The Various Styles Of Serif And Sans Serif Fonts
There are thousands of typeface styles that designers, painters, publishers, artists, writers and the general public have access to. Most of the many typefaces that are available today can be found in digital format.
It is easy to choose a different style of font to write or design with today’s computer technology. Because of the many types of font styles that exist, it is important to have them classified. That way users can determine the appropriate style of font for the particular use needed.
Classifying the thousands of font styles is a difficult task. Typographers and scholars have created a typography classification system to help users determine the differences between the vast number of styles. However, with so many typefaces, fonts have been classified into categories, sub-categories and further sub-categories.
With so many similarities in style, the best that typographers can do is divide fonts into one of four basic groups. These are those with serifs, those without serifs, script and decorative styles. Further sub-divisions can help users to identify, choose and combine typefaces as desired.
Following is a description of the sans serif style and the serif style fonts and includes the basic sub-categories to differentiate among the many slight differences the main classifications contain.
Sans Serif Type Styles
Image source: Nico Insanto
Sans Serif type styles do not contain serifs. A “serif” is a flourish, embellishment or ornamentation found at the end strokes of printed letters and numbers. The absence of the serif in sans-serif type styles expresses a simpler, often easier to read style of typeface.
Letters with simpler form existed at least from the fifth century however were not commonly used until many centuries later. The invention and evolution of the printing press and late better quality paper made it easier to create different styles of fonts to be used as typeface.
While writing was considered an art, letters and numbers written in manuscripts were often ornate and contained many intricate flourishes. Blackletter was a popular style of letter writing in ink that contained ornate details and dramatic changes in stroke weights within the characters.
Sans serif style fonts became popular with advancements in printing and as a type of revolt against Blackletter writing. Sans serif typeface was much simpler looking and easier produce for typesetting and easier to read. The movement for the use of sans serif type grew from the desire for geometric print.
This was patterned after classical Roman characters that had balanced letters with variable stroke weights. Today, there are many categories for the sans serif style. These categories are generally called Gothic, Grotesque, Doric, Linear, Swiss and Geometric. These can be condensed into four basic categories that are easier to differentiate, Grotesque, Square, Geometric and Humanistic.
Grotesque Sans Serif
Image source: Rod McDonald
The Grotesque style is the original and most commercially popular of all of the sans serif fonts. The creators of the Grotesque style wanted a simpler more geometric typeface. It originated in the late nineteenth century at the Berthold Type Foundry in Germany. Ferdinand Theinhardt was the typesetter who worked with the simpler style.
Initially people did not like the style and called it “Grotesque” because they were disgusted by its appearance. Of course, the style caught on and its popularity grew. Its uniform shapes and proportions make it a good typeface for reading. It features characters that are more oval than circle-shaped.
The letters and numbers do not have a high stroke weight contrast so they are more monotone than prior fonts. Its curves are slightly squared. It has “single bowl” letters such as “g”, curved legs on some letters and spurs at the end strokes instead of serifs.
Square Sans Serif
Image source: Panos Vassiliou
The Square sans serif developed from the Grotesque style. It is similar in proportion and the lack of serifs. The difference is that the characters in the Square style are more pronounced as square-shaped. With this style, there is more room for character spacing than other sans serif typefaces. Its bold look makes it most popular for use on display signs.
Geometric Sans Serif
Image source: Jean François Porchez
Geometric type is strongly influenced by geometric shapes. Its most outstanding features are its use of mono-linear lines, circles and squares. Despite its similarities to the Grotesque style, scholars consider it less easily legible than other sans serif styles so it is not used in literature.
Humanistic Sans Serif
Image source: Tim Ahrens
The Humanistic style, in contrast to other sans serif styles, is considered by scholars and typographers to be the most legible of all the sans serif styles. For this reason, it is used often in literature.
The Humanistic typeface is based on Roman inscriptions. It is similar in the style and proportion. It has a calligraphic influence with clear stroke weight contrasts. However, the characters have open forms that lead the eye horizontally. This makes it more appropriate for longer texts for the purpose of reading.
Serif Type Styles
Image source: Edward Benguiat
Serif type styles have existed for many centuries. They were popular in ancient writing and were used in artwork and ancient manuscripts for centuries. The serif style features a serif or “foot” at the end strokes of characters. The serifs vary in style and complexity among the different sub-categories of serif style type faces.
They can be simpler and shorter or more intricate and longer depending on the class. Serif fonts are generally classified by their origin. These include Grecian, Latin, Scotch, Scotch Modern, Spanish Old Style, Clarendon and Tuscan. A broader classification system makes it easier to differentiate between serif styles. These categories include Old Style, Transitional, Neoclassical or Didone, Slab, Clarendon and Glyphic type styles.
Old Style Serif
Image source: Tony Stan
Old Style dates back to the Roman fonts of the late fifteenth through the mid eighteenth centuries. It is based on the handwritten lettering of the Renaissance scribes. Closely related to calligraphy, it features curved strokes with obvious transitions of thick and thin lines and curves.
However, Old Style typeface is less stressed in weight and has a more moderate transition than calligraphic writing . As in calligraphy, Old Style is always angled to the left. The stressed parts are diagonal occur at the 8 o’clock and 2 o’clock sides of the letter or number.
Serifs are almost always bracketed (the bracket is the curved angle that connects the end of the stroke to the serif), in Old Style and head serifs are often angled. Old Style contains a sub-style called Venetian Old Style. This font is distinguished by a diagonal cross stroke in the lowercase “e”.
Transitional Serif
Image source: John Baskerville
John Baskerville, an English printer and typographer in the mid-eighteenth century, worked with paper and typography to improve printing methods. Calendared paper uses heat and two rollers to compress the paper making it glossy and smooth.
Working with typography development, Baskeville created Transitional serif typeface. It was called “transitional” because it combines characteristics of the Old Style and the Neoclassical style. Baskervilles typeface allowed for finer strokes to be reproduced so more subtle character shapes could be maintained.
Therefore, strokes feature higher contrasts. The curved axis can be inclined but strokes normally have a vertical stress. The serifs are bracketed with edges squared off. The head serifs are angled.
Neoclassical and Didone Serifs
Image source: Dave Rowland
Giambattista Bodini helped influence the Neoclassical or “modern” font. With the advancement of typography technology and the introduction of better quality printing paper, it became easier to create typeface that held on to details of stress weight.
This new typeface was initially called “Classic” because of its similarities to classical fonts but was later called “Modern” because typographers recognized that it was a very different and new design. By the mid-twentieth century, the style became known as Neoclassical or Didone serif.
It is similar to the classical style because it features clearly constructed letters with a polished style. Its curved axis is not slanted but has a vertical stress. Its long horizontal serifs accent the clear-cut thick and thin transitions, and the serifs often end with a “ball” shape.
Slab Serif
Image source: José Scaglione, Veronika Burian
Of all of the serif styles, the slab style is the simplest in appearance. Unlike the Old, Transitional or Neoclassical styles, it features heavily squared letters and numbers with bold serifs at the end strokes. The serifs are not bracketed or transitional. There is very little stroke weight contrast.
They are bold and blunt. Because they are bold and eye-catching, Slab serifs were often used in the nineteenth century on “Wanted” posters and in advertising. They continue to be effective in advertising today and are often seen on billboards, posters and other methods of advertisement.
Clarendon Serif
Image source: Patrick Griffin
Originally used in the mid nineteenth century, the Clarendon style began in England and was later revived in Germany in the twentieth century. It is designed as a bold faced font to accompany text and was later used in larger print sizes for lettering on file folders or displays.
Its stroke contrast is typically slight but more modern versions of the font have more obvious differences in character stress weights. Its serifs were initially short to mid-length but are longer in modern versions. The serifs are bracketed and give the illusion of added stress weight.
Glyphic Serif
Glyphic Serif type is based on the characters of names, dates and quotations carved into stone as inscriptions long ago. It is the style used in stone engravings that influence the Glyphic style more than written text. Its most distinguishing feature is triangular-shaped serifs and flaring at the character’s end strokes.
The axis is vertical and there is minimal contrast in stroke weight. Glyphic Serifs are divided into two sub-categories, Glyphic and Latin. The Latin style is characterized by strictly triangular-shaped serifs.
Ending thoughts
Writing characters has long been an art form. Throughout the centuries, people have created different styles and techniques to express written words. Whether used in inscriptions of the names or dates that buildings were established or inscriptions of quotations or on grave markers, writing different styles of characters has been a part of expression.
With the desire to put oral stories in writing, the written word became an art form. Creating and copying texts was an intricate and time-consuming work that was valued for its beauty as well as its message. With the advent of the printing press, it became more necessary and easier to get written material out to more people.
Different font styles were easier to print on typeface or were more easily legible by the general population. However, writing and printing continued to be considered an art form. The development of many different font styles attracted different people to different types of print.
Some printing continues to adhere closely for its beauty while some printing is meant for the purpose to draw attention whether in advertising or in the news. Some printing is done so many people can easily read long texts or books for enjoyment and education.
With so many different printing fonts so easily accessible by computer technology today, it is more important than ever to classify the thousands of fonts available. Scholars and typographers have been able to give general classifications to the many fonts so that the styles can be differentiated and used appropriately. Often these type classifications have sub-categories to make it easier to find what is needed.
Bogdan Sandu, a seasoned designer with 15 years of diverse experience, has been designing websites since 2008.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
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