Some type genres explained

I originally put together this classification for Typedia in early 2012 (before development of a new version of the site was stopped). It was meant to be practical rather than historically waterproof, hopefully not too sophisticated for newbies but with enough groups to aid adding typefaces to the database, and also helping with typeface selection and pairing. Eine Wollmilchsau also, as the Germans say.

 
1 Serif: humanist, realist, rational, variants, decorative
2 Sans: humanist, grotesque, geometric, variants, decorative
3 Slab: humanist, rational, geometric, variants, decorative
4 Script: Chancery, Roundhand, Handwritten, Decorative
5 Blackletter
6 Pi

 

1. Serif
1.1 Humanist
The Humanist Serif, also referred to as “Old Style”, is the original form of Roman typefaces developed in the Renaissance period of the 15th century. It can be further divided into the Venetian style, typically with an angled crossbar on the lowercase ‘e’, and the French style, in which the ‘e’ usually has a smaller eye.

Both variants share a gradually modulated, moderate stroke contrast with an oblique stress in the round parts. An axis drawn through the thin parts would be diagonal. The serifs are usually bracketed, sometimes asymmetrical. Top serifs are mostly angular. Apertures are open and character forms are diverse. Capitals follow the proportions of inscriptional Roman letterforms (Capitalis) and are of varied width. The ‘R’ has a diagonal leg, typically relatively long. Italics are similar to the Chancery Script.

The Humanist, or “dynamic” form model is derived from writing with a broad-nib pen held at a consistent angle. This principle is called “translation”. The Vox classification uses the term “Garalde” for this style, derived from the names of the most iconic printers of the 15th century: Claude Garamond and Aldus Manutius. Occasionally, the term “Aldine” is used.

Examples: Jenson, Garamond
 

1.2 Realist
The Realist Serif, often called “Transitional”, fits somewhere between the Humanist style of the Renaissance and the modern, Rationalist form model of the Neoclassical period. It is also sometimes referred to as “Baroque”.

Its key characteristics are an increased contrast, mostly vertical stress, and more regular letterforms and proportions – a gradual rationalization away from forms that resemble handwriting. In the Realist form model, traces of the broad-nib pen can still be seen, yet the angle of the pen varies. This principle is called “rotation”.

Apertures are slightly reduced, the leg of the ‘R’ is straightened but is still mostly diagonal, serifs are bracketed, and terminals often lachrymal (bulbous tear drops). The capitals are of more consistent width and the x-height is generally larger.

Examples: Caslon, Baskerville
 

1.3 Rational
The Rational Serif, also called “Modern” or “Neoclassical”, is traditionally characterized by a strong, vertical stroke contrast between thick vertical stems and fine horizontal hairlines. Serifs are horizontal, either thin and abrupt, or bracketed, as in the “Scotch” subcategory.
The letterforms are consistently structured, similar in proportion and details, and often feature ball terminals. Capitals are more narrow and of approximately the same width. Apertures are relatively closed. Italics are similar to the Roundhand script. These characteristics are retained even when the contrast decreases.

The Rational, or “static” form model, with its rather unmodulated contrast, is the result or writing with a pointed pen. The nib spreads in relation to the pressure applied during a downstroke, while other strokes remain thin. This principle is called “expansion”. The Vox Classification uses the term “Didone”, derived from the names of the famous printers Firmin Didot and Giambattista Bodoni

Examples: Bodoni, Scotch Roman
 

1.4 Variants
This group covers serif typefaces based on early scribal, incised, and inscriptional forms. These include Rustica, Uncial, Gaelic, and other typefaces of indistinct or mixed form models. Typefaces with very small “spur serifs” can also belong here.

Uncial is a Celtic style of calligraphic script with forms created by a broad-nibbed pen at an almost horizontal angle, but sometimes more tilted in later variants. There are no separate upper- and lowercase forms in pure Uncial designs — roman lowercase letters with ascenders and descenders developed from the Uncial and half-Uncial forms of the Middle Ages.

Examples: Albertus, Copperplate, American Uncial
 

1.5 Decorative
Decorative typefaces are usually too expressive or detailed to be used at small text sizes and are therefore also referred to as “Display”. In terms of appearance, they can be tooled, engraved, shaded, inlined, outlined, ornate, or whimsical. They can be constructed from non-typographical forms (such as objects and shapes) or rendered using non-traditional techniques (scraping, scratching, etc.)

Example: Caslon Open Face [not a great Example :]
 

2. Sans Serif
2.1 Humanist
The Humanist Sans follows a similar dynamic form model as the Humanist Serif of the Renaissance, with open apertures and letterforms of diverse proportions. The first typefaces in this style appeared in the early 20th century during a calligraphic resurgence to overcome what some saw was an excess of Victorian eclecticism. This movement was spearheaded by Edward Johnston in England and manifested in his design for the London Underground 1916. The typeface by his student Eric Gill from 1928 is regarded as the first popular example of the Humanist Sans style.

The capitals are of varied width, the ‘R’ has a diagonal leg, the ‘O’ is nearly a perfect circle, the ‘g’ is of double-storey form. Italics are often “true italics” of the original cursive form with, for instance, a moderate angle, narrower in width, a single-storey ‘a’ and ‘g’, and sometimes a descending ‘f’.

Examples: Gill Sans, Syntax
 

2.2 Grotesque
The sans-serif typefaces that first appeared in the catalog of English printers in the early 19th century were derided at the time as “grotesque”. But the style was only new to printing — sans-serif letterforms had already been used in lettering and inscriptions. William Caslon’s caps-only English Egyptian of 1816 is regarded as the earliest sans-serif font. The name has nothing to do with slab-serif type (in the way we use the word “Egyptian” today) — it refers instead to the fashion of the era for anything associated with Egypt. The Vox classification uses the term “Lineal”.

The characteristics of Grotesque typefaces are analogous to the Realist and Rational serif: regular proportions, caps of similar width, relatively static forms based on the oval, and closed apertures in letters like ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘a’, and ‘e’. One can also distinguish between the original, Realist sans serif — often referred to as “Gothic” or “industrial” — and the subsequent Rationalist “Neo-Grotesque” or “Grotesk” of the 20th century, especially popular in continental Europe.
While the Realist Gothic has generally narrower proportions, featuring an ‘R’ with diagonal leg and a two-storey ‘g’, the Rationalist Grotesk is wider, more consistent and even in letter shapes. The leg of the ‘R’ is mostly vertical and the ‘g’ is single-storey. Italics of both Grotesque variants are usually oblique romans with no cursive forms of ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘g’, etc.

Examples: Franklin Gothic, Helvetica
 

2.3 Geometric
The Geometric Sans developed in the 1920s in Germany in the attempt to find a letterform that better expresses the ideas of the Bauhaus and industrialization than did the “undesigned” vernacular Grotesques. Still, the most radical designs — such as those by Herbert Bayer and Joost Schmidt — were not executed as typefaces at the time.

The character shapes are “constructed” out of (optically corrected) geometric forms with circular round parts and usually very little stroke contrast. The ‘a’ and ‘g’ are usually single-storey, though the double-storey form of ‘a’ is found, too (as in one of the earliest Geometric typefaces by Jakob Erbar). The character width is diverse, with capitals following the proportions of the Roman Capitalis, and an ‘R’ with a diagonal leg. Italics are oblique romans with little more than optical adaptations.

Other typefaces in this category have square forms, based on a rectangle rather than a circle, or built up of other modular elements.

Examples: Futura, Bank Gothic
 

2.4 Variants
Variants of sans serifs include typefaces with clearly visible stroke contrast or tapered stems, often called “stressed” sans serifs.

Examples: Optima, Britannic
 

2.5 Decorative
Decorative sans serifs are usually too expressive or detailed to be used at small text sizes and are therefore also referred to as Display typefaces. In terms of appearance, they can be tooled, engraved, shaded, inlined, outlined, ornate, or whimsical. They can be constructed from non-typographical forms such as objects and shapes) or rendered using non-traditional techniques (scraping, scratching, etc.)

Example: Bernhard Fashion
 

3. Slab Serif
3.1 Humanist
Humanist Slab Serifs, just like their serif and sans-serif relatives, are based on the dynamic, Humanist form model. The stroke contrast is very low and serifs are straight or slightly bracketed. Apertures are generally open and proportions of the letterforms diverse.
The capitals are of varied width, the ‘R’ has a diagonal leg, the ‘g‘ is of double-storey form, and the ‘O’ is mostly a circle. Italics are often moderately slanted “true italics” derived from the original cursive form of ‘e’, single-storey ‘a’ and ‘g’, descending ‘f’, and narrower proportions.

Examples: PMN Caecilia, Chaparral
 

3.2 Rational
Rational Slab Serifs are characterized by heavy serifs that are almost the same thickness as the main strokes. They can be subdivided into two main groups: those with visible stroke contrast and bracketed serifs, and those with linear strokes and unbracketed, square serifs. Both styles were developed in the early 19th century in the course of a rising demand for eye-catching display and advertising typefaces. They share the Rational form model with closed apertures and consistent, generally broad proportions.

The group with low stroke contrast and bracketed serifs is often called “Clarendon” or “Egizian” after the genre’s most iconic typefaces. The ‘R’ has a vertical, curved tail; terminals of the ‘a’ and ‘g’ are often ball-shaped. The stress axis is vertical.

The linear, square-seriffed variant is called “Egyptian” or “Egyptienne”, probably derived from the widespread fascination for Egypt after Napoleon’s campaign around 1800. Especially in the US, the name “Antique” may be used to distinguish slab serifs from early sans serifs which were previously also called “Egyptian”. The Vox classification refers to all slab serifs as “Mécanes”.

Examples: Clarendon, Serifa
 

3.3 Geometric
The Geometric Slab Serif, like its sans-serif relative, is based on constructed, often modular geometric forms — either circular, oval, or rectangular. The ‘a’ and ‘g’ are usually of single-storey form. The ‘R’ has a straight, diagonal leg. Unlike most Geometric sans serifs, the characters are usually of consistent width which stresses the mechanical, technical impression. All strokes are of visually equal thickness and serifs are mostly square and unbracketed.

Examples: Memphis, Lubalin Graph
 

3.4 Decorative
There is a rich and abundant history of decorative and ornamented slab-serif display type designed in the 19th and early 20th century for posters and other jobbing work. These typefaces were especially flourishing in the United States and were usually produced as wood type since large sizes would become too heavy, expensive, and difficult to cast in metal. Unfortunately, the terminology used in the past and present to describe these designs is confusing and almost arbitrary.

The serifs of these display types can either be bracketed or square, furcated, or otherwise ornate. The letters are often shaded, tooled, or decorated with lines, pearls, or spurs. Some typefaces are intended for “chromatic” use, meaning two or more corresponding fonts are designed to be printed on top of each other to allow for multicolor text (eg. Rosewood and Rosewood Fill).

A common variant is the “reverse contrast” slab serif, also called “Italienne” or “French Antique” (without bracketing), and “French Clarendon” or “Aldine” (with bracketing): horizontal strokes and serifs are thicker than the stems. This results in the typical “Western” look where these kinds of typefaces were often used for playbills and posters.

The Tuscan style features furcated (split) or ornate serifs, stroke contrast (normal or reverse), and often a mid-stem decoration, for instance a spur.

The name “Latin” labels typefaces with heavy, triangular serifs.

Examples: Playbill, Thunderbird, Latin
 

4. Script
4.1 Chancery
The Chancery Script — sometimes also called “Cancellaresca” — is rooted in broad-nib calligraphy of the Renaissance period. It is based on cursive handwriting of the 15th and 16th century developed in Italy, hence the alternative term “italic”. Master calligraphers such as Arrighi, Palatino, and Tagliente published writing manuals to populate the “italic hand”.
The letters are only slightly slanted (or upright) and written with the pen held at a consistent 30°–45° angle. The stroke contrast is modulated and moderate. Letterforms are rather narrow, sometimes angular and sharp edged, similar to the italic styles in Humanist Serifs.

Example: Zapf Chancery
 

4.2 Roundhand
The Roundhand script is based on pointed-pen calligraphy and connected with the Baroque and Classicist style periods. It was developed in England in the late 17th century and widely popular throughout Europe and North America thereafter, propagated by writing masters like Shelley, Bickham, or Snell. It is also called “Spencerian” or “Copperplate Script”.

The stroke contrast, or rather the thick strokes, are achieved by putting pressure on the pen during a down stroke. All connecting hairlines and upstrokes are thin, and the slant is usually steep. This results in high contrast, narrow, oval forms with round connections and rich flourishing and ornamentation.

Examples: Snell Roundhand, Künstler Script
 

4.3 Handwritten, Brush
These are casual script styles that don’t closely follow traditional calligraphic models. They can be written with various tools and letterforms can be upright or slanted, connected or loose.

Examples: Caflisch Script, Brush Script
 

4.4 Decorative
Even more casual than handwritten typefaces, decorative scripts can mimic various lettering styles and techniques. They can be sketched, tooled engraved, shaded, inlined, outlined, ornate, whimsical or rendered using non-traditional techniques (scraping, scratching, constructed with geometric shapes, etc.)

Examples: Allegro, Futura Script
 

5. Blackletter
In Blackletter typefaces — also referred to as “broken script” or “Gothic” — some or all round parts of the letters are “broken” into straight strokes. This style was gradually developed in Medieval scriptoria so scribes could copy manuscripts faster than in the previously common Carolingian Minuscule hand. While the Humanist Serifs superseded Blackletter in Southern Europe during the Renaissance, the blackletter style — especially Fraktur — continued to be widely used in German speaking countries until the mid-20th century.

There are four subcategories of Blackletter typefaces:

Textura, also Textualis or Old English, is the oldest variant in which all round forms are “broken” into straight strokes. The terminals are triangular and capitals are usually ornamented. This results in a narrow, repetitive texture and a generally dark and densely written page — hence the name Textura. It was also the style of the first typeface cut and cast by Gutenberg in the mid 15th century.

Rotunda is the most round and simple variant and closely related to the Carolingian hand.

Schwabacher features partly straight, partly round forms. The ‘g’ has a unique design with a horizontal top stroke. The ‘o’ resembles a pointy oval.

Fraktur is the latest variant of Blackletter. Letterforms like ‘a’, ‘g’, ‘d’ or ‘o’ are round on one side and straight on the other. Terminals are triangular and ascenders often split. Many characters have unusual forms and are often confused by unfamiliar readers, for instance ‘B’ with ‘V’, ‘N’ with ‘R’, ‘I’ with ‘J’, the long form of ‘s’ with ‘f’, ‘k’ with ‘t’, ‘y’ with ‘h’, or ‘r’ with ‘x’.

Examples: Old English, Fette Fraktur
 

6. Pi, Dingbats, Ornaments
Non-alphabetic fonts containing symbols, pictures, emoji, shapes, or ornaments, etc.

Examples: Zapf Dingbats, Symbol
 

Multi-axes type families

There is an occasional confusion with extensive type families and the involved terminology. Basically a type family – a set of fonts with common design characteristic and features – can have multiple

· weights (Light, Regular, Medium, Bold, Black etc.)
· widths (Narrow, Compressed, Condensed, Normal, Wide etc.)
· related designs (Sans, Serif, Slab, Mix, Mono, Semi, Pi etc.)
· size-specific variants aka optical sizes (Text, Display, Agate/Micro, Headline, Banner etc.)
· grades (One, Two, Three, A, B, C etc.), and probably more.

Series / Super-Families

One common question is what to call an extensive type family that is comprised out of more than one “family”, for instance a matching serif and sans. Some call this a super-family, others a series, like ATF and Photolettering traditionally did. I like series better because it is a very flexible term and can umbrella (herby proposing this to be a verb) many different styles that are connected in their design, be it by weight, width or shape.

Size-Specific Designs / Optical Sizes

Also frequently mixed up are optical sizes and grades. Optical sizes refer to the adjustment of a typeface’s design for a certain range of sizes or application. (I’m not really happy with the term and mostly call these size specific designs.) In metal type, each size of a typeface was tailored to the requirements of that specific size. Characters intended for small sizes were kept wider, with open apertures and more loosely spaced. They have a large x-hight, lower stroke contrast and more sturdy serifs for instance. Type for display sizes on the other hand is tighter, more narrow and more detailed in design. Nick Sherman illustrates the range of adaption very well in his A List Apart article.

These adjustments got lost during phototype and, until recently, had only been rarely available for digital type. Fortunately, there is a growing selection of families offered in different sets of fonts for different applications, e.g. text and display variants, sometimes also called Banner or Headline. The latter might indicate that the design is especially narrow and space saving, i.e. optimized for newspaper applications. Agate means that the fonts are suited for very small sizes, traditionally ca. 6pt, used in newspaper tables and listings. Skyline is a name used for a very condensed tall style. (More on optical sizes in Tim Ahrens’ book.)

Grades

Grades are variants of one style of a family – for instance the regular text weight – in slightly different weight nuances to adapt to varying output conditions, e.g. different printing presses, paper stock, climate, or screen resolution. Quite unlike optical sizes or a normal range of weights, the unique feature of grades is that the spacing and kerning is identical for all fonts in a set, so there is no reflow of the layout when you change the grade. By using the appropriate grades, the intended weight of the font will look consistent everywhere, as they compensate for type getting “fatter” in the printing process (dot-gain) or text appearing lighter on coated stock or high-res screens. (Adaptions beyond the offering of fixed grades used to be possible with Multiple Master typefaces, and are currently discussed again in connection with advanced hinting techniques.)

 

Below I started a list of typefaces available in different optical sizes and grades, for print and screen. This is not meant as an exhausting list, rather to note some down for myself, but I’ll try to keep it updated and add to it, so feel free to point me to more typefaces in the comments. (Web indicates that some styles are available as webfonts).

 

Typefaces Available in Grades (number of grades)

Benton Modern Text (4); Font Bureau [web on request]

Bureau Roman (5); Font Bureau

Chronicle Text (4); H&FJ

Greta Text (3); Typotheque

Magma (2); Stone Type Foundry

Mercury Text (4); H&FJ

Miller Daily (4); Font Bureau

Munc (2); Stone Type Foundry

Poynter Agate (4); Font Bureau

Poynter Oldstyle Text (4); Font Bureau

Quiosco (4); Font Bureau

Renard (3); TEFF

Tabac (4); Suitcase [web]

Tempera (3), Tempera Biblio (3); Typonine [web]

Tuff (2); Stone Type Foundry

Zócalo Text (4); Font Bureau

 

Typefaces Available in Size-Specific Variants / Optical Sizes 

Arno; Adobe

Axiom; Typemanufactur Georg Salden [web]

Arnhem, Arnhem Fine, Arnhem Display; Ourtype [web]

Benton Modern Text (grades), Benton Modern Display; Font Bureau [web]

Brioni Text, Brioni; Typotheque [web]

California Text, California, California Display; Font Bureau

Chaparral; Adobe

Chronicle Text (grades), Chronicle Deck, Chronicle Display; H&FJ [web]

Cronos; Adobe

Escrow Text, Escrow; Font Bureau [web]

Fedra Sans, Fedra Sans Display 1 & 2; Typotheque [web]

Fedra Serif A & B, Fedra Serif Display; Typotheque [web]

Garamond Premier; Adobe

Glosa, Glosa Text, Glosa Headline, Glosa Display; DS Type [web]

Greta Text (grades), Greta Display, Greta Grande; Typotheque [web]

Guardian Egyptian TextGuardian Egyptian Headline; Commercial Type [web]

Guardian Sans AgateGuardian Sans Headline; Commercial Type [web]

Harriet Text, Harriet Display; Okay Type [web]

Hoefler Text, Hoefler Titling (more independent design); H&FJ

Ibis REIbis TextIbis Display; Font Bureau [web]

Info Text, Info Display; FontFont [web]

Irma TextIrma; Typotheque [web]

Jenson; Adobe

Jules Big, Jules Colossal, Jules Epic; DS Type

Kepler; Adobe

Klavika, Klavika Display; Process Type Foundry [web]

Locator, Locator Display; Process Type Foundry [web]

Lyon Text, Lyon Display; Commercial Type [web]

Marlene, Marlene High, Marlene Display; Typonine [web]

Mercury Text (grades), Mercury Display; H&FJ

Miller Daily (grades), Miller, Miller Headline, Miller Banner; Font Bureau [web]

Minion; Adobe

Myriad; Adobe

Neue Haas Grotesk Text, Neue Haas Grotesk Display, Linotype [web]

Poynter Serif REPoynter Oldstyle Text (grades), Poynter Oldstyle Display; Font Bureau [web]

Poynter Gothic TextPoynter Agate (grades); Font Bureau

PrensaPrensa Display; Font Bureau [web]

Publico Text, Publico Headline, Publico Banner; Commercial Type [web]

Transit Text, Transit Front, Transit Back; FontFont

Turnip RE, Turnip; Font Bureau [web]

Utopia; Adobe

Warnock; Adobe

WhitmanWhitman Display; Font Bureau [web]

Zócalo Text (grades), Zócalo Display, Zócalo Banner; Font Bureau [web]

Ooof, no one ever say again that there aren’t any families with optical sizes. Way more than I thought and am able to add here right now. I’ll try to update the list later. Until then, see also this
list on typophile,
list on Fontshop,

list on Tim’s blog.

 

Typefaces Optimized for Small Sizes on Screen (< 14 px)

Aften Screen, Antenna RE, Antenna Serif RE, Apres RE, Basic GothicBenton Modern REBenton Sans RE, Custer RE, Deja Rip, Dispatch Mono, Droid Sans, Droid Serif, Georgia ProGiza REFedra Mono ScreenFedra Sans ScreenFedra Serif ScreenIbis RE, Irma ScreenNitti, Open SansPT Sans, PT SerifPoynter Serif, Riga Screen, Scout RESource SansTurnip RE, Verdana Pro.

 

Type classifications are useful, but the common ones are not

This is an article I wrote for the publication accompanying the conference Research in Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts Kattowice where I gave a talk on the subject in January 2012. Please excuse the lack of illustrations. I will try to add some later, but usually those are empty promises as you can see in other posts on this site. Reading time ca. 16 minutes

 

It is a recurring phenomenon that we tend to sort what comes in large amounts, to be able to grasp it, for quicker reference, and to find it again more easily. Once organized you don’t have to look at everything all the time but only consult the parts of your current interest. The vast world of type is a prime case. Grouping typefaces also breaks down the process of identifying them into a less challenging task.

Any categorization covers three aspects: 1. sorting into groups (this is what scholars and historians do, also type manufacturers), 2. referencing (educating) and 3. “taking out” or finding (this is what the user usually does). The aspect of finding a typeface though is crucial to many more people, every day, than the act of classifying them. You sort your CDs once and then only look at the respective shelf when you want to listen to Jazz for example. This is why I think a (more) useful classification is one that helps the user to find and select typefaces and which is structured accordingly.

 

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