The Anatomy of Font Types
Date of Update: 01-05-2017
There are, literally, thousands of different font types. Whether you are designing a website for your business, making a marketing flyer, or creating a conference schedule, the fonts you choose can express a lot about your business.
Fonts are broken up into 5 main categories: Serif, Sans Serif, Slab Serif, Script, and Modern.
Serif is the standard font for most corporate events. When typing up an outline for a meeting or a report, using a Serif font will ensure the text will convey a professional and serious tone to your audience.
Sans Serif is commonly used for conferences and seminars. While sans serif fonts still convey professionalism, they are a bit more light in their tone. Sans serif also ensures your audience will be able to read the text with ease. When writing presentations and documents for a large audience, sans serif allows for quick viewing of the materials.
Slab Serif is a more relaxed and fun style of typeface. Usually, this type of font is only used in such venues as concerts, festivals, and large scale events. The reason is there are very few pieces of text used at these kinds of events. Titles and headlines are the main textual areas. Because of this, the font sizes are much larger in scale and a more unique font type can be easily seen and read.
Script is a unique type of font in that it can be used in any upscale situation. Most commonly seen in cocktail parties, weddings, and formal dinners, the script font tends to convey a more formal party vibe. When using script fonts, you want to ensure the user can see and understand the script. Using it on menus or large signs is a fairly common usage.
Modern font type is something you would see in private events or those events which limit access to the public. Those fonts tend to be considered stylish and fashionable. While it can be fun to use a modern font type, some of those fonts are extremely difficult to read. So if you are designing for a large group, you may want to reconsider for a different type.
As you can see, each font type can convey its own message based on the design. When designing for the web, each of these fonts is used in varying circumstances. However, when designing for the web, the first consideration you should always have is for your users. If your users can’t read the text on your site, they will likely go elsewhere for their information or product. So be creative and explore the many font types available!
Serif is the standard font for most corporate events. When typing up an outline for a meeting or a report, using a Serif font will ensure the text will convey a professional and serious tone to your audience.
Sans Serif is commonly used for conferences and seminars. While sans serif fonts still convey professionalism, they are a bit more light in their tone. Sans serif also ensures your audience will be able to read the text with ease. When writing presentations and documents for a large audience, sans serif allows for quick viewing of the materials.
Slab Serif is a more relaxed and fun style of typeface. Usually, this type of font is only used in such venues as concerts, festivals, and large scale events. The reason is there are very few pieces of text used at these kinds of events. Titles and headlines are the main textual areas. Because of this, the font sizes are much larger in scale and a more unique font type can be easily seen and read.
Script is a unique type of font in that it can be used in any upscale situation. Most commonly seen in cocktail parties, weddings, and formal dinners, the script font tends to convey a more formal party vibe. When using script fonts, you want to ensure the user can see and understand the script. Using it on menus or large signs is a fairly common usage.
Modern font type is something you would see in private events or those events which limit access to the public. Those fonts tend to be considered stylish and fashionable. While it can be fun to use a modern font type, some of those fonts are extremely difficult to read. So if you are designing for a large group, you may want to reconsider for a different type.
As you can see, each font type can convey its own message based on the design. When designing for the web, each of these fonts is used in varying circumstances. However, when designing for the web, the first consideration you should always have is for your users. If your users can’t read the text on your site, they will likely go elsewhere for their information or product. So be creative and explore the many font types available!