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The Anatomy of Type

A Graphic Guide to 100 Typefaces.

Apr 24, 2026 - 10:52

Apr 29, 2026 - 12:05

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Foreword
Introduction
How to Use This Article
The Anatomy of Type
Type Classification at a Glance
Key Classification Features
Humanist Serif
Adobe Jenson
Cala
Bembo Book
FF Clifford
FF Scala
Lexicon
Minion
Garamond Premier
MVB Verdigris
Transitional Serif
Adobe Caslon
Baskerville Original
Mrs Eaves
Plantin
Arnhem
Times New Roman
Le Monde Journal
Rational Serif
Bauer Bodoni
ITC Bodoni
H&FJ Didot
Filosofia
Farnham
New Century Schoolbook
Miller
Eames Century Modern
Ingeborg
Melior
Contemporary Serif
Neue Swift
Skolar
Fedra Serif
FF Meta Serif
Doko
Inscribed/Engraved
Luxury Diamond
Albertus
Modesto
Trajan
Grotesque Sans
Bureau Grot
Knockout
FF Bau
Neo-Grotesque Sans
Univers
Neue Helvetica
Akkurat
National
Antique Olive
Gothic Sans
Bell Centennial
News Gothic
Benton Sans
Whitney
Geometric Sans
Futura ND
Avenir
Gotham
ITC Avant Garde Gothic
designrip/Metric
FF DIN
Interstate
Verlag
Klavika
MVB Solano Gothic
Forza
Humanist Sans
Gill Sans
FF Yoga Sans
Frutiger
Myriad
Verdana
Syntax
Cronos
TheSans
Auto
Optima
Beorcana
Neo-Humanist Sans
FF Meta
Amplitude
Fedra Sans
FF Dax
FF Balance
Grotesque Slab
Giza
Clarendon
Farao
Heron Serif
Geometric Slab
Archer
Neutraface Slab
Rockwell
Humanist Slab
PMN Caecilia
FF Unit Slab
Adelle
Freight Micro
Script
Kinescope
Studio Slant
Radio
Bickham Script
Tangier
Suomi Hand Script
Display
Nitti
Ed Interlock
Bree
Rumba
Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No.20
Heroic Condensed
Cabazon
SangBleu
Marian
Glossary of Typographic Terminology
Searchable Terms

Foreword

The bigger a group gets, the lower its intellectual common denominator falls. The average taste of a group is definitely worse than that of any individual member. One can always see this at board presentations, where the propensity to make decisions is affected by the group size. If a group discussion had a color, it would be beige.

If that group had to pick a typeface, it would be Arial — a face whose astonishing prevalence is largely due to its astonishing prevalence. We like best what we see most, which describes a type designer’s dilemma: a new typeface has to look like all the others — after all, an “a” has to look like an “a” — but it has to also have something more. Gimmicks don’t work, as they wear off quickly, and basing a whole alphabet on one idea also doesn’t fly. This is painfully apparent, for example, in a page set in Avant Garde Gothic, whose geometric shapes separate characters from each other rather than combine them into words. The flow of the letters is important: they have to be modest in each other’s company so we can read line after line of them. Details that stick out at large sizes may become invisible as the type gets smaller, but they can add warmth, texture, and, yes, character. Type adds the sound to the tunes other people write.

As most users of type are unaware of the fact that type designers even exist, they take it for granted that fonts live on their computers, having got there by some technical intervention or other. For those people, selecting the right typeface is easy: just pull down the menu in your favorite application and click on one of the many popular names that come up. The more familiar these names look, the less likely you are to make a mistake. For those who are a little more interested in what actually makes a typeface useful, even appropriate, advice is easily had from the columns of so-called specialist magazines and websites. But their advice is commonly safe and staid. Security means hiding among the crowd.

If you want to go beyond the beige choices, you need objective criteria that can make finding the right typeface for a project not only likely, but fun. Stephen Coles is one of those people who, like myself, suffers from Typomania — that incurable, but non-lethal, disease which makes you read type specimens instead of popular literature. Stephen also has a typographic memory: he not only remembers what he has seen in those specimens — be they books or websites — but he also recalls the names of thousands of typefaces and can point anybody who asks to the proper reference point. Scary, I know, but useful for those who really want and need to go beyond what that drop-down menu offers at first sight.

If you know the difference between a font and a typeface, you need This Article. If you don’t, you need it even more.

Erik Spiekermann

Introduction

This Article is all about looking at letters. Not just any letters, but the sets of letters that are designed together, in a systematic and harmonious way, to form a typeface.

What gives a typeface its personality? Why does one font appear bigger or clearer or darker or warmer than another? The answers to these questions can often be found by simply looking more closely at the letters themselves.

The performance of a Text typeface is best judged by viewing it — and using it — at its intended size in a passage of text. But just as typography (the use of type) is all about fussing over the details, the details of the typefaces themselves really do matter. Let’s put it another way: a chef doesn’t need to grow her own vegetables or raise her own cattle, but she can benefit from knowing how the ingredients were made.

When we enlarge a word or phrase that contains a typeface’s most distinctive glyphs, we unearth all sorts of information about what makes that typeface tick. We discover how the space inside and between letters is as important as the strokes of the letters themselves, and how the shape of one letter affects the shape of the others. We learn that seemingly minor attributes can affect the personality of the typeface as a whole, and we can surmise the decisions a type designer made to improve the economy, legibility, or originality of the design.

Once this knowledge is acquired, it becomes a valuable and instantly accessible piece of a type user’s skill set. Graphic designers who can scrutinize and describe type’s nuances are better equipped to pick the right tool for the job and discuss those choices with colleagues and clients.

In the following pages, you’ll find visual and interpretive descriptions of 100 typefaces. The selections were made with an emphasis on versatility and practical use. There are certainly more popular typefaces out there, or those with a more historically significant background, but each of the families represented here is relevant and useful in contemporary design. There is a mix of “classics,” based on metal typefaces dating back as far as 500 years, alongside newer releases that are either thoughtful reinterpretations of the classics or completely original designs. A glossary is included on page 9 to help you with some of the most frequently used terms.

While the focus is on Text type, there are also Display faces for setting large and grabbing attention. These were not chosen as mere novelties, but rather for their flexibility of use in a wide variety of settings.

The selections represent a wide range of foundries and designers from around the world, and every typeface was vetted for quality and design integrity. They are organized in a pragmatic way, sorted in groups that borrow some aspects from traditional, history-based classifications but without relying too heavily on dated dogma. Typefaces with similar visual characteristics are placed near each other, making it easy to compare designs and seek alternatives.

How to Use This Article

1. Typeface name

The typeface is the design of a full family of fonts. Variants, such as optical sizes (Display/Text), are noted where necessary below each sample. Digital formats (such as Pro and Std) are omitted because they generally specify a font product’s character set, not the design of the typeface.

2. Designer, Foundry, Country of origin, Release year, and Classification

The designer(s) of the typeface are credited as per the publishing foundry. For revivals, the designer of the original typeface is noted in parentheses.

The foundry is listed as per the publisher of the specific typeface shown. There may be versions of the typeface published by other foundries.

The country of origin gives a broad indication of where the typeface was developed.

The date indicates when the typeface was released, or, in some cases, designed. Multiple years indicate the release of variants or extensions. For revivals, the original design’s estimated release is displayed in parentheses.

The classification is listed as specified by This Article’s system. In some cases, a more specific subclass is noted.

3. Character set

An overview of the basic characters (uppercase, lowercase, numerals, and punctuation) in the specified font. Most fonts contain many more characters than are shown here. The specific font style used for the anatomy graphic is noted and distinctive glyphs are highlighted.

4. Anatomy graphic

A few of the typeface’s most distinctive glyphs and their distinguishing attributes. Sample words are generally from the language associated with the origins of the typeface.

5. Description

Brief notes about the background and overall character of the typeface, including thoughts about how the attributes highlighted in the anatomy graphic affect the design as a whole. Suggestions for best use are occasionally included.

6. Comparable typefaces

Similar typefaces used in This Article are shown with the sample glyphs for easy comparison. Familiar typefaces that are not given a spread in This Article are also included, suggesting possible alternatives to overused type.

The Anatomy of Type

Just like the human body, the Latin alphabet can take on a surprising range of shapes and proportions. These varieties can come from diverging historical paths, differences in language or culture, or simply the tool used to make the letters — whether it’s a pen, a chisel, or a compass.

But there are enough constants in roman (upright) letterforms that a standard vocabulary can label its parts. Using terms that are familiar to everyone who knows basic human anatomy, we can describe and compare typefaces. For example, most roman-based typefaces have an uppercase “R” with a leg. Some legs are perfectly straight, some are bowed, some have an undulating curve, and some end with a “foot” (or serif) on the ground (baseline). Each of these characteristics can contribute to the overall appearance of a typeface — how it changes the look of a word, a paragraph, or a page. And, just as importantly, they can be functional characteristics, telling us what a typeface is capable of.

There are many terms relating to type anatomy that have the same meaning across the typographic community. Chances are, when you say “leg,” or “serif,” or “baseline” everyone will know exactly what you mean. But there are other terms whose definitions vary, and there are designers and writers who will use different words for the same part of a letter. For This Article, we use terms that are as widespread and common as possible, and that help us identify the distinguishing parts of each typeface.

Type Classification at a Glance

The typefaces in This Article are arranged by classification. This makes similar designs easier to compare and introduces a vocabulary that will not only make you sound smart at parties, but will also help you identify, select, and combine typefaces.

But first, a warning: there is no universal classification system. Just like any attempt to apply a set of genres to creative work, be it music, literature, or art, typeface classification is inherently problematic. After all, type is not biology — a typeface doesn’t have a genetic code like plants or birds do.

That doesn’t mean people haven’t tried to create some order from the chaos. Scholars and typographic associations have been inventing new classification systems for nearly 100 years. Still, all of them are fraught with contradictions and controversy. These diverse bundles of letterforms simply have too many subtle variations and too few constants. And once you think you’ve corralled them into clear, distinguishable groups, a new typeface or style comes along that doesn’t fit in any of your bins.

Most classification systems avoid this problem by associating classifications with historical periods. While this is a good way to categorize many of the typefaces from the past, chronological methods become impractical when it comes to contemporary design. Art critics know this problem all too well: what comes after postmodern? Post-postmodern?

So, while there are the unavoidable links to history, we arranged the typefaces here into groups that are more closely tied to visual appearance. One could argue with any of these labels or sorting decisions — don’t be surprised if someone at your party balks when you describe Bodoni as Rational, not Modern — but hopefully it makes the selections easier to navigate and gives a good sense of the variety of type available. Armed with this knowledge, you can more articulately describe typefaces, draw comparisons, and decide which are the right ones for the job.

Humanist Serif
Very calligraphic, with a consistent stress angle and moderate stroke contrast. Bracketed, often asymmetrical serifs.

Transitional Serif
Slightly calligraphic, with variable stress angle and usually more stroke contrast. Bracketed serifs and bulbous terminals.

Rational Serif
A regularized structure with vertical stress and a moderate to high stroke contrast. Some typefaces have thin, unbracketed serifs. Ball terminals.

Contemporary Serif
Styles vary but most have a large x-height, low stroke contrast, and large chunky serifs. Very open apertures.

Inscribed/Engraved
Derived from chiseled or engraved letters. Low stroke contrast is common. Serifs can be wedge-shaped or similar to those of Humanist. Some have flared terminals.

Grotesque Sans
Similar in structure to Transitional or Rational Serif typefaces. Low stroke contrast and fairly regular proportions. Round shapes are often oval, not circular.

Neo-Grotesque Sans
Like Grotesque, but with more homogenous forms. Minimal stroke contrast. Closed apertures and horizontal terminals. Round shapes are more circular.

Gothic Sans
American variant of the Grotesque style, with simpler, more static forms. Usually with a large x-height, low stroke contrast, and condensed width.

Geometric Sans
Static and clinical. Constructed of shapes that are nearly circular or square. Minimal stroke contrast.

Humanist Sans
Counterpart to Humanist Serif. Calligraphic in structure, often with higher stroke contrast than other sans serifs. Open apertures.

Neo-Humanist Sans
Contemporary evolution of Humanist Sans. Larger x-height. Very open apertures. Usually less stroke contrast.

Grotesque Slab
Similar forms to Grotesque sans serifs but with heavy rectangular slab serifs. Closed apertures. Ball terminals are common.

Geometric Slab
Similar forms to Geometric sans serifs but with unbracketed rectangular slab serifs about the same weight as stems.

Humanist Slab
Similar forms to Humanist sans serifs but with unbracketed rectangular or wedge-shaped slab serifs.

Script
Any typeface that emulates handwriting, whether connected cursive or informal print.

Key Classification Features

The following examples indicate the key features that inform each typeface classification and will help you to identify which category a newly encountered typeface may belong to.

Humanist Serif

Typeface shown: Garamond Premier

The first roman typefaces following centuries of handwritten forms, Humanist serifs have close ties to calligraphy. An oblique stress, gradually modulating from thick to thin, shows evidence of a pen held at a consistent angle. That angle is often echoed in letters topped with calligraphic terminals and finished with asymmetrical serifs that gently transition from the stem.

Humanist letters were initially written with a broad-nib pen held at a consistent angle. The weight of each stroke is determined by the stroke’s direction. This is known as “translation.”

Transitional Serif

Typeface shown: Baskerville 10

As we move further away from type’s calligraphic roots, contrast increases and the stress axis turns more upright and variable within each typeface rather than staying consistent as it does in the Humanist serifs. Letters in these typefaces are more regular in shape and proportion and apertures are slightly smaller. Transitional serifs still have a gradual, bracketed transition from the stem, and terminals are often bulbous.

Rational Serif

Typeface shown: H&FJ Didot

At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Humanists, Rational serifs have a strong, vertical contrast between thick vertical stems and fine horizontal hairlines. Because these typefaces are not so much written as “constructed,” their letterforms are very even in proportion and structure. Serifs are generally symmetrical, and can be bracketed, like Melior and Miller, or thin and abrupt, like the “Didones” (Bodoni and Didot).

Most Rational typefaces are drawn, not written, but their origins still come from the pen. Using a method called “expansion,” stroke weight is defined by the pressure applied to a pointed pen.

Contemporary Serif

Typeface shown: Neue Swift

In the last 40 years, type designers have borrowed the most pragmatic aspects of the previous styles to develop a new breed of highly functional Text faces, designed to solve the problems of various substrates and reading environments. These designs generally sport a much larger x-height and lower stroke contrast than traditional serif typefaces, but are otherwise not directly related. They range from the spatially economical Swift to the informal and energetic Doko.

Inscribed/Engraved

Typeface shown: Albertus

Unlike the other serif styles, derived from the stroke of a pen or brush, the typefaces in this category have a closer relationship to letters that are carved or chiseled from stone (also known as “Glyphic”), or engraved on a hard surface like copper or steel. These typefaces can end their “strokes” with long, graceful serifs (Trajan), sharp wedge serifs (Modesto), or no serif at all, but a thickening flare instead (Albertus).

Grotesque Sans

Typeface shown: Bureau Grot

When sans serif printing type first appeared in the early to mid-1800s, some found the style so strange they called it “grotesque.” These typefaces kept the nickname even after they gained popularity and Grotesque (or “Grotesk” in German-speakers) is now associated with any sans serif in this early style. The characteristics of Grotesque typefaces are similar to those of the Transitional and Rational serifs: regular proportions, relatively static forms based on the oval, and fairly closed apertures, with some strokes turning inward.

Neo-Grotesque Sans

Typeface shown: Neue Helvetica

Neo-Grotesques (Neo-Grotesk in German-speaking parts of Europe) are even more rationalized extensions of the Grotesque style. These typefaces, pioneered by Helvetica and Univers, have very little stroke contrast, horizontal terminals, and quite closed apertures. Their homogenized forms are graphically appealing at large sizes, so they often fare better in Display settings.

Gothic Sans

Typeface shown: News Gothic

Some English and American variants of the Grotesque style are known as Gothics. While the differences are sometimes in name alone, there are a few distinctions that can be drawn (at least from the selections in This Article). These include a large x-height, forms that are simpler and more static, very low contrast, and often a condensed width with an upright stance derived from flat-sided rounds. Typefaces like DIN — designed by engineers for industrial use — could be considered Geometric sans serifs but also share many traits with these Gothics.

Geometric Sans

Typeface shown: Futura ND

The most static and clinical of all the classifications, Geometric sans serifs are “constructed” out of geometric forms with round parts that are circular or square. It’s important to note that, while shapes like the “o” appear to be exactly round, most proper typefaces do not contain perfect circles, but are optically corrected to appear as round as possible while harmonious with other letters. Geometrics have minimal stroke contrast, and italics are commonly slanted versions of the romans rather than cursive in form.

Humanist Sans

Typeface shown: Cronos

Like their serif counterparts, Humanist sans serifs have roots in calligraphy. Their round, dynamic, open forms have higher stroke contrast than the other sans serif classifications (though not as much as most serifs). These typefaces sometimes share the binocular “g” and variable letter widths of their serif sisters. Their italics are “true italics” with cursive forms of “a,” “g,” “e,” and sometimes a descending “f.”

Neo-Humanist Sans

Typeface shown: FF Meta

The digital era gave birth to new sans serifs that share characteristics with other classifications but are individual enough to deserve a label of their own. Many of these have a dynamic structure that could be considered an evolution of the Humanist sans, but stroke contrast is reduced and apertures are even more open. The round shapes of typefaces in this category tend to be more square than their predecessors and x-heights are larger on the whole.

Grotesque Slab

Typeface shown: Clarendon

If one were to weigh the typical example of each classification, these bulky beasts would tip the scale furthest. They aren’t simply Grotesque sans serifs with slab serifs slapped on, but these typefaces do reflect the proportions, structure, and stroke contrast of their serifless counterparts. Ball terminals are common among Grotesque slabs, as are heavy bracketed serifs and closed apertures. The effect of these attention grabbers can be decorative and eye-catching, and usually very bold.

Geometric Slab

Typeface shown: Neutraface Slab

These slab serifs share the geometrically round or square shapes of their sans counterparts. Rectangular serifs are unbracketed and generally the same weight as the stems. In fact, all strokes are essentially of the same weight, lacking any perceptible contrast. The “R” leg is a straight diagonal and “g” is normally of the monocular form.

Humanist Slab

Typeface shown: PMN Caecilia

Put simply, you could take a Humanist sans serif and add unbracketed, rectangular serifs and get pretty close to a Humanist slab. These typefaces often have less stroke contrast than their sans counterparts, and the serifs are sometimes wedge shaped.

Script

Typeface shown: Tangier

Traditionally, a script typeface emulates handwriting, whether its letters are a graceful, connected cursive or the staccato scribbles of a daily shopping list. Besides formal and informal categories, scripts can also be sorted by the writing tool, such as pen or brush. Script fonts have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years thanks to technical developments like OpenType. Discretionary ligatures and contextual alternatives yield a more convincing emulation of real handwriting and offer a variety of decorative options.

Humanist Serif

Adobe Jenson

Designer: (Nicolas Jenson, Ludovico degli Arrighi) Robert Slimbach // Foundry: Adobe Country of origin: (Italy) United States // Release years: (1470) 1995–2000 // Classification: Venetian Humanist Serif

Made in the Renaissance period, Nicolas Jenson’s typeface is one of the very first with roman lettershapes. It is called a Venetian serif, distinguished from other Humanist serifs by its obviously calligraphic construction and its angled, beaked “e.” There are many interpretations of Jenson’s work, but Adobe’s is one of the most visually appealing and functional. It has four complete subfamilies (called “optical sizes”) to emulate the size-specific designs of the original metal type. Among these, Caption is dark with sturdy serifs and low stroke contrast for small text, whereas Display is light and delicate, with fine details and long extenders for lovely titles. Good for: Any text, short or long, that calls for a rich, flowery perfume.

Cala

Designer: Dieter Hofrichter // Foundry: Hoftype // Country of origin: Germany // Release year: 2011 Classification: Venetian Humanist Serif

Cala is a contemporary Venetian. Dieter Hofrichter retained the unique characteristics of the Renaissance serif — the tilting “e,” the calligraphic strokes with soft ends and blunt serifs — but stripped out the more decorative details. Its proportions are more modern as well, with a slightly larger x-height and cap widths that are more in tune with today’s readers (compare to Jenson’s “E,” “H,” and “Z”). While Adobe Jenson calls direct attention to its antique roots, Cala just nods to them. Good for: Subject matter with one foot in the past and one in the present. Websites with a historical focus.

Bembo Book

Designer: (Aldus Manutius, Francesco Griffo) Monotype staff // Foundry: Monotype

Country of origin: (Italy) United Kingdom // Release year: (1495) 2005 // Classification: Venetian Humanist Serif

Bembo is the most popular of the Renaissance serifs, frequently called upon for setting elegant book text ever since it was cut by Monotype in 1929. The digital version, however, is a feeble shadow of the metal type. Like so many of the revivals that appeared in desktop publishing’s early years, Bembo is far too delicate for modern printing, and certainly for the screen. Monotype went back to the digital drawing board for Bembo Book, which retains the proper weight of the original. It also offers a very welcome alternative “R” with a leg that doesn’t stretch so far, thereby not creating gaps or tripping its neighbors. Good for: Long text on good, soft paper. Historical novels.

FF Clifford

Designer: Akira Kobayashi // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: Japan, Germany // Release year: 1999

Classification: Humanist Serif, Dutch/English Transitional Serif

Award-winning Japanese designer Akira Kobayashi was disappointed with the weak digital versions of classic metal typefaces so he sought to make his own. Although his inspiration was an 18th-century typeface by Scottish typefounder Alexander Wilson, FF Clifford is entirely his own design. Its dark color, bulbous terminals, and large lowercase make for a very pleasurable reading experience. There is also a distinctive hand-drawn quality to these letters — stems are slightly bowed, serifs are cupped, and there isn’t a perfectly straight line to be found. FF Clifford comes in optical sizes (6, 9, and 18) with romans and italics, but no bold, emphasizing the intended purpose. Good for: Text about the natural world or stuff made by hand.

FF Scala

Designer: Martin Majoor // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: The Netherlands // Release year: 1990 Classification: Dutch/French Humanist Serif

While serif types like FF Clifford are warm and curvaceous, FF Scala is hard-edged and constructed. Released in 1990, but designed several years earlier, FF Scala is one of the first typefaces in this style to be designed specifically on and for the computer. Its shapes reflect that fact, with straight lines, rectangular, unbracketed serifs, and sharp points. These aspects are less stark at Text sizes, but the overall effect is a very fresh, modern feeling despite a calligraphic structure that is essentially hundreds of years old. The simplified contours make FF Scala an excellent screen typeface. It truly is an old-style serif for the digital world. Good for: Modern art exhibition catalogs and websites.

Lexicon

Designer: Bram de Does // Foundry: Enschedé // Country of origin: The Netherlands // Release year: 1992 Classification: Dutch Humanist/Transitional Serif

Lexicon was created specifically for dictionaries. As such, it is optimized for maximum readability in a minimum of space. It achieves this using methods that have become identified with Dutch type design: a calligraphic yet efficient construction, narrow width, and very light junctions where curved strokes meet stems, allowing ink to spread without affecting legibility. Despite these functional aspects, Lexicon has a graceful flow that is quite appealing at any size: No.1 has very short extenders, maximizing spatial economy; No.2 offers longer extenders when space isn’t at such a premium. The two variants share the same width, so you can switch without text reflow. Good for: Dictionaries, Bibles, timetables, newspapers, and other dense text.

Minion

Designer: Robert Slimbach // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: United States // Release year: 1990 Classification: Venetian/French Humanist Serif

Minion is perhaps the most vanilla of serif typefaces. This isn’t necessarily a negative — often the goal of a text face is to make as little aesthetic impact as possible. Minion does just that. It can be your everyday hardworking, utilitarian serif. In many ways, Minion is a modernized Garamond or Bembo: the x-height is larger, counters and apertures are more open, serifs are chunkier, and superfluous details are reduced. These effects are maximized in the Caption version, meant for small sizes. For large type, Display is more like its historical models: delicate, with lengthened extenders and sharper serifs. Good for: When you really don’t want anyone to notice the type.

Garamond Premier

Designer: (Claude Garamond, Robert Granjon) Robert Slimbach // Foundry: Adobe Country of origin: (France) United States // Release year: 2005 // Classification: French Humanist Serif

Refined and readable, Garamond is probably the most popular of the Humanist serifs. Longtime users of Adobe apps will be familiar with Robert Slimbach’s first crack at this classic typeface, Adobe Garamond, but Garamond Premier is a major improvement. The most important difference is that Slimbach drew separate subfamilies (optical sizes) corresponding to different sizes of metal type. This lets Garamond’s delicate beauty stretch out in headlines but not break apart when small. Despite a subdued character in Caption and Regular (Text) sizes, Garamond is never dull by any means. Use with care: it has a formal personality that might not fit more casual topics. Good for: Infusing a document with importance, reverence, or poetry.

MVB Verdigris

Designer: Mark van Bronkhorst // Foundry: MVB Fonts // Country of origin: United States Release years: 2003, 2010, 2012 // Classification: French Humanist Serif

When type was metal or wood, every font was a specific size. The scalability of photo and digital type was a productivity boon, but much was lost in the process. Modern interpretations of classic metal typefaces were based on a single size and they often replicated the metal face itself, not the richness and weight of the type’s impression on paper. The result was anemic and fragile. MVB Verdigris is a direct response to these shortcomings. A distinguished Garalde inspired by 16th-century punchcutters, MVB Verdigris comes in a sturdy, functional version for text and a handsome, high-contrast version for titling. Typographic niceties abound, including a set of useful “mid caps” sized between full and small caps. This is truly a text serif for the digital age.

Transitional Serif

Adobe Caslon

Designer: (William Caslon) Carol Twombly // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: (United Kingdom) United States Release years: (1725) 1990–1992 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Ever since its release at the height of the DTP age, Adobe Caslon has been the “default” serif for many designers. In fact, the original metal type was also a printer’s standby for many years, as evidenced by the expression “when in doubt, use Caslon.” The typeface is now so familiar, it simply feels right most of the time — though it could seem slightly antique for some settings. Caslon is one of the first typefaces to show hints of a transition from pen-based shapes to constructed letterforms. Adobe’s interpretation emphasizes those aspects for a fairly even texture overall, especially in the italic where the slant is very consistent. (Those wanting a darker, hand-cut option might like Font Bureau’s Williams Caslon.) Good for: Nearly anything, though not intended for large sizes.

Baskerville Original

Designer: (John Baskerville) František Štorm // Foundry: Storm // Country of origin: (United Kingdom) Czech Republic Release year: (1750s–1760s) 2006 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Baskerville is the quintessential Transitional serif, positioned neatly between the dynamic calligraphy of the Humanists and the static construction of the Rationalists. Like many of the old-style serifs, there are a few digital versions, but all fall woefully short of the original design by attempting to create a one-size-fits-all typeface from the variety of metal sizes. František Štorm’s family is not only more functional, with large and small optical sizes, but also revives Baskerville’s handsome, vigorous spirit. These rich curves feel crafted by hand, not computer. Dashing — maybe even exuberant — Baskerville has been known to steal the show, so be sure the content fits it (or doesn’t mind playing second fiddle). Good for: Debonair swagger.

Mrs Eaves

Designer: Zuzana Licko // Foundry: Emigre // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1996 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Zuzana Licko’s reimagining of Baskerville is named after the housekeeper of John Baskerville who later became his wife. The typeface has a very low x-height and prominent serifs, which makes the lowercase appear quite squat, with a horizontal emphasis. There is also much less sparkling contrast than Baskerville. But otherwise Mrs Eaves is quite dainty and ladylike. The long ascenders and sharp details make it less of a daily workhorse and more of the fine china used only when hosting important guests. The place setting gets even more fancy when one incorporates the frilly lace of Mrs Eaves’s ligatures, many of which go beyond the functional (a solution for colliding letters) to the flamboyant (pure decoration). Good for: Special occasions.

Plantin

Designer: (Robert Granjon) Frank Hinman Pierpont // Foundry: Monotype // Country of origin: (The Netherlands) United Kingdom // Release year: (1700) 1914 // Classification: Transitional Serif

There are many vestiges of the Humanist pen in Plantin, particularly in the terminal of its quaint “a” or the consistently triangular serifs atop stems. But there are elements that don’t fit those early types: the stunted extenders, the chunky serifs, and the large counters of the “a” and “e.” These contradictions come from a blend of two eras: 16th-century samples from Granjon reshaped to meet the early 20th-century needs of a darker, sturdier face for modern paper. The shortened proportions made Plantin a good newspaper typeface, and a condensed version, News Plantin, was developed for the Observer in London. It was also a model for Times New Roman. Good for: Serious, expedient content, delivered with authority and a bit of charm.

Arnhem

Designer: Fred Smeijers // Foundry: OurType // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release year: 2001 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Borrowing what Dutch type design has learned from centuries of letterform experimentation, Fred Smeijers has achieved a perfect balance of function and beauty. In fact, it’s a great example of how beauty comes from function. Arnhem was created for a newspaper, but unlike most news faces it is lively and attractive. This is due mostly to its higher contrast (in all the right places) and its ball terminals and pointed serifs. These “pretty” details all have a purpose: compensating for ink spread on newsprint and giving text a substantial, but not clunky, weight. Arnhem also sports an unusually large x-height for a serif, which enables not only dense text, but also a more harmonious fit with most sans serifs. Good for: Magazines. Forward-thinking newspapers.

Times New Roman

Designer: Stanley Morison, Victor Lardent, or (disputed) Starling Burgess // Foundry: Monotype Country of origin: United Kingdom // Release year: 1932 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Times New Roman is one of today’s most familiar and often-used typefaces. It owes its ubiquity to being standard issue in digital publishing systems for many years, but the design’s original intended destination was newsprint, not laser paper. Created for The Times of London, it is derived from Plantin, but is decidedly more modern, with high contrast and thin serifs. Those details, and peculiarities like its relatively wide and heavy caps, make it less suitable for everyday typesetting — which is ironic, given its status. On modern substrates, Times is actually better in Display settings than Text, where Times Ten fares better. Fresher alternatives are Starling (Font Bureau, 2009) and Le Monde Journal. Good for: A non-designed, conventional office-document look.

Le Monde Journal

Designer: Jean François Porchez // Foundry: Porchez Typofonderie // Country of origin: France Release years: 1997–2008 // Classification: Transitional Serif

Jean François Porchez’s commission for the Le Monde newspaper is a perfect example of learning from and improving on historical type. Le Monde Journal is a Times New Roman for the 21st century. Counters and apertures are much more open (“illuminated from the inside,” as Porchez puts it); minimal wedges replace curved brackets; and the x-height is even larger. The overall effect is the color and flavor of a typeface readers are used to seeing in newsprint, but with better readability and a more contemporary feel. There are a broad range of extra weights designed to respond to subtle variations in substrates, plus a superfamily of companions: Sans, Courier (slab), and Livre (larger text and titling). Good for: Small or space-saving text. Publication design.

Rational Serif

New Century Schoolbook

Bauer Bodoni

Designer: (Giambattista Bodoni) Heinrich Jost // Foundry: Bauer Type Foundry, Neufville, Bitstream Country of origin: (Italy) Germany // Release year: (1790) 1926 // Classification: Didone Serif

Bodoni is the most typical Rational serif, and Bauer Bodoni is perhaps the most typical Bodoni. It has everything we associate with the style: heavy strokes that abruptly reduce to hairlines, long, thin serifs, and distinct ball terminals on the “a,” “c,” “f,” “g,” “r,” and “y.” It appears constructed, rather than written, with only a few letters — such as the leg of the “R” or the tail of the “Q” — directly referencing the stroke of a pen. This font’s use is limited, though. It will fall apart if set small or reversed (light type on dark backgrounds). So, this Bodoni is best used simply, letting its delicate details play their part on a large, uncomplicated stage. Good for: Elegant headlines. Fancy packaging.

ITC Bodoni

Designer: (Giambattista Bodoni) Janice Fishman, Holly Goldsmith, Jim Parkinson, Sumner Stone // Foundry: ITC Country of origin: (Italy) United States // Release year: (1790) 1994 // Classification: Didone Serif

Of the many attempts to capture Giambattista Bodoni’s classic type, ITC Bodoni is the most accurate and versatile. What sets it apart from other digitizations is the close reproduction of three different sizes of metal type. A team of four type designers produced a true revival, reflecting the subtleties of Bodoni — from the rough, hand-cut contours in the Six size (for small text) to the exuberant italic swashes in Seventytwo (for display). With its reduced contrast in the text weights, ITC Bodoni is a Bodoni you can set small without fear of disappearing hairlines. It has a warmth and hand-crafted feeling that is absent from most Bodoni interpretations, and is thus a very different face overall. Good for: When other Didones would dissolve.

H&FJ Didot

Designer: (Firmin Didot) Jonathan Hoefler // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: (France) United States Release year: (1784–1811) 1991 as HTF Didot // Classification: Didone Serif

Of the two progenitors of the Rationalist approach — Bodoni and Didot — Didot is the more extreme. This is the furthest traditional serif type gets from calligraphic form. While most digital versions of typefaces represent just one optical size, limiting their use, H&FJ Didot offers seven. This is the result of a Harper’s Bazaar commission for a new version of the face that had long been a signature of the magazine. The redesign team asked Hoefler for a family that maintained its hairline serifs over a range of sizes. Hoefler delivered seven optical sizes, each with three weights and corresponding italics. With this arsenal one can set H&FJ Didot at 6 or 96 point and it still looks like Didot. Good for: Fashion, wine, the expensive and romantic.

Filosofia

Designer: Zuzana Licko // Foundry: Emigre // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1996 // Classification: Didone Serif

While Filosofia is clearly inspired by Bodoni, it departs in many ways. Zuzana Licko’s invention has less contrast than most digital Bodonis, and the modulation from thick to thin is more gradual. Strokes have soft, round ends, in contrast to the abruptness of other Didones. Also, unlike Bodoni and Didot, the “s” has ball terminals — and this single distinguishing glyph has a major effect on the typeface as a whole, giving it a more ornamented, yet informal flair. All this adds up to a casual, affable attitude, relative to others in this class. Bodoni and Didot are rarified city dwellers, top-hatted patrons of the high arts. Filosofia is pretty and polite, but comes from the country. Good for: Artisanal baked goods. Fine jams and preserves.

Farnham

Designer: (Johann Fleischman) Christian Schwartz // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: (The Netherlands) United States // Release year: (mid-to-late 1700s) 2004 // Classification: Transitional/Rational Serif

Farnham is full of energy and tension. So many ideas are tossed into a single design: angled and vertical contrast, wedges, rectangles, and balls. Though some of these concepts seem to contradict each other, they all add up to a vibrant typeface that sparkles on the page without overwhelming the text. This usability comes from Christian Schwartz’s pragmatic approach. Inspired by the eccentric work of 18th-century designer Johann Fleischman, Schwartz harmonized widths and shapes, opened apertures, and toned things down throughout. He let loose in the Display italic swashes. Farnham isn’t a neutral workhorse by any means, but it is surprisingly versatile, with separate Text and Display versions and lots of weights. Good for: Making the boring interesting.

New Century Schoolbook

Designer: (Morris Fuller Benton) Linotype staff // Foundry: Linotype // Country of origin: United States Release year: (1917–1923) 1980 // Classification: Rational Serif

For millions of Americans (and many others), New Century Schoolbook inspires memories of childhood days. The variation on Century was designed for educational texts and it quickly became the standard for any book intended for the youth demographic. So, the friendly, comfortable feeling of the typeface could come from a nostalgic familiarity more than any visual characteristic. Still, these letters are comfortable ones. The construction is Rational in its contrast and regularity, but no characteristic is too extreme. The large counters and ball terminals also lend a geniality, and shapes are quite round, emphasized by closed apertures. Good for: Reminiscing. Gentle instruction. Putting readers at ease.

Miller

Designer: Matthew Carter, Tobias Frere-Jones, Cyrus Highsmith // Foundry: Font Bureau Country of origin: United States // Release years: 1997–2000 // Classification: Rational Serif

Miller comes from a style of Scottish type that is now frequently called Scotch Roman. Like other Rational serifs, there is moderate vertical stroke contrast and regular construction, but the serifs are particularly robust. It’s relatively narrow, too, although that isn’t obvious at first glance, making Miller popular among publication designers who appreciate sturdiness and spatial economy. There are various details — like the “a” tail or “k” leg — that give the face a historical touch, lending a sense of authority. Since its release in 1997 Font Bureau has expanded Miller to include versions for various headline sizes, giving magazines and newspapers even more reasons to build their designs around the family. Good for: News and other weighty content.

Eames Century Modern

Designer: Erik van Blokland // Foundry: House Industries // Country of origin: The Netherlands, United States Release year: 2010 // Classification: Rational Serif

Although its namesakes never made a typeface, this is an appropriate tribute. The work of Charles and Ray Eames was always tinged with levity, and Erik van Blokland’s play on the New Century Schoolbook style is a lively one indeed. Its frisky qualities are particularly visible in its extreme weights, but you can see them in the Regular too. Tails curve inward. Ball terminals proudly dangle. Many letters have a large upper body and low waist, giving the slightest comic effect. The “e,” with its big eye, seems to smile. Perhaps these personifications are exaggerations, but this face is not as sober as Century Schoolbook or Clarendon (another close relative). Once the bell rings and you’re done with your Schoolbook, this is what you take out for fun. Good for: Well-crafted whimsy.

Ingeborg

Designer: Michael Hochleitner // Foundry: Typejockeys // Country of origin: Austria Release year: 2009 // Classification: Rational Serif

Most people will likely encounter Ingeborg’s showy Display variants: the decorative fill and shadow of Block, and the buxom swashes of Fat Italic. These are indeed finely crafted crowd-pleasers, but the typeface’s more important contribution to typography is in the text weights. Michael Hochleitner managed to comfortably combine the neoclassical glamour of Didones, the readability of other Rational typefaces like the Scotch Romans, and the sturdiness of a slab serif. The result is a very original design that is both beautiful and practical. Good for: Books. Magazines. Substance and style.

Melior

Designer: Hermann Zapf // Foundry: D. Stempel AG, Linotype // Country of origin: Germany Release year: 1952 // Classification: Rational Serif

Melior is one of the few serif typefaces with round forms based on the superellipse, an oval with nearly flat sides. This squarish shape is much more common in sans serifs, particularly Grotesques and square Geometrics, making Melior an unusually harmonious serif companion for typefaces like Univers and Eurostile. The superellipse — also common in Hermann Zapf’s lettering for book covers — can feel dated, perhaps because it brings to mind the shape of a vintage TV screen. Melior’s rounded terminals (“a,” “e,” “r”) are also typical of the soft, unfocused type of the phototype era. Still, Melior remains a unique typeface, a milestone of its time with ideas that are still rare in new designs. Good for: Sober, readable text. Referencing the 1960s–80s.

Contemporary Serif

Neue Swift

Designer: Gerard Unger // Foundry: Linotype // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release years: 1985 (Swift), 1995 (Swift 2.0), 2009 // Classification: Contemporary Serif

Wedge-shaped serifs (like the wings of the bird that give Neue Swift its name), along with the large x-height and open apertures, were remedies for the poor quality of newspaper printing in the 1980s. They also produce a strong horizontal flow, appropriate for quick, easy reading. These functional aspects gave the typeface a very distinctive look and were soon seen as aesthetic advantages for branding and magazines, where they added a fresh crispness to text. Gerard Unger and others have improved and expanded the typeface over the years, and the current version has more weights than the original. See also Matthew Carter’s Charter, which was developed around the same time and features similar design ideas.

Skolar

Designer: David Březina // Foundry: TypeTogether // Country of origin: Czech Republic Release year: 2009 // Classification: Contemporary Serif

While Skolar has conventional bones — a standard Humanist skeleton with short caps — its muscles make it new. The very low contrast and hefty serifs follow a contemporary trend that began with typefaces like Fedra Serif. But unlike Fedra, Skolar goes easy on the eccentricity. Its main calling card is the prominent beak serifs found on the “a” and “s.” Though these reduce apertures, they successfully add to the dark color of the type without hindering legibility. Another key trait is the angularity of the counters in many glyphs, which contradict their smooth outlines and create a vigorous tension. This technique has become a signature of the MA Typeface Design program at the UK’s Reading University, where David Březina created Skolar.

Fedra Serif

Designer: Peter Bilak // Foundry: Typotheque // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release years: 2003–2009 // Classification: Humanist Serif

Matching the proportions of its highly original sans companion, Fedra Serif broke ground as a text face with an unusually high x-height, low contrast, and large counters and apertures. These attributes were a response to coarse rendering systems and a reflection of modern tastes. Yet the typeface resists cold austerity thanks to its Humanist structure. This combination of ideas was part of a movement that began in the early 21st century and continues today, represented by many of the faces in This Article’s “Contemporary Serif” class. Fedra Serif is a unique member of this clan, with distinctive details (open bowls, diamond dots) but also a width-matching family (Fedra Serif B) with more traditional proportions and contrast. Good for: Dense but dynamic text. Very small type.

FF Meta Serif

Designer: Erik Spiekermann, Christian Schwartz, Kris Sowersby // Foundry: FontFont Country of origin: Germany // Release year: 2007 // Classification: Contemporary Serif

Erik Spiekermann’s response to demand for a serif version of his most popular typeface is this collaboration with Christian Schwartz and Kris Sowersby. FF Meta Serif is much more than FF Meta with serifs. The typeface retains some of FF Meta’s charm, but is slightly more restrained, a capable workhorse in nearly any context. Despite this moderate approach, FF Meta Serif sports some distinctive features: squared terminals on “a” and “s,” robust serifs, contemporary proportions, and of course the trademark open-bowled “g.” Not only do the FF Meta companions play well together, but they were also designed to work with FF Unit and FF Unit Slab, forming a multifaceted palette for complex hierarchies.

Doko

Designer: Ondrej Jób // Foundry: Urdt // Country of origin: Slovakia, The Netherlands Release year: 2011 // Classification: Contemporary Serif

Doko takes the Contemporary Humanist serif to playful extremes. Inspired by the hand-lettering of cartoons and informal illustration, it dances on the line between expressiveness and functionality, Display type and Text type. As Ondrej Jób’s project originated at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, one can see evidence of Dutch pioneers in Doko — such as the pointed brushlike terminals of Lexicon or the minimal contrast and proportions of Fedra Serif. But Doko’s top-heavy body and animated swash italic adds a chipper, lighthearted vibe to the bloodline. Despite all the frivolity, Doko is built like a standard text family: regular and bold with italics and multiple figure styles. Good for: Making something fun, light-hearted, or approachable.

Inscribed/Engraved

Luxury Diamond

Designer: Christian Schwartz, Dino Sanchez // Foundry: House Industries // Country of origin: United States Release years: 2002–2006 // Classification: Engraved

When Luxury first launched it had a price tag of $1,500 for three fonts. Of course, it was a tongue-in-cheek conceptual stunt, a comment on the exclusivity of brands like Prada, Chanel, and Gucci. The fonts were later reissued by House Industries with conventional pricing. Publicity gimmicks aside, the designs are a brilliant celebration (or mockery) of common trends in luxury branding. The most recognizable of the three typefaces is Luxury Diamond, an encapsulation metal engraving style, with its long triangular serifs, wide stance, and decorative details like the notched “R” and curvaceous figures. There is also a Text family with a full lowercase character set. Good for: Raising a product’s perceived value. Filling horizontal space.

Albertus

Designer: Berthold Wolpe // Foundry: Monotype // Country of origin: United Kingdom Release year: 1940 // Classification: Inscribed

In 1932, Monotype’s Stanley Morison asked Berthold Wolpe to create a typeface based on his inscriptional lettering. The result is Albertus, a design that shows clear signs of its carved origins. The model letters were raised from the surface of bronze tablets, not debossed, which may explain the unusual angular shape of the counters, which were carved out of the lettershapes rather than the other way around. Flared terminals — in lieu of conventional serifs — were also a result of this technique. Albertus has become one of the trademarks of London, used for many of its street signs and official placards. Good for: An official or ceremonial aura, without the pomposity of Trajan. Emulating wood-or stone-carved letters.

Modesto

Designer: Jim Parkinson // Foundry: Parkinson // Country of origin: United States Release years: 2000–2003 // Classification: Glyphic

Jim Parkinson has made a habit of translating the styles of hand-letterers and sign-painters — particularly those of America — to typefaces. Modesto incorporates various elements of early 20th-century lettering, with its simplified, monolinear Gothic construction, short descenders, bowed “A,” and tiny serifs. The family features a carnival of options, from narrow to wide, and inlined to outlined. And despite Modesto’s natural proclivity for Display settings, there are Text weights. These happen to be an interesting option for anyone who seeks a lowercase in the style of Copperplate Gothic, the popular turn-of-the-century typeface with a similar structure and serifs. Good for: An antique, handmade feel. Wholesome, vintage Americana.

Trajan

Designer: Carol Twombly // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1989 // Classification: Inscribed

Trajan is synonymous with drama. This association is partly a result of Trajan’s overuse in movie posters — it has become the subject of internet parodies and design conference lectures. But these letters are pretty dramatic on their own — from the classical capitalis monumentalis proportions to the long, sweeping strokes and serifs. Carol Twombly’s source was Trajan’s Column, an early 2nd-century monument in Rome. While the letters were inscribed into stone with a chisel, recent research suggests that they were first painted with a brush, which explains their graceful serifs. There are many other interpretations of this style, including Goudy, Pietra, Waters Titling, and Penumbra. Good for: Drama, of course. Majesty. Momentous events.

Grotesque Sans

Bureau Grot

Knockout

FF Bau

Bureau Grot

Designer: David Berlow, Jill Pichotta, Christian Schwartz, Richard Lipton // Foundry: Font Bureau Country of origin: United States // Release years: 1989–1993 (Bureau Grotesque) 2006 // Classification: Grotesque Sans

The English Grotesques that inspired Bureau Grot come from the 19th century, when sans serifs had a warmth and life that was slowly drained from them as modernism took hold. Shapes are irregular and organic, modulating strokes curve in toward the body and terminate at varying angles. All of this gives David Berlow’s typeface a dynamic, energetic feeling. Ever since its release as Bureau Grotesque in 1989, the multi-weight, multi-width family has been popular with newspapers and magazines who have enjoyed having a style to fit any space. It was expanded even further in 2006, and the fonts were revised and given more conventional names. Good for: Lively headlines of nearly any dimension.

Knockout

Designer: Jonathan Hoefler // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1994 // Classification: Grotesque Sans

Knockout was, like Bureau Grot, influenced by sans serifs of the 1800s and early 1900s, many of which were wood types, each designed separately for a specific weight and width, and not necessarily in the same family. Jonathan Hoefler brought these varying designs into one unifying family yet retained their individualism where appropriate. So, any single style we show above will be slightly unlike the others, whether it’s the flat terminals of the narrow fonts that give them a compact, upright stature, or the dramatically increased contrast in the bold fonts that lets them appear even heavier. This wide range of personalities and dimensions can make Knockout even more versatile than a larger, more homogenous family. Good for: Just about any design but the most modern.

FF Bau

Designer: (Unknown) Christian Schwartz // Foundry: (Schelter & Giesecke) FontFont // Country of origin: (Germany) USA Release year: (late 1800s to early 1900s) 2002 // Classification: Grotesque Sans

The roots of Helvetica — such as Schelter & Giesecke’s late 19th-century “Grotesk” — are much warmer and more irregular than the calculated modernist icon that would follow. FF Bau is a revival of that early Grot, a mainstay of the celebrated Bauhaus in Dessau. Christian Schwartz closely followed the three original weights and added a “Super” heavy weight, which required some changes in form, but retains the tailed “a,” unlike Helvetica’s bolds. This, along with the other angled, outward-facing terminals, can make FF Bau more handmade and dynamic — and maybe more antique, depending on the context and use. Good for: When Helvetica is too cold or perfect.

Neo-Grotesque Sans

Univers

Designer: Adrian Frutiger // Foundry: Deberny & Peignot, Linotype // Country of origin: France, Germany Release year: 1957 // Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans

Released in the same year as Helvetica, Adrian Frutiger’s masterpiece is the first multi-width, multi-weight superfamily designed as a consistent system from the beginning. The release was promoted by a multicolored grid diagram that is still well-known and imitated today. To achieve the pioneering uniformity throughout the family, Frutiger created a core design that is quite spare, allowing for the extensive variations in weight and width. Univers is therefore a very neutral typeface, delivering readable text while drawing very little attention to itself. Univers Next is a modern reworking of the family that was initially optimized for photo, not digital typesetting. Good for: A clear, neutral vessel for unfettered communication.

Neue Helvetica

Designer: (Max Miedinger, Eduard Hoffmann) Linotype staff // Foundry: (Haas) Linotype Country of origin: (Switzerland) Germany // Release year: (1957) 1983 // Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans

More than 50 years since its release, Helvetica is the world’s most widely known typeface. Its popularity is due in part to its attempt at idealized construction: contrast is minimal; strokes terminate at 90° angles; letter shapes and widths are unusually uniform, bucking conventional forms; and the overall texture is atypically even, almost homogenous. The result is useful for logos and graphic display type, where consistency is desired, but not as effective for long passages of text, where dynamic rhythm and unique lettershapes are vital. Neue Helvetica is a 1980s effort to harmonize the previously incompatible styles. Neue Haas Grotesk refers to the original drawings for an even more holistic family, unconstrained by various technological compromises.

Akkurat

Designer: Laurenz Brunner // Foundry: Lineto // Country of origin: Switzerland Release year: 2004 // Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans

As uniform and static as Helvetica is, Akkurat attempts to take it a step further — and succeeds. This typeface, by Laurenz Brunner, is rooted in the Swiss tradition of pragmatic, rational design. Letters like the “a” and “s” have middle strokes that are more horizontal, and thus more aligned. Stroke contrast is reduced. Forms are stiffer. In fact, Akkurat could be considered a Geometric sans serif, and would fit in that section if it didn’t make sense to show it next to Helvetica given their similarities. A few characteristics give Akkurat its own place in the Neo-Grotesque category: a binocular “g,” tailed “l,” and a narrow overall width, resulting in oval-shaped rounds. Good for: Reflecting grid-based design concepts while remaining readable.

National

Designer: Kris Sowersby // Foundry: Klim // Country of origin: New Zealand Release years: 2004–2009 // Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans

National is a Grotesque with Humanist qualities. While there is very little contrast, the strokes are somewhat calligraphic in structure, with angled terminals and very little uniformity. The overall affect is a warmer, contemporary Grot — more casual than Univers or Neue Helvetica, but more modern than Bureau Grot or Knockout. Like all of Kris Sowersby’s work, National is fully equipped for professional typesetting, with all the language support, figure sets, and even small caps to tackle a wide variety of text. Good for: Straightforward text with a subtle informality. Annual reports that don’t put readers to sleep.

Antique Olive

Designer: Roger Excoffon // Foundry: (Fonderie Olive) Linotype // Country of origin: France Release years: 1962–1966 // Classification: Neo-Grotesque/Geometric Sans

Erik Spiekermann quips that German/Swiss type is like a pre-1990s Mercedes, Teutonic and utilitarian; and French type is like a Citroën 2CV, with sensual curves that value form over function. At first glance, Antique Olive certainly fits that analogy. Roger Excoffon’s unusual creation defies categorization. Its main peculiarity is in its horizontal axis — heavy top and bottom, light in the middle. Add the uniformly sheared terminals, the very large x-height, and the oval rounds, and you get an odd but charming duck. Though the round shapes do look like olives, that’s not how this face got its name. It was made for Fonderie Olive. “Antique” was the French term for sans serif, not “old.” Still, Antique Olive can feel dated. For a more contemporary option see FF Balance.

Gothic Sans

Bell Centennial

Designer: Matthew Carter // Foundry: Linotype, Adobe, Bitstream // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1978 // Classification: Gothic Sans

Bell Centennial’s bizarre “4” and “M” are a perfect lesson in type made specifically for its intended medium. In this case, the platform was telephone books. In 1974, AT&T asked Matthew Carter to replace their previous typeface, Bell Gothic, with something that could save costs by fitting more lines per page. To keep the type legible at tiny sizes on cheap paper, Carter made extensive use of a compensation technique called “ink trapping.” This reduces the amount of ink-spread that distorts letters by filling junctions and counters. So, what looks strange, even ugly, at large sizes, actually takes its proper form on the pulpy pages of a directory. Many capitalize on Bell Centennial’s curiosity to set eye-catching headlines.

News Gothic

Designer: (Morris Fuller Benton) Bitstream staff // Foundry: (American Type Founders) Bitstream Country of origin: United States // Release year: (1908) 1958 // Classification: Gothic Sans

In many ways, this is the archetypal American sans serif. Designed by the prolific Morris Fuller Benton in 1908, News Gothic (and its Linotype follower, Trade Gothic) became the most popular sans in the States for several decades. Designers growing tired of traditional type were drawn to its clean, sensible demeanor and the versatility of its compact, monolinear structure. Benton only designed a few weights for News Gothic; other compatible styles were added later, some with different typeface names. The digital version shown here is Bitstream’s, which modernizes some of the characters and gathers all the disparate styles into a more consistent family. Benton Sans performs a similar service with an even wider range. Good for: A perennial no-nonsense workhorse.

Benton Sans

Designer: (Morris Fuller Benton) Tobias Frere-Jones, Cyrus Highsmith // Foundry: (American Type Founders) Font Bureau Country of origin: United States // Release years: (1908) 1995–2008 // Classification: Gothic Sans

Benton Sans is a welcome update to Morris Fuller Benton’s News Gothic. At first glance it’s clear that the new face owes a lot to its forefather, but there are some major advancements that bring Benton’s classic into the 21st century. The regular width is slightly wider, allowing it to set paragraphs of text at a smaller size. Terminals point outward, opening apertures and further improving readability. But the most important enhancement is the breadth of the family: eight weights in each of four widths. This large set of options is typical of Font Bureau’s offerings — megafamilies made for the demands of publication design. Good for: Sturdy, plain type for complex typographic hierarchies.

Whitney

Designer: H&FJ staff // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2004 // Classification: Gothic Sans

As a base, Whitney is a Gothic — doing much of what Benton Sans does for News Gothic — only it takes the style a big step further into Humanist territory, evolving into a more expressive sans serif that combines the best of the two categories. The apertures are very open and stems have a diagonal cut at their ends, adding to the contemporary feel. A bevy of alternative forms lend even more versatility, allowing the user to tone down the personality by swapping out the angled terminals. Whitney is not only a great Text face, it’s also tuned for wayfinding systems, with a compact design that is still clear from a distance. There is also a very complete set of figures as well as circled and squared “index” numbers to aid in infographics.

Geometric Sans

Futura ND

Avenir

Gotham

ITC Avant Grade Gothic

Futura ND

Designer: (Paul Renner) Marie-Therésè Koreman // Foundry: (Bauer Type Foundry) Neufville // Country of origin: (Germany) Spain // Release years: (1927) 1999–2012 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Futura has become widely known as the prototypical Geometric typeface. Bauhaus experiments in geometric form led Paul Renner to develop a typeface that was initially made entirely of straight lines and circular shapes. This was eventually tamed into more conventional letterforms, but they remained mostly Geometric. Futura’s capitals are based on classical proportions, explaining their variable widths. There are countless digital versions, but Futura ND comes directly from original sources, and the latest release includes alternatives previously unavailable. Caution: the protrusion of pointed apexes (“M,” “N,” “w”) is called “overshoot,” an optical compensation for type intended for Text sizes, but potentially distracting when large.

Avenir

Designer: Adrian Frutiger // Foundry: Linotype, Germany // Country of origin: France, Germany Release year: 1988 // Classification: Geometric Sans

“Right from the beginning, I was convinced that Avenir is the better Futura,” said a confident Adrian Frutiger in a recent interview looking back at his 1988 creation. In some respects, his declaration was more than mere boasting — coming 60 years after Futura, Avenir remedied many of the compromises that Renner made in his quest for geometry. Frutiger abandoned pure circles and strictly even stroke weight for “corrected” curves and a bit of contrast. Letter widths are more regular, the x-height is larger, and a double-story “a” replaces the less legible single-story one. Avenir retains the simplicity and clarity of a Geometric sans serif; it just does it more gracefully, sacrificing graphical purity for readability. Good for: Comfortable geometric type.

Gotham

Designer: Tobias Frere-Jones // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2000 // Classification: Geometric Sans

One can’t really describe this Hoefler & Frere-Jones creation better than H&FJ themselves: “Gotham. What letters look like.” The typeface is simply self-evident. Each character just feels “normal” and “right.” Inspired by mid-century architectural lettering of New York City, Gotham celebrates the alphabet’s most basic form. These qualities made Gotham the most popular release of recent years. It’s used everywhere, in logos, in magazines, in the very things that inspired it: signs. Gotham’s simplicity is not merely geometric — like Avenir, it feels more natural than mechanical. In fact, its lowercase shares a lot with Avenir’s, despite being much larger. But Gotham’s essence is in the caps: broad, sturdy “block” letters of very consistent width.

ITC Avant Garde Gothic

Designer: Herb Lubalin, Tom Carnase // Foundry: ITC // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1970 // Classification: Geometric Sans

ITC Avant Garde Gothic was a response to popular demand for the type in the logo of Avant Garde, a groundbreaking magazine of the 1960s. The logo, designed by Herb Lubalin, was lettered by Tom Carnase. From it the two created a typeface for use in the magazine only. Later it became ITC’s first offering. Key traits are a large x-height, strict geometry, and the infamous leaning letters and ligatures that allow extra tight fitting words. These glyphs are often abused, leading Ed Benguiat to famously declare, “The only place Avant Garde looks good is in the words ‘Avant Garde.’” There are a few digital versions of the typeface. The ITC Pro fonts have many of the alts and ligs, but with merely slanted obliques instead of corrected ones offered by Elsner+Flake.

designrip/Metric

Designer: Kris Sowersby // Foundry: Klim // Country of origin: New Zealand Release year: 2011 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Metric is a loose interpretation of the West Berlin street signs that impressed designer Kris Sowersby on a visit in 2010. It tempers the strict geometry of the original alphabets but retains the charm of letters designed by engineers. Most terminals are vertical, the “t” is a simple cross, and the “a” has an oval belly. designrip retains the basic structure of Metric but extends many of the strokes so that they curve around to terminate horizontally, parallel with the baseline. This puts designrip closer to Neo-Grotesque territory. Though published separately, the fonts can be used interchangeably. Good for: A fresh, yet still Rational, alternative to Futura or Helvetica.

FF DIN

Designer: Albert-Jan Pool // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: Germany Release year: 1995 // Classification: Geometric Sans

DIN is essentially the national typeface of Germany. Developed over many years by the German Institute for Standardization (Deutsches Institut für Normung) for traffic signs and other official applications, DIN is an unusually successful design by committee. Its spare, geometric construction effectively communicates without artifice or distraction. But the institute’s DIN 1451 was essentially drawn by engineers and lacked the subtleties of a type designer’s expertise. For FF DIN Albert-Jan Pool took the challenge, easing some of the typeface’s harsh geometry and expanding the simple two-width family into many more weights with all the requirements for professional digital typesetting. Good for: Mechanical simplicity with a Teutonic touch.

Interstate

Designer: Tobias Frere-Jones // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1993 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Just as FF DIN does for Germany’s official type, Interstate is a typographic adaptation of American road signs. The alphabets of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration are spare concoctions of straight lines and semicircles. Still, the simplicity and wide open forms of the FHWA Series suit it well for quick reading at a distance. Plus, over 50 years of exposure to the typefaces on mile markers and street signs has made them quite familiar and comfortable to American readers. Signs are gradually being replaced with those using a new typeface (Clearview Hwy), but we can continue to experience the old design in Tobias Frere-Jones’s interpretation, a large and useful family of 40 fonts.

Verlag

Designer: H&FJ staff // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2006 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Verlag is a successful adaptation of pre-war modernist sans serifs to a typographically sensitive family for 21st-century design. It combines the crispness of 1920s-era geometric pioneers Futura and Erbar with the gentler, more readable qualities of 1930s-era Metro, Tempo, and Vogue. The lower x-height, pointed (but not pin-sharp) apexes, open apertures, and full rounds make Verlag a very warm and elegant option among Geometrics. It was originally created for the Guggenheim Museum and later released publicly as an extremely useful 30-font family with typographic niceties like short lining figures to harmonize with the small lowercase in running text. Good for: Situations where Futura doesn’t have enough flexibility or grace.

Klavika

Designer: Eric Olson // Foundry: Process // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2004 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Released at the height of the “Web 2.0” era, Klavika has become a prototypical sans serif of the information age. This is reinforced by the fact that it is the basis for the Facebook logo, but it’s been widely used in many other markets as well, including the automobile, sports, and publication industries. The foundation of the typeface is the pill shape. Lettershapes that are conventionally curved (“c,” “e,” “o,” “s”) are instead flat-sided with a slightly concave top and bottom. Rectangular Geometrics existed before, in 19th-century Display faces, and in the 1960s with Eurostile, but Klavika’s freshness comes from its open apertures — terminals (even on the distinctive, open-bowled “g”) point outward, allowing letters to breathe and relieving rigidity.

MVB Solano Gothic

Designer: Mark van Bronkhorst // Foundry: MVB Fonts // Country of origin: United States Release years: 2007–2010 // Classification: Geometric Sans

MVB Solano Gothic Bold was originally designed as a Display face for the city of Albany (near San Francisco). Named for the city’s main street, the typeface needed to work on signage surrounded by early 20th-century architecture, yet in current settings. Following a common sign-painting and architectural lettering style of the era, the design is based on a rounded rectangle and simple monolinear strokes. Alternative “Retro” fonts offer more decorative forms, such as a curved-leg “K,” round-topped “A,” and lowercase-style cap “N.” Good for: Compact headlines and infographics. References to vintage workmanship.

Forza

Designer: H&FJ staff // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2010 // Classification: Geometric Sans

When people think square sans, Bank Gothic or Eurostile usually come to mind. But these designs have become quite dated, each a particular relic of their time. Forza closely follows Eurostile’s path, but forges its own way where it makes good sense: rounded shapes are concave only on their sides, curved strokes meet stems with a thinner, angled stroke or horizontal. These refinements move the appearance away from the blobby vintage TV shape associated with Eurostile, particularly in its counters. Forza is actually the de-seriffed version of Vitesse, which was designed earlier. Both are strong, masculine typefaces that command attention. Good for: Athletics. Automobiles. Communicating toughness and authority.

Humanist Sans

Gill Sans

Designer: Eric Gill // Foundry: Monotype // Country of origin: United Kingdom Release years: 1928–1932 // Classification: Humanist/Geometric Sans

Long a standard part of the Mac’s pre-installed font bundle, Gill Sans has become known to modern-day users as an elegant sans option when compared to the others they find on their computer. But in many ways, Eric Gill’s typeface, a follower of Edward Johnston’s type for the London Underground, is an awkward mix of Geometric and Humanist ideas — from its circular “o” to its dynamic, calligraphic “a.” Uppercase widths vary wildly. The long-legged “R” causes spacing issues, especially in the lighter weights. And the “g” is an odd concoction that even Gill himself fittingly called a “pair of spectacles.” Still, there is lasting charm in this face, and it has become synonymous with British culture ever since it debuted.

FF Yoga Sans

Designer: Xavier Dupré // Foundry: FontFont // Origin: Cambodia, Germany Release year: 2009 // Classification: Humanist Sans

FF Yoga Sans could be considered a Gill Sans for the 21st century. It speaks the same language as its ancestor, but Xavier Dupré reduces the stroke contrast, regularizes widths, and corrals all Gill’s disparate approaches into a more cohesive design. Much of this is encapsulated in the “a,” which actually resembles an early Gill Sans sketch that had a tamer character with a smooth, even stroke finishing in a more graceful tail. FF Yoga Sans is part of a double-barreled assault on the traditional classics, with its partner an update of Humanist serifs like Garamond. Not since FF Scala has there been such a bold attempt to redefine these models. Good for: When Gill Sans is wanted but its idiosyncrasies aren’t.

Frutiger

Designer: Adrian Frutiger // Foundry: D. Stempel AG, Linotype // Country of origin: France, Germany Release year: 1976 // Classification: Humanist Sans

Designed in the mid-1970s for the Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, Adrian Frutiger’s eponymous typeface has become the wayfinding standard, adopted by airports and other institutions around the world. Frutiger began the commission by adapting his previous design, Univers, but favoring a Humanistic approach that aids legibility, obviously a critical factor in airport signage. Thanks to its open apertures, Frutiger is famously readable from a wide range of angles and distances. Still, there is a lot of Univers in this typeface, with its very slight stroke contrast and plain forms. Good for: Simple, unaffected clarity.

Myriad

Designer: Carol Twombly, Robert Slimbach // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1992 // Classification: Humanist Sans

A skeptic might denigrate this typeface, calling it simply “Adobe’s Frutiger.” Myriad does owe a lot to the grandaddy of modern Humanist sans serifs, but it brings its own contributions to the table. Where Frutiger’s curved strokes end abruptly with mostly vertical cuts, Myriad has angled terminals that naturally follow the path of the stroke. Letters like the “M” and “R” are more Humanistic as well, and the dots are round, not square. All these make Myriad a slightly warmer, friendlier Frutiger, while retaining its modern simplicity. These attributes make it an ideal identity face for companies like Apple who want to be high-tech but approachable. Functionally, Myriad also offers more as the family is much larger.

Verdana

Designer: Matthew Carter // Foundry: Microsoft // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1994 // Classification: Humanist Sans

Matthew Carter is probably one of the most well-known living type designers. He gained that position not by imposing a recognizable personal style but by solving design problems, by creating functional type that serves a specific need. Just like Bell Centennial, Verdana is another case in point. Its large, broad lowercase letters with slightly flaring terminals, its seriffed “I,” “J,” and “j,” and its loose spacing can appear almost horsey when viewed large or in print. But this typeface was made for the screen. Every design decision makes Verdana the most legible small Text option for the coarse resolutions of all but the most modern displays. The family, along with Georgia, was recently expanded to 20 styles, including a very welcome condensed width.

Syntax

Designer: Hans Eduard Meier // Foundry: D. Stempel AG, Linotype // Country of origin: Switzerland, Germany Release year: 1968 // Classification: Humanist Sans

One of the first of its kind, Syntax is a sans serif that shows obvious ties to Humanist serif roots. It is based on Stempel Garamond, and while it wouldn’t work to simply trim the serifs off an old-style book face, Syntax comes very close. The forms are calligraphic, with a fairly consistent angled axis that gives Syntax a dynamic motion. Every character leans slightly forward, even the stems, adding to this sans serif’s unusually forward movement. Angled strokes also terminate at an angle, rather than sitting flat on the baseline. This is an uncommon feature and can be a distraction when large, but at Text sizes it feels like a natural part of Syntax’s lively attitude. Good for: Modernizing and energizing text that would otherwise be set in a serif.

Cronos

Designer: Robert Slimbach // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: United States Release year: 1996 // Classification: Humanist Sans

Like Syntax, Cronos echoes the organic feeling and readability of old-style serif type. But, in contrast to the angular energy of Syntax, Cronos has a soft, calligraphic finish with pointed curves and rounded terminals. These letters genuinely appear to be written by a very steady hand. The overall effect is quite pleasant and comfortable. Adobe gave Cronos its optical sizes treatment, offering low-contrast, large x-height type for small text, and more expressive, higher-contrast type for Display uses, but the adjustments are minimal compared to optical sizes of other families, especially Garamond Premier. See also the older Today Sans by Volker Küster. Good for: Organic goods. Contemporary wedding invitations. A subdued alternative to calligraphy.

TheSans

Designer: Luc(as) de Groot // Foundry: LucasFonts // Country of origin: Germany Release year: 1994 // Classification: Humanist Sans

TheSans belongs to one of the original superfamilies, a collective system of typefaces, called Thesis, that includes a slab (TheSerif), a semi-slab (TheMix), and a serif (TheAntiqua). TheSans has very Humanist bones, but very little of its contrast. Its personality can range from mildly informal to official, but its dynamic foundation ensures that it is never dull. This has made TheSans and its counterparts some of the most popular typefaces for contemporary identities, used by any organization that wants to appear simultaneously modern, approachable, active, and professional. TheSans offers a few alternative characters: single-story forms of “a” and “g” for a more casual demeanor, and its signature oddity that originally came as standard, a “Q” with a disconnected tail.

Auto

Designer: Akiem Helmling, Bas Jacobs, Sami Kortemäki // Foundry: Underware // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release year: 2005 // Classification: Humanist Sans

From an innovative trio of Dutch, Finnish, and German designers comes a unique concept: a typeface with not one, but three italics. First, the roman: a sprightly, monolinear Humanist. Where Cronos feels like careful calligraphy, Auto is quick writing — the clear but energetic marks of a lively pen. The italics — labeled as Auto 1, 2, and 3 — offer increasingly expressive forms. The progression is like the growth of a plant, starting with basic stems that grow from buds into long vines that visibly overlap where they change direction, and that then extend to long swashes. The three options let users choose the level of embellishment while retaining the type’s basic weight and constitution. This is the same character playing different roles.

Optima

Designer: Hermann Zapf // Foundry: D. Stempel AG, Linotype // Country of origin: Germany Release year: 1958 // Classification: Humanist/Inscriptional Sans

Optima is one of those typefaces that defies categorization. In a way, it’s a Humanist sans — built like a serif without serifs — but its vertical stress is more Rational than Humanist. Perhaps it’s actually Inscriptional, with its concave strokes that follow classical proportions and end in cupped terminals. To some, this split personality is a negative trait, demonstrating an identity crisis — it can’t decide what it wants to be and ends up being nothing. But tell that to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries who have adopted Optima as their banner, utilizing its elegant serenity to label all manner of creams, ointments, and makeup. Good for: The stuff of the establishment. Tranquil beauty. Wellness.

Beorcana

Designer: Carl Crossgrove // Foundry: Terrestrial Design // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2006 // Classification: Humanist Sans

Beorcana is about as calligraphic as you can get without being a serif or script. Over 14 years in the making, Carl Crossgrove’s design represents his long commitment to the skill of making letters with a pen. The tool here is a broad-nib pen held at a relatively consistent angle. The rhythm and contrast are as present as in any Renaissance roman, but there are no serifs; instead there is a subtle flare at the end of strokes created by pressure on (or a turn of) the pen. These gestures are well suited to lovely headlines and ornamental work, and there are plenty of flourishing swashes in the Display italics. But Beorcana is designed to set text, too — books and tiny captions even — using special optical versions that have the strength and proportions required for small type.

Neo-Humanist Sans

FF Meta

Designer: Erik Spiekermann // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: Germany Release year: 1991 // Classification: Neo-Humanist Sans

The first rendition of Erik Spiekermann’s most famous typeface was a commission from the West German Post Office. They never used the design, but the subsequent FF Meta became one of the most successful typefaces designed in the digital era. The brief was a spatially economical face for use at small sizes on cheap paper. Spiekermann’s solution was a combination of Humanist and Grotesque concepts, a mildly rationalized design with open forms and just enough of the pen in its contrast and forms to maintain readability. The ideas in FF Meta, along with the FontFont label he co-founded, ushered in a new genre of sans serifs that exemplify digital typography. Good for: Modern, readable text; 25 years later, it still feels fresh.

Amplitude

Designer: Christian Schwartz // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2003 // Classification: Neo-Humanist Sans

At its face, Amplitude is in the vein of FF Meta: a condensed, upright blend of Humanist and Grotesque. Here, the apertures are even larger, and the x-height is massive. But the shtick that makes Amplitude unique is its prominent triangular nicks that carve out space at stroke junctions. The “ink trap” is normally a functional device, used to compensate for ink gain (see Bell Centennial), but Christian Schwartz makes it an aesthetic device, giving a stylish edge to headlines without sacrificing the type’s readability in Text. That combination has made Amplitude a 21st-century favorite of publication designers who also appreciate its large family of weights and widths. Good for: Straightforward text and expressive headlines using the same typeface.

Fedra Sans

Designer: Peter Bilak // Foundry: Typotheque // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release years: 2001–2005 // Classification: Neo-Humanist Sans

This typeface was born from a client request to “de-protestantize Univers.” Among the Neo-Humanists, Fedra Sans is indeed a free spirit, enlivened with various features inspired by handwriting. In addition to its very large x-height (with stunted caps and ascenders) are diamond dots, open bowls, a spurless “g” and “b,” a descending roman “f,” and an “R” and “k” with outward-curving legs. None of these quirks affect Fedra’s readability, which benefits from the large apertures and sturdiness of a typeface intended for the computer screen as well as print. But if the situation calls for more conventional forms, there is Fedra Sans Alt, a restrained version that retains the original’s intrinsic identity, proving there is more to the face than its idiosyncrasies.

FF Dax

Designer: Hans Reichel // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: Germany Release years: 1995–1997 // Classification: Neo-Humanist Sans

Hans Reichel’s goal was to “combine the clarity of a narrow Futura with a more humanist touch.” The result ventures quite far away from sterile geometry, with its high contrast, elliptical rounds, and various letters clearly inspired by handwriting, but remains quite minimal. This simplicity is due in large part to the lack of extending stems (or spurs) on the “d,” “g,” “m,” “n,” “p,” “q,” “r,” and “u.” It was an idea that Reichel first tried in 1983 with his Barmeno (originally called Barmen), but FF Dax popularized the look, influencing the design of countless followers since its 1995 release. The follow-up FF Daxline offers lower contrast, larger caps, and more consistent letter widths. It is better suited for Text and is generally more in line with current typographical tastes.

FF Balance

Designer: Evert Bloemsma // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release year: 1993 // Classification: Neo-Humanist Sans

Evert Bloemsma was a remarkable innovator, always questioning conventions and experimenting with new ideas in typeface design. We lost him too soon at the young age of 47. Fortunately, he left us with four inventive and useful designs: FF Balance, FF Cocon, FF Avance, and FF Legato. Like Antique Olive, FF Balance reverses the traditional stress angle, putting weight on the top and bottom of letters instead of the sides. But where Antique Olive forces letters into geometric molds, FF Balance is more Humanist in structure, even to the point of including imperfect terminals reminiscent of pen strokes. Prominent ink traps allow use in small text. The horizontal emphasis created by the reversed contrast facilitates long reading.

Grotesque Slab

Giza

Designer: (Vincent Figgins) David Berlow // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: (United Kingdom) United States // Release year: (1845) 1994 // Classification: Grotesque Slab

The thunderous, head-turning slab serifs of the Victorian era are the basis for Giza. The name comes from what these typefaces were called at the time: “Egyptian.” Every style in the Giza family is heavy, in typographic terms, but also in its visual impression. One can imagine the effort required to lift a physical representation of these letters. This isn’t a compact headliner by any means. Not only is it quite broad, with massive slabs, but there are also prominent tails that need a lot of space to extend from the body and turn upward. Good for: Grabbing attention. Occupying a lot of space with a powerful message. Emulating the bolder side of vintage ephemera.

Clarendon

Designer: (Robert Besley) Hermann Eidenbenz // Foundry: (Fann Street Foundry) Haas, Linotype, Monotype, Bitstream Country of origin: (United Kingdom) Switzerland // Release year: (1840s) 1953 // Classification: Grotesque Slab

When one thinks “slab serif,” Clarendon is often the first thing that comes to mind. Its sturdy structure, punctuated by ball terminals, has made it one of the most popular faces of the last 50 years. The versions we know today are generally derived from mid-20th-century modernizations of styles from the early 1800s. Unlike the type that inspired Giza, Clarendon has an increased contrast that opens up the counters. This lets it be used for short passages of text. Serifs are also lighter and bracketed — still heavier than a book serif, but less imposing than Giza’s. There are a variety of Clarendon alternatives that either improve its readability (Ingeborg, Eames Century Modern) or enhance its expressive qualities (Farao).

Farao

Designer: František Štorm // Foundry: Storm // Country of origin: Czech Republic Release year: 1998 // Classification: Grotesque Slab

Czech type designer František Štorm has made a habit of infusing historical styles with his own eccentric brand of expression. His Farao is a perfect example. Most modern interpretations of Clarendon and other Egyptians are somewhat cold and calculated. Štorm went back to their ancestors — the uneven, untamed type of the 19th century — and celebrated its imperfections. Farao has exaggerated ball terminals and serifs, inconsistent contrast, and a potpourri of seemingly incompatible features. Yet it all comes together in a wonderful, sparkling typeface full of humor and life. This is Clarendon let loose. Good for: A wink and a smile and a nod to the past.

Heron Serif

Designer: Cyrus Highsmith // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2012 // Classification: Grotesque Slab

Heron Serif is a strong, no-nonsense, hard-nosed typeface ready to go to work. There is a solid monolinear quality to every weight and style — even the bold keeps this feeling, as it lacks the increased stroke contrast that sometimes makes an otherwise stoic face appear somewhat friendly, even whimsical. Still, Heron is not cold: if DIN is a German number-cruncher — a stickler for rules and regulations while devoid of personality — Heron is an American steelworker, tough as nails and steadfast on the job, but loose enough to get a little dirty and tell a tall tale. Created by Cyrus Highsmith specifically for publications, Heron Serif has 20 styles, various alternative glyphs (like a tailed “l,” stemless “u,” and single-story “a” and “g”), and a sans companion.

Geometric Slab

Archer

Neutraface Slab

Rockwell

Archer

Designer: H&FJ staff // Foundry: Hoefler & Frere-Jones // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2008 // Classification: Geometric Slab

Most Geometric slabs are cold and rigid, but Archer has a sweet, almost dainty nature. The main contributors to its complexion are the small ball terminals that frequently occur, even on the “s,” a letter that rarely gets that treatment (see also Filosofia). But Archer also feels approachable because it avoids the monotony of other Geometrics. The legs of the “M” are mildly angled rather than rigidly vertical. The “c” and “e” end in an outward stroke rather than closing in a tight circle. The relatively low x-height of Archer also gives it a more gentle, antique touch. Like most H&FJ families, Archer is packed with weights and features for complex typesetting. Good for: Informal but proper announcements. Facts and figures with a positive slant. Cookbooks.

Neutraface Slab

Designer: Kai Bernau, Susana Carvalho, Christian Schwartz, Ken Barber // Foundry: House Industries Country of origin: United States, The Netherlands // Release year: 2009 // Classification: Geometric Slab

In 2002, Christian Schwartz and House Industries released Neutraface, a Geometric sans serif inspired by the architectural lettering of celebrated modernist architect Richard Neutra. It is a more nuanced take on Futura, along the lines of Avenir. It became one of the most successful releases of the decade. It made sense, from both a marketing and design point of view, to give it a seriffed counterpart. Designed by Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho under Schwartz’s direction, Neutraface Slab has a similar build to Archer, but is clearly more serious. Still, it avoids the strict geometry of faces like Memphis and Stymie, allowing it to set surprisingly readable text. Good for: A reference to the crisper, more European side of mid-century modernism.

Rockwell

Designer: Monotype staff // Foundry: Lanston Monotype Corporation, Monotype Imaging // Country of origin: United States

Release years: 1933–1934 // Classification: Geometric Slab

Rockwell is a 1930s interpretation of what is considered the first Geometric Slab serif, Litho Antique, an American design from 1910. This provenance contributes to Rockwell’s older flavor, which is more rugged than the more modernist slabs like Memphis (its main competitor at the time), Lubalin Graph (the seriffed version of ITC Avant Garde Gothic), and recent releases Archer and Neutraface Slab. Rockwell is slightly uneven with bold weights that stray much further from the regular than current users would expect. In certain respects it looks clumsy, but in an earnest way. So, while most Geometric Slabs seem machined, Rockwell feels handmade, and designers often pick it up when they really need something more polished.

Humanist Slab

PMN Caecilia

Designer: Peter Matthias Noordzij // Foundry: Linotype // Country of origin: The Netherlands, Germany Release year: 1990 // Classification: Humanist Slab

Designed by Peter Matthias Noordzij (and named after his wife), PMN Caecilia is among the most readable of slab serifs. Its structure is very Humanist, and as close as a slab comes to an old-style book face. The difference is very little stroke contrast and unbracketed, rectangular serifs that nearly match stems in weight. These characteristics are very well suited for long texts on coarse resolution displays, and that’s exactly why Amazon chose it as the default face for their Kindle. PMN Caecilia also has a very pleasant, inviting quality, delivering text without pretension. Good for: Books on low-res screens or in poor printing conditions. Professional but approachable text.

FF Unit Slab

Designer: Christian Schwartz, Erik Spiekermann, Kris Sowersby // Foundry: FontFont // Country of origin: United States, Germany, New Zealand // Release year: 2009 // Classification: Humanist/Grotesque Slab

The compact FF Unit, described by FontFont as “FF Meta’s grown-up, no-nonsense sister,” was released in 2003 as a regimented alternative to Erik Spiekermann’s famous typeface. Later, as Spiekermann and Christian Schwartz were working on FF Meta Serif, they also developed FF Unit Slab. It’s a fitting companion to FF Unit, with thick, wedge-shaped slabs that maintain FF Unit’s businesslike demeanor without making it too stiff or mechanical. Thanks to their concurrent development, the two serifs can work together, along with either of their sans serif counterparts. Good for: Saving space without losing legibility. An unconventional typographic hierarchy combining serif and slab, in lieu of serif and sans. Twenty-first-century business.

Adelle

Designer: Veronika Burian, José Scaglione // Foundry: TypeTogether // Country of origin: Czech Republic, Argentina Release year: 2009 // Classification: Humanist/Grotesque Slab

Released in late 2009, Adelle is one of the newest entries in the Humanist Slab category. In some ways, though, Adelle is as much a Grotesque, with bones that echo the early sans serifs, especially visible in the squarish “a,” “o,” and “f,” and the leg of the “R.” But this is a contemporary design in nearly every other respect, from its lack of contrast to its wide-open apertures and wedge serifs. A sans serif companion was recently added, increasing Adelle’s versatility. Good for: Informal publications, particularly those published on unforgiving paper or the internet.

Freight Micro

Designer: Joshua Darden // Foundry: GarageFonts // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2004 // Classification: Humanist Slab/Serif

With Freight, Joshua Darden follows in the footsteps of Adobe and others who are championing a return to the size-specific designs that were a given in metal typefounding. Freight Text, Display, and Big are typical optical size masters, adjusting contrast and proportion to fit the needs of various settings, whether small text or large titling. But Freight Micro is in a very different boat. Rather than relying merely on ink traps (see Bell Centennial), Darden solved the problems of tiny type by modulating entire strokes and contours, opening counters while making serifs more robust. The result is a very unusual design that really works (even on screen), but also makes for intriguing Display type of its own. Good for: Legible text. Eye-catching headlines.

Script

Kinescope

Designer: Mark Simonson // Foundry: Mark Simonson // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2007 // Classification: Casual Script

Hand-lettered scripts were once a mainstay of advertising, signage, packaging, and chrome emblems. Writing with a brush or pen was simply the best way to make connected letters. Then came phototypesetting in the 1960s–70s, and digital publishing in the 1980s. Over time, most of that custom lettering was replaced with script typefaces — and, unfortunately, most of them are a poor substitute. That’s why well-crafted fonts like Kinescope are welcome relief. Inspired by a title card from a 1940s-era cartoon, Mark Simonson engages the power of OpenType substitution to successfully emulate a lettering artist’s strokes. Good for: Retro logos and signage. Take caution: the heavy weight and low x-height doesn’t allow for anything too small.

Studio Slant

Designer: Ken Barber, Tal Leming // Foundry: House Industries // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2008 // Classification: Casual Script

Most scripts lean forward, a few are upright, but those that slant backward are quite rare. They were actually not so unusual in the 1930s–60s, a period that is a constant muse for House Industries type designer Ken Barber. His Studio Slant is a hefty thing, “written” with a steel “brush” pen or chisel brush, but quite nimble and vigorous despite its weight. The script is part of a 3-font package that celebrates the golden age of hand lettering. Each has the requisite ligatures and alternates for authentic simulation, but also includes “culture-specific character sets that reflect stylistic preferences of native users.” This is more than a cute gimmick — it addresses the problem that some forms of handwritten letters can be illegible to foreign readers.

Radio

Designer: Magnus Rakeng // Foundry: Village Constellation // Country of origin: Norway, United States Release year: 1998 // Classification: Formal Script

Magnus Rakeng’s Radio is one of the first digital fonts to hearken back to the hand-drawn scripts of yester-year, and it’s still one of the most unique and (poorly) imitated. Perhaps its originality comes from its mix of sources. As Rakeng puts it, “Radio has its roots in American commerce, old Norwegian design, rosemaling (decorative folk painting), and a dash of Viking art.” The drawback to Radio’s early arrival on the scene was that it missed out on technological advancements, such as OpenType’s contextual substitution, that improve a script’s natural flow. Users will inevitably hit letter combinations in Radio that simply don’t work. Still, there are such beautiful shapes here that we hope readers will join the chorus in demanding an update.

Bickham Script

Designer: Richard Lipton // Foundry: Adobe // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2000 // Classification: Formal Script

One of the earliest fonts to fully take advantage of automatic alternative-glyph and ligature substitution, Bickham Script is the formal script that other digital attempts are inevitably compared to. Richard Lipton, a fine calligrapher in his own right, based the typeface on the engravings of its 18th-century namesake, George Bickham. As a typical “copperplate script,” Bickham has grand, sweeping strokes with very fine hairlines. This is a typeface that needs lots of space to work its magic (for more a more compact option, see Tangier). Extra glyphs, with entry or exit swashes and alternative descenders, let the user customize Bickham’s level of expression. A big bundle of underline and separator flourishes are useful for extra embellishment.

Tangier

Designer: Richard Lipton // Foundry: Font Bureau // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2010 // Classification: Formal Script

A decade after his Bickham Script, Richard Lipton followed up with Tangier. The new design continues to explore the possibilities of formal calligraphy, but its much larger x-height offers more versatility in where the type can be used. Prior to its public release, it was used by Glamour magazine, who surely appreciated the spatial efficiency for its covers and section titles. Like Bickham, Tangier offers a variety of swashes, alternative letterforms, and extender variants. There are also four weights, including a very dark Black. Good for: Occasions that require elegance, but don’t leave much space for it.

Suomi Hand Script

Designer: Tomi Haaparanta // Foundry: Suomi // Country of origin: Finland Release year: 2008 // Classification: Casual Script

Designers often need a handwriting font to humanize a product, simulate notes, or simply communicate in a more personable tone. There are dozens that attempt to do this but fail for a variety of reasons: they are too perfect, too illegible, or have unnatural connections between letters. But most importantly, there are usually plenty of repeating lettershapes, exposing the fact that the text was not really handwritten. Now take a look at the sample above. There are some identical forms, but it takes a while to find them. Suomi Hand Script achieves this through hundreds of ligatures, connecting pairs, and trios of letters in the way most of us do when we write. The strokes themselves are quite convincing, too, with the natural rhythm of a person using a regular pen.

Display

Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No. 20

Nitti

Designer: Pieter van Rosmalen // Foundry: Bold Monday // Country of origin: The Netherlands Release year: 2008 // Classification: Monospaced Sans

Designing a monospaced typeface (in which each character is the same width) is a tricky task. Creating one that contributes something new to the typographic canon is even more difficult. Most attempts come off looking like the hundreds of antique typewriter simulations or the awkward, strained artifacts of the computer age. Somehow, Nitti avoids both of these fates. Pieter van Rosmalen’s typeface has a comfortable disposition that is rare in monospaced faces. It resolves the usual trouble spots (narrow “M” and “W,” wide “f,” “i,” “j,” and “t”) without making compromises to readability. In fact, Nitti has recently proven its effectiveness as the default font in iA Writer, the most popular word processor for the iPad.

Ed Interlock

Designer: Ed Benguiat, Ken Barber, Tal Leming // Foundry: House Industries // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2004 // Classification: Display

Ed Interlock is a highly successful collaboration between type legend Ed Benguiat and the popular foundry House Industries. It relives the whimsical lettering that appeared on cereal boxes and magazine ads of the 1950s and 60s — a lot of which was drawn by Ed himself. But the team didn’t settle for a simple alphabet with an animated appearance; they practically animated the font. Using over 1,400 ligatures, Ed Interlock’s uppercase letters duck and stretch to create a variety of compact word marks as you type. There is a delightful lowercase, too — it just doesn’t have the same interlocking magic.

Bree

Designer: Veronika Burian, José Scaglione // Foundry: TypeTogether // Country of origin: Czech Republic, Argentina Release year: 2008 // Classification: Display/Humanist Sans

Bree is based on the logotype of TypeTogether, a collaboration between José Scaglione and Veronika Burian. The concept seems simple: take cursive forms (“a,” “e,” “f,” “v,” “w”) that are normally leaning forward and push them upright. In less capable hands the result would be a disaster. Instead, Bree has won multiple design awards and the hearts of countless internet fans. The success is partly due to keeping quirks to a minimum and pairing the lowercase with a basic set of caps. But it also comes from a couple of very contagious characters: the closed-loop “g” and “y.” Handy bonus: there is a set of alternative forms that can fill in when a more conventional sans serif is desired. Good for: Cheerful headlines and branding.

Rumba

Designer: Laura Meseguer // Foundry: Type-Ø-Tones // Country of origin: Spain Release year: 2005 // Classification: Display/Humanist Serif

Laura Meseguer, a lettering artist and typeface designer from Barcelona, already had commercially successful fonts in her portfolio when she joined the Type and Media program at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague. But the product of her studies demonstrates that she took her skills to a new level. Rumba is a three-font family that explores the idea of typeface variations optimized for a specific range of sizes, but also degrees of expressiveness. Rumba Small is an organic Text face with a strong calligraphic influence; Rumba Large is much looser, with contrast only suitable for headlines; Rumba Extra is the most active and irregular, a celebration of vibrant hand lettering. Good for: Publications and packaging with a Latin or ebullient vibe.

Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No.20

Designer: Jackson Burke // Foundry: Linotype // Country of origin: United States Release years: 1948–1960 // Classification: Display/Gothic Sans

Designed in the mid-20th century, Trade Gothic is Linotype’s response to ATF’s News Gothic that came about 50 years earlier. Like its forebear, Trade Gothic had a range of styles and weights that were quite inconsistent, including a Bold and Bold Condensed (No.20) that had flat sides, unlike the rest of the family. These two styles have become increasingly popular for setting tightly packed headlines — made possible by the design’s verticality — or emphasizing words in strong contrast to other text. Alternate Gothic, a relative of the Franklin Gothic family, offers three widths but Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No.20 packs the most punch. Good for: A sturdy, down-to-earth appeal — robust, but economical.

Heroic Condensed

Designer: Silas Dilworth // Foundry: TypeTrust // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2008 // Classification: Display/Neo-Grotesque/Geometric Sans

Heroic Condensed saves space. Despite its name, it does so in a very straightforward, unassuming way, making it a very versatile typeface for any kind of content. While there are many Grotesque or Geometric megafamilies (such as Univers, Helvetica, or Futura) that include a token compressed style or two, Heroic was conceived from the beginning as a narrow typeface. In this way it avoids any of the design compromises often made to unify a large family. With eight weights and the newly added compressed width, it’s a handy toolset for all those projects with a vertical orientation: publications, advertising, packaging, or even the standard credit lines at the bottom of movie posters.

Cabazon

Designer: Jim Parkinson // Foundry: Parkinson Type Design // Country of origin: United States Release year: 2005 // Classification: Blackletter/Textura

Perhaps because of its age, perhaps due to its association with Gutenberg, or maybe simply because it’s not used anymore except for certificates, official proclamations, and newspaper logos, blackletter has come to represent a certain reverence and antiquity. There are various forms, such as the French/Flemish Bâtarde, or the German Schwabacher and Fraktur, but the style familiar to most modern-day readers is Textura (colloquially — and inaccurately — called Old English). Yet most Textura typefaces still aren’t very legible to a public accustomed to roman letterforms. Cabazon alleviates that issue by keeping things fairly informal and free of ornamentation. It has a subtle hand-lettering quality, like much of Jim Parkinson’s work.

SangBleu

Designer: Ian Party // Foundry: B+P Swiss Typefaces // Country of origin: Switzerland Release year: 2008 // Classification: Display/Humanist Sans

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the label on a perfume bottle or the glossy pages of a fashion magazine, it’s that very thin type is stylish and sophisticated. Somehow, once you move a couple levels lighter than a standard “light” weight, everything on the page becomes chic and refined. The Swiss foundry B+P takes that principle to even more elegant extremes with their SangBleu family, a sans and serif based on a 17th-and 18th-century French type called Romain du Roi. SangBleu is just heavy enough, with just enough contrast to expose some delicately undulating curves. It’s a very sexy type and a worthy replacement for the dated Optima.

Marian

Designer: Paul Barnes // Foundry: Commercial Type // Country of origin: United Kingdom, United States Release year: 2012 // Classification: Display/Humanist Sans

Paul Barnes’s concept for Marian is a fascinating study of history and typeface design. Always interested in the possibilities of thin, monolinear strokes, he used them to explore several classics, including the works of Fleischmann, Fournier, Baskerville, and Bodoni. The experiments peel away the skin and muscle of the letters to reveal their bones, reintroducing us to the underlying structure that helps define each style but that is often hidden by weight and contrast. Marian 1554 is the classic combination of Garamond’s roman and Granjon’s italic, coupled with a batch of swashes in a mode like you’ve never seen swashes before. If only every research project could produce such beautiful and useful results.

Glossary of Typographic Terminology

This Article avoids esoteric lingo whenever possible, but specialized words can be useful for clearly and concisely describing type. Whether you are new to design or a practised professional, this list will be a helpful refresher as you read the following pages.

Aperture: The opening of a counter to the exterior of a glyph (see page 10).

Bracket: A curved or diagonal transition between a serif and main stroke (see page 10).

Character: The basic unit of written language. Can be a letter, a number, a punctuation mark, or other symbol (see Glyph).

Counter: Any interior shape of a glyph. It can be completely enclosed by strokes, such as the eye of an “e,” or have an opening to the exterior, such as the lower counter of an “e” (see page 10).

Cursive: A style associated with handwriting, typified by slanted stems with curved tails.

Font: A collection of glyphs. The font is the delivery mechanism, represented by a digital file or a set of metal pieces, for a typeface (see Typeface).

Foundry: A company that designs, manufactures, and/or distributes fonts.

Glyph: The graphical representation of a character. A font can contain several glyphs for each letter — a lowercase “a” and small cap “a,” for example — and can also have alternate forms such as single- and double-story “a”s or an “a” with a swash tail. In this way, a single character can be represented by different glyphs (see Character).

Humanist: A method of letter construction tied to handwritten strokes made with a pen or brush (see Rational, and also page 14).

Ligature: A single glyph made of multiple characters. The most common examples are functional (Standard), such as “fi,” which is designed to resolve excessive spacing or an unpleasant overlap of two letters. There are also ornamental (discretionary) ligatures, such as “st,” that are chiefly a stylistic option.

Rational: A method of letter construction using shapes that are drawn as opposed to written (see Humanist, and page 15).

Sans serif: A character or typeface without serifs (see page 13).

Serif: A small mark or “foot” at the end of a stroke. Serifs are lighter than their associated strokes (see page 12).

Slab serif: A heavy serif, typically rectangular in shape, with a blunt end. It is also a typeface classification (see page 12).

Stroke: An essential line or structural element of a glyph. The term derives from the stroke of a pen (see page 11).

Stroke contrast: The weight difference between light and heavy strokes (see page 11).

Style: A stylistic member (e.g., bold, italic, condensed) of a typeface family, typically represented by a separate font.

Substrate: The surface material on which type appears. For hundreds of years, type was printed on paper. Now it is increasingly rendered on the digital screens of desktop computers, tablets, and cell phones.

Swash: The extension of a stroke or prominent ornamental addition to a glyph, typically used for decorative purposes.

Typeface: The design of a set of characters. In simple terms, the typeface is what you see and the font is what you use.

Weight: The thickness of a stroke. In type design, the geometry of a line (or shape) is usually described using the terminology of weight.

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