anything relating to the subject. I remember skeptically thinking, “Really? A whole semester-long class on fonts?” (for the record, I would never refer to them as fonts now, they are typefaces). To my surprise, I found the class fascinating and became intrigued with typography. I was lucky enough to have a professor who was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and expected us to know an absurd amount of information for our exams. After my initial typography course, I went on to take Typography II, do an independent study, and was the Typography I TA my senior year. Then, during my first few months (and I literally mean, it took me months) at Hero, I was tasked with reorganized the font library into classifications to make searching through the thousands of typefaces easier for everyone in the studio. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed this task. I’m a type geek.
As much as I enjoy typography, every once in a while as I drive by a storefront with awful kerning (the space between two letters) in their signage, I like to daydream about what it would be like to be type-naive again. Along with a knowledge of typography comes the ability to notice the little mistakes that the untrained eye wouldn’t look twice at, like bad kerning or a match-up of two unflattering typefaces or a font that historically doesn’t fit with the design it’s being used in. Typography is a lot more than just letters and words and something that looks pretty. It has history and meaning and when used correctly, can add something wonderful to a business card or direct mail piece or company signage. That’s why, while I like daydreaming about being naive again, I know that there is something much more powerful to knowing. Understanding typography gives you the ability to use it correctly and effectively.
While I can’t explain in one blog post everything there is to know about typography, I can and will, over the course of the next couple months, provide a multi-part series of blog posts that will provide a basic overview of typography. That way, next time you are looking for a typeface to use or trying to explain to your designer what style of typeface you are thinking of, you will have a basic knowledge of what you are asking for and understanding as to why the usage of that typeface is appropriate for the design.
Part I: Overview of
Type Classifications
In order to understand type classification, you will first need to understand a few terms:
Typeface vs. Font
A typeface comprises as set of characters including letters, numerals, punctuation, and various symbols, that share certain design features such as x-height, serif shape, stress, and contrast in stroke weights. Helvetica Medium, Helvetica Black and Helvetica Bold Oblique, for example, are typefaces. (Typefaces in turn belong to type families. The previously mentioned three faces belong to the Helvetica family.)
A font is a particular typeface in a particular size and style. For example, 18-point Helvetica Medium or 10-point Futura.
Serif vs. Sans-Serif
Serifed faces have small tapered finishing strokes called serifs found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of its letterforms. These are reminiscent of brush marks made by stone carvers as guides by which to carve, which flared at stroke ends and corners, creating serifs.
Sans-Serif faces do not have serifs; “sans” meaning “without.”
Other helpful terms:
Bracket-a curved or wedge-like connection between the stem and serif of some fonts. Not all serifs are bracketed serifs.
Modulation-contrast in stroke weights (aka. the amount of variation in between thick and thin strokes) of a letterform.
Point-unit of measurement used to measure the height of type; 1 inch = 72 points. Point size is a legacy from the letterpress system, where each letter is held on a small metal block. The point size actually refers to the size of this metal block, and not the actual size of the letter. The letter does not have to take up the full area of the block face, so two fonts with the same nominal point size can quite easily have different actual sizes.
Rational- mechanically and scientifically structured.
Stress-the direction in which a curved stroke changes weight.
Type Classifications
Typefaces can be broken down into different classifications based on their physical attributes. The classifications are based on the historical evolution of calligraphy and carving to printing to digital display. This evolution can be seen in the shift from humanistic, naturally structured typefaces to mechanical, scientifically structured typefaces.
There is a decent amount of discrepancy when it comes to type classification because the history of typography is not entirely clear and typefaces do not always fit within the rules of just one classification. There are individuals who would include additional classifications or break down these classifications further, but in general these nine classifications are recognized as suitable for a basic overview of type classification.
Old face (Approximate date
of origin: 1490)
Characteristics:
Presence of the human hand, natural, serifs, diagonal felt axis/stress, moderate modulation
Example typefaces:
Centaur, Bembo, Garamond 3, Palantino
Transitional (1750-1757)
Vertical Stress, pronounced modulation, organic, serifs, presence of the human hand, but has been “improved” (mechanical)
Example typefaces:
Bulmer MT, New Baskerville
Modern (1790)
Characteristics:
Rational (mechanistic imitation of the human hand), extreme modulation, perpendicular bracket-less serif.
Example typefaces:
Bodoni Book, Filosophia
Mechanistic (slab serif) (1830-1845)
Characteristics:
Slab serifs (heavy, rectangular), highly rational (heavily mechanical)
Example typefaces:
Clarendon, Memphis, Melior
Grotesque Lineale (sans-serifed)(1890)
Characteristics:
Sans serifs, rational, capital “R” indicates a higher degree of rationalism
Example typefaces:
Franklin Gothic, Akzidenz Grotesk
Geometric Lineale (sans-serifed)(1927)
Characteristics:
Sans serif, geometric, simplistic letter forms made of circles and squares, highly rational
Example typefaces:
Futura, Avenir
Humanistic Lineale (sans-serifed)(1927)
Characteristics:
Sans serifs, natural, based on the old face and traditional model (based on the model of the hand), may be modulated or unmodulated
Example typefaces:
Gill Sans, Optima, Meta Plus, Syntax, Formata, Frutiger
Transitional Lineale (semi-serifed)(1927)
Characteristics:
Sans serifs or semi-serifed, natural, based on the old face and traditional model (based on the model of the hand), may be modulated or unmodulated
Example typefaces:
Rotis Sans Serif, Rotis Semi Sans, Rotis Semi Serif,
Rotis Serif, Perpetua
Neo-grotesque Lineale (sans-serifed)(1957)
Characteristics:
Sans serifs, rational with a degree of humanism/naturalness, capital “R” has a degree of humanism
Example typefaces:
Univers, Helvetica Neue, Bell Gothic
To the untrained eye all typefaces might look similar, but after examining the different classifications it is clear that there are subtle and sometimes obvious structural differences between typefaces. It is important to select a typeface with structural elements that compliment your design. Stay tuned for my next post that will show examples of these type classifications being used successfully and effectively.
References:
http://www.fontshop.com/help/glossary.php
http://www.publish.com/c/a/Graphics-Tools/Font-vs-typeface/
http://www.alexpoole.info/academic/literaturereview.html
http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/type_basics/default.htm
When I started reading the article, I really thought I knew a lot about typography, but you made me just realize how much more I still need to know! I really like your list of type classifications, too- its nice to have that visual to see where and when typefaces came from.
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