Questions tagged [typefaces]

Questions about families of letter shapes. Use [typefaces] when you'd use "song" (e.g. "I love that song/typeface..."), and [fonts] when you'd use "MP3" ("...so I'm going to buy the MP3/font for it").

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30 votes
7 answers
14k views

Where do professional designers go to look for typefaces?

I was reading The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams and was very impressed how on almost every page, Ms. Williams seems to "pull out" some beautiful typeface which I've never heard of. I'm ...
Alex D's user avatar
  • 433
61 votes
8 answers
22k views

"Serifs improve fast, easy readability for long text" - myth or truth?

It's an old question, but an important one. Let's see if we can get a good, nuanced, ideally evidence-based answer. So, old-school wisdom (certainly, how I was taught back in the day) says that serif ...
user56reinstatemonica8's user avatar
67 votes
7 answers
82k views

What is the difference between a font and a typeface?

Originally, the typeface is a particular design of type, while a font is a type in a particular size and weight. In short, a typeface usually gathers many fonts. Nowadays, with the digital design of ...
F'x's user avatar
  • 2,332
98 votes
5 answers
82k views

Why don't upper case numbers exist?

Capital letters add a lot to text in various ways, for names, brands, emphasis (although capitalisation for emphasis is frowned upon) Why then, are there no upper case numbers?
Digital Lightcraft's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
481 views

Distortion treatment?

I've been seeing this distortion treatment popping up everywhere lately and was curious if anyone knew how or could point to some resources? I've tried a google search but can't find anything relevant....
syn's user avatar
  • 31
222 votes
13 answers
103k views

What is wrong with Comic Sans?

There's a great TEDxExeter talk by a colleague of mine, Simon Peyton-Jones, about the recent advances in the English lower school 'computer science' curriculum. Like all of his slide decks he uses ...
dumbledad's user avatar
  • 3,139
8 votes
1 answer
619 views

Is this Dutch IJ ligature suitable and readable to native speakers?

I'm designing a display typeface and have designed, for the Dutch capital IJ digraph, a ligature that combines the "I" and "J" to form what looks like a broken "U". Here is a comparison of my "IJ" ...
Cai's user avatar
  • 40.6k
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Designing for a 6in x 9in book

I am putting a text heavy book together, 6in x 9in paper size. (Perhaps related are this and this link.) Now I look for good font pairings (nice examples are here) and margin settings and line ...
Jens's user avatar
  • 203
4 votes
2 answers
485 views

How to know which second typeface should be used, given a contextual typeface?

When searching for how to "italicize" a word in an italic context, I come up with an idea that changing the typeface is the solution that still convey the psychological effect that an italic-in-roman ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,853
0 votes
2 answers
600 views

Does anyone know how this kind of pixelated type is created?

Does anyone know how this type is created? Not sure what it would be called, pixelated? Been noticing it in a lot of posters
dc123d's user avatar
  • 11
44 votes
8 answers
18k views

How to explain to a client the font in their logo is not to be used for anything else

I have delivered an identity for a client. We are using one font in the logo and another complete family (Axiforma) for the actual body text, headlines, etc. The one in the logo is specifically ...
Lucian's user avatar
  • 29.2k
28 votes
3 answers
12k views

What are the differences between Helvetica and Arial?

I've heard there are a number of slight differences between these two similar fonts, is one better than the other for different contexts?
Hemi's user avatar
  • 3,066
28 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is Marcellus a serif font?

I was searching for serif fonts on Google Fonts and happened across Marcellus. However, if I were shown it out of any context, I'd call it a sans-serif font. I can see small hits of what might be ...
Ky -'s user avatar
  • 1,282
26 votes
8 answers
56k views

What is the actual problem with Calibri?

Recently I've been seeing many pages and blogs with some sour distaste for Microsoft's Calibri typeface, mashing it as if it was the new Comic Sans or something. At first I tought the problem was ...
Lucas Flicky's user avatar
  • 1,074
24 votes
8 answers
16k views

What characters are good to start with when designing a typeface?

Given many characters in a typeface build on others and even just a couple of characters can reveal a lot of the features of a given typeface, what characters are good to start with when designing a ...
James Tauber's user avatar
21 votes
8 answers
21k views

How are Serif and Sans-serif fonts different, and when should one use one over the other?

What is the difference between these fonts, and what are some typical examples of why one might be used over another?
PearsonArtPhoto's user avatar
15 votes
5 answers
32k views

What makes a font a "gothic" font?

It’s easy to find lots of fonts with gothic in their names. But what makes a typeface a “gothic” typeface?
mdahlman's user avatar
  • 293
12 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to design the letter ß (eszett or sharp S)

When designing a typeface, how should I design the letter ß? Looking at existing typefaces there seems to be a some variations of how the character is designed. It seems that the letter (called an ...
Cai's user avatar
  • 40.6k
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

When are typefaces considered conflicting with each other?

I have been reading a lot about font pairing lately, but I’m still missing to identify when fonts don’t complement and contrast with each other, instead they clash. An example that I've read was ...
Carla Raquel's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
926 views

How should I approach designing special characters I am unfamiliar with when designing a typeface?

When designing a typeface there are a number of characters that I, as an English speaker, have never used, rarely seen and simply don't understand. These characters fall in to a number of different ...
Cai's user avatar
  • 40.6k
10 votes
2 answers
710 views

Why was capital N temporarily inverted in 1468?

An answer for "Why does the small h letter in Garamond italic bend inward?" shows the following image: The middle row of this image (marked Han 86R, Rome 1468) has the capital N inverted compared to ...
CJ Dennis's user avatar
  • 201
8 votes
4 answers
888 views

Double space acceptable after period before abbreviated title?

It seems accepted amongst typographers that the double space after a period is a dated artifact of monospace typewriters, but is it acceptable to use a double space in between sentences like: I ...
Alec Jacobson's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
138k views

Webfont alternatives to Gotham

The Brand Guidelines have specified the use of Gotham and Arial as the typeface, and I can see that in the past people have had various experiences with using Gotham on the web. Instead of using ...
Michael Lai's user avatar
  • 1,165
8 votes
5 answers
4k views

Guidelines for logos using multiple typefaces

I was wondering there were any helpful guidelines and/or tips for designing logos with multiple fonts. It seems to be a dangerous area to enter into, but can lead to some great results. Often times ...
Hanna's user avatar
  • 10.9k
6 votes
3 answers
10k views

What category of font is the Vox logo?

I'm trying to find a certain style of font but I'm not sure what to search for. It's the same font as in the Vox News logo. Also something like the Harriet Display family.
cnrhgn's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
2 answers
6k views

What are the function of EM and EN spaces?

I know the EM is bound to the current font size, I know EN means the half of an EM in measure, the first is called a mutton, the second a nut, awesome. I know a EM and EN spaces are the equivalent in ...
DiaJos's user avatar
  • 548
6 votes
2 answers
819 views

Considerations when using multiple font faces (on webpage or CD cover)

I’m experimenting with fonts for learning purposes, and I noticed that using only one font type looks many times plain, but using more can easily make a mess out of my webpage and CD cover (these are ...
Kuvik's user avatar
  • 137
6 votes
2 answers
550 views

visual typeface search tool

Fontshop.com used to have (at least I think it was them) a index of typefaces that you could use visual / structural specifics to search through their library of typefaces. It gave options for things ...
lushness-deplete-gallantly's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there research on the preference of sans-serif fonts in printed text for Western European countries?

According to an answer on: How are Serif and Sans-serif fonts different, and when should one use one over the other? For print, in the U.S., body copy is usually set in serif, while in Europe it's ...
user2284570's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
593 views

How to account for a space in OpenType ligature?

Let's say that I want to replace the character's " ab" with a new character ("_AB"); is it possible to account for this space so that the word "cab" would not include this new character? feature liga ...
user433351's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

What are the symmetry-in-pair symbols usually appear in Wingdings fonts? [duplicate]

For example, in Wingdings font: What are the symbols in boxes used for? I have checked the wiki pages of Wingdings, List of symbols, Ampersand and Unicode/List of useful symbols, but I can't find ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,853
2 votes
2 answers
357 views

Should I be concerned about optimal font size for a particular font

I am aware that certain fonts, are designed for use at certain sizes, at least in the physical print world. They make uses of things like Ink Traps to prevent running. With type for the digital world,...
Frames Catherine White's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
258 views

Are light type face versions simply thinner than the roman (regular) ones?

I am taking a regular version of a typeface I love and making a light version of it, and I'm wondering: Is the light version just an inset of the regular version? Are there any special considerations ...
iambriansreed's user avatar
-2 votes
2 answers
316 views

What's this font please? [closed]

Can anyone help with this font name? Thanks
Khaleef's user avatar