Sans serif not in word

When it comes to creating a compelling and effective document, one of the most important tools at your disposal is the font (also known as «typeface»).

Fonts do much more than improve—or hamper—the legibility of your piece. They set a tone. They’ve got personalities. They evoke feelings. As such, fonts can either reinforce or undermine your brand.

Because fonts are so important, you may want to change the default fonts in Microsoft Word. In this article, you’ll see, step-by-step how to add fonts to Microsoft Word so you can change the default fonts in your document.

You’ll also learn tips on where to find the best Microsoft Word fonts and how to choose the best ones for your document.

(Note: In the tutorials below, I use Microsoft Word for macOS. If you’re on Windows or a different version of Word, then your interface will look different.)

Why Use Premium Fonts in Your Microsoft Word Document?

When it comes to creating documents that get and keep your readers’ attention, fonts are some of your most powerful tools. The right fonts:

• reinforce your branding
• express the right tone
• direct the reader’s attention
• improve readability 

You might be tempted to use free fonts for Microsoft Word in your next document. But remember, those built-in MS Word fonts are exactly the same fonts that everyone else is using. Or, you might find a free Microsoft Word fonts download. But free fonts are often not as well-designed as premium fonts.

You can easily add fonts to Microsoft Word from outstanding sources like Envato Elements or GraphicRiver. To be able to download unlimited fonts, then look to Envato Elements. You get access to thousands of fonts. Download as many as you need for one small subscription price. 

For one-off projects, GraphicRiver is a great source of the best Microsoft Word fonts on a pay-per-use basis. 

And lastly, use the tips above to choose and use fonts effectively in your document. The misuse and overuse of fonts are sure signs of an amateur.

How to Change Microsoft Word Default Font 

Word comes with default fonts, but you can change the font to match your branding or to change the tone and personality of the document. 

You’ll find that dozens of fonts are already built into Word, and you can replace the default fonts with those. And you can also add new fonts. We’ll talk about how to add fonts to Microsoft Word later in this post.

To change the Microsoft Word default font, you’ve got three options:

1. How to Change the Microsoft Word Default Font for a Block of Text

This is a quick method that’s good to use if you want to change the default font only for one or a few bits of text. Here are the steps:

Step 1. Select the Text

Step 2. Open the Font Selection Tool

Click on the Font selection tool on the ribbon. You must be on the Home tab to see the buttons for formatting text. The Microsoft Word fonts list opens.

Step 3. Find the font you wish to use.

The Microsoft Word fonts list shows the Theme Fonts, Recent Fonts, and All Fonts. Scroll down farther to see all the fonts available on your computer. This includes fonts that are built-in as well as fonts you’ve added, listed in alphabetical order. The fonts list also gives you a preview of what each font looks like.

Click on the font you wish to use. A triangle next to the font means there are further selections you can make.

Step 4. Change the Font Size

Go to the font-size button to change the font size. 

Or, click the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons to change the font size by increments.

Step 5. Change Other Text and Paragraph Settings

Use the other buttons on the ribbon to add emphasis (bold, italics, underline), change the font color, and apply other effects.

We’ve now changed the default font in Microsoft Word.

2. How to Replace the Default Font Based on Paragraph Style

By changing the font used for a paragraph style, the change is applied globally in your document for all text with that paragraph style. Use this if you want to change the default font for large sections of text. 

Follow the steps on how to change the Microsoft Word default font for a paragraph style:

Step 1. Select the Text

Highlight text that’s representative of the paragraph style you want to re-format. Make sure it’s got the paragraph style you want to change.

In this example, I’ll replace the default font for the Normal paragraph style. 

Step 2. Apply the Font Settings You Wish to Use

Follow the steps in Method 1 to change the font, font size, font color, and apply other settings. You may also want to change the paragraph settings, such as alignment, line spacing, etc.

Step 3. Apply the New Formatting to the Paragraph Style

With the cursor in the paragraph you’ve formatted, click on the Styles button on the ribbon. This opens the paragraph Styles selection. 

The current paragraph style will be highlighted. In this case, it’s the Normal style. Right-click on the Normal style, then click on Update Normal to Match Selection.

All other paragraphs with the Normal style are updated with the new font and settings you made.

3. How to Change the Font Based on Paragraph Styles Button

This method has the same end-result as Method 2. It changes the default font for a specific paragraph style. The steps are slightly different, as you’ll see:

Step 1. Open the Styles Settings

Click on the Styles button on the ribbon. This displays the paragraph styles.

Step 2. Modify the Paragraph Style

Right-click on the style you wish to change. Click Modify…

The Modify Style dialog opens.

Change the font, font size, and other settings. The box shows a preview of what the paragraph will look like when the settings you chose are applied. If you’re happy with the way it looks, click OK.

The new font (and other settings) will be applied to all paragraphs with that paragraph style.

How to Add Fonts to Microsoft Word

Right out of the box, Microsoft Word comes with dozens of fonts built in. But what if you want to use a font and you don’t see it on the Microsoft Word fonts list? 

In that case, you add the font to Microsoft Word. I’ll walk you through how to do that in this section:

Step 1. Find New Fonts

The first step is to find the font you want to use. There are many sources of custom fonts. One to consider is Envato Elements, where you can download an unlimited number of fonts for one small subscription price. 

To find a font you like, log into your Envato Elements account.

On the search bar, click on the downward arrow, then select Fonts.

Type a keyword into the search bar, depending on what kind of font you’re looking for. Click the search icon. The most relevant results appear.

Refine the results by Categories, Spacing, Optimum Size, and Properties. You can also sort the results by popularity (Popular) and newness (New).

Click on a font image or name to see its details.

When you find a font you like, click on any of the Download buttons on the page. 

The Add this file to a project dialog box pops up.

Select a project to add the font file to. Or, click Create new project to add it to a new project. For this example, I’ll add the font to my existing tutorial project. Click the Add & Download button.

The file manager opens (Finder, if you’re on macOS; File Explorer, if you’re on Windows). Specify where you want to save the font file on your computer. Click Save.

The font files are now saved on your computer as a zip file. 

Double-click on the zip file to unzip it. 

Double-click on the font file itself to open it. It’ll usually have an extension like OTF or TTF. Click Install Font. 

This adds the font to your computer’s fonts library.

The new font should now appear in the All Fonts list in Microsoft Word. To confirm, click on the Fonts button on the ribbon and scroll down the list until you see the new font. If you don’t see it, you may have to restart your computer.

Now, follow any of the methods above to change the default font with the new one.

2 Types of Fonts

Now that you know how to add fonts to Microsoft Word and replace the default fonts in your document, it would help for you to know more about fonts. This will help you choose the best fonts for your Word document.

There are two basic types of fonts you can use in your documents:

1. Serif Fonts

Serif fonts have little lines at the end of each stroke, like this:

Common examples of serif fonts include:

Various research studies have shown that, when it comes to printed matter, serif fonts are the easiest to read and result in the best comprehension.

2. Sans Serif Fonts

As the name implies, sans serif fonts don’t have little lines at the end of each stroke (“sans” means “without” in French):

These are some of the most common sans serif fonts:

Citing research by the Software Usability Research Laboratory, Drew E. Whitman in his book Ca$vertising, noted that sans serif fonts are the most legible fonts to use on a computer screen. Specifically, Arial, Courier, and Verdana were considered the best for online reading.

But these studies were conducted when the resolution of online screens was still very low (below 100 dpi) compared to printed materials (300 dpi). As computer screen resolutions get closer to 300 dpi, serif fonts may prove to be legible both online and offline.

In the meantime, you can use both serif and sans serif fonts in one document—if you know how. Read on for tips on how to use combine fonts.

5 Tips on Using Typography Effectively in Your Word Documents

It’s easy to get carried away with fonts! You may find that having so many kinds of fonts available at your fingertips unleashes your creativity. Yet, as with most things, fonts can either enhance or sabotage your document. 

Follow these tips to harness the power of typography:

1. Keep It Simple

When it comes to choosing fonts, legibility is of utmost importance. Sure, it’s easier than ever now for you to find the most creative and outrageous fonts. But if nobody can read your text, then they defeat their purpose. If you must use an ornate font, restrict it to one letter or word.

2. Stick to Two Fonts

A document that’s dripping with many different fonts makes it look amateurish, confusing, and incoherent. For best results, stick to a maximum of two fonts: one serif and one sans serif. (More on this in tip #4).

Remember, use formatting like bold, italics, underlines, different font sizes and colors to add emphasis and variety.

3. Match the Tone and Goals for the Document

Fonts have personality, so pick the ones that match the tone and goals of the document. For example, the fonts for a 16th birthday party invitation will be different from the ones in a financial business report.

When in doubt, pre-test the document. Show it to other people, especially those who are like the intended audience. Make sure they can comprehend the document, first, and that they respond favorably.

4. Choose Fonts Appropriate for the Document’s Intended Use

Whether the document will be printed out or consumed on a computer screen will also affect your choice of fonts.

If you’re making a printed document, use the sans serif font for headings and the serif font for body text. For a web-based document, switch it: Use a serif font for headings and sans serif for body text.

5. Use Handwritten, Cursive, and Decorative Fonts Sparingly

There are other font types that may not fit easily in either serif or sans serif categories. These include handwritten, cursive, and decorative fonts. Handwritten fonts, as the name says, look like they were written by hand. These are extremely popular and useful for adding a warm, personal touch on materials. They can range from casual to glamorous.

Cursive fonts are a kind of handwritten font that look like they’re written in longhand. Beware of using cursive and handwritten fonts because they can be difficult to read. Use them for short bits of text you want to emphasize.

You can easily find handwritten fonts in marketplaces like Envato Elements or GraphicRiver.

Decorative fonts have special effects or treatments. They may be serif or sans serif. And some handwritten fonts can be considered decorative as well. 

Here’s a sampling of the decorative fonts available in Envato Elements:

5 Best Font Styles for 2020

Designers come up with new fonts every day. Below are five of the best and freshest Microsoft Word font styles we’re seeing for 2020, along with two fresh examples of each style:

1. Vintage Fonts

Vintage fonts evoke the aesthetic of times past. If you’re working on a document that’s about a specific time, you’re bound to find a font to match.

Anthique — Vintage Typeface

Anthique is reminiscent of handmade Victorian hand lettering but with a modern flavor. It works best for materials that relate to the early 1800s. The font includes three variations in TTF and OTF formats. It also supports multilingual characters.

Middle Class Script

Middle Class is a script font that’s evocative of the bold style of the ’60s and ’70s. It’s got a hand-drawn and layered style, and includes punctuation, common ligatures, and extra swashes (lines).

2. Brush Script Fonts

Brush script fonts are handwritten fonts that look like they were written with a brush, such as a calligraphy or a paintbrush. These are increasingly popular as brands want to add a personal touch to their materials.

Eberthany Brush Script

Eberthany is a modern brush script signature font that works for:

• social media posts
• logos
• wedding invitations
• labels
• quotes
• and more 

It works best with software that supports OpenType fonts like Adobe Illustrator CS, Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe InDesign, and Corel Draw.

Mistrully Brush Script

Mistrully is a stylish brush script that looks like natural handwriting. It comes with special swashes or handwritten lines that you can use to add emphasis. Mistrully works well for logos, social media posts, advertisements, product designs and labels, stationery, among others.

3. Font Duos

Font Duos take the guesswork out of choosing fonts that work well together. These two-for-one font packages are designed to complement each other. You only need to pick the font duo that aligns with your branding and the tone of the material you’re designing. Examples of font duos include:

Chiladepia — Font Duo

The Chiladepia Font Duo is made up of two handwritten fonts. One’s a cursive font and the other’s a sans serif font. This font duo would work well on a computer screen. Use the cursive font for titles or headers and the sans serif font for the rest of the document.

Perkin | Duo Font Pack

The Perkin Duo Font combines a bold sans serif and a serif font. The sans serif font is best for titles and headings, while the serif font works great for body text. This duo is ideal for printed materials.

4. 3D Decorative Fonts

3D decorative fonts look like they’re popping off the pages. These fonts are incredibly eye-catching. For that reason, they’re great for titles. But, they’re not the most legible fonts, so use them sparingly for short bits of text.

Ultra — Modern Font

If you’re creating a futuristic document, then consider the Ultra — Modern Font. It’s got a modern and futuristic style. This pack is actually made up of four font styles: regular, bold, 3D, and bold 3D. It also comes in both OTF and TTF formats.

Under Construction 3D Color Font

Under Construction is a stunning 3D decorative font to use on materials related to industry, construction, technology, and the like. Each letter looks like it floats on top of the page. It’s a color or SVG OpenType font, which works only in Photoshop CC 2017+, Illustrator CC 2018, and some Mac apps.

5. Tech Sans Serif Fonts

Tech sans serif fonts have gone a long way since the pixelized arcade fonts of the ‘80s. Many are also much more legible and modern. Below are two examples:

Azuria — Technology Science Font

The Azuria — Technology Science Font evokes technology, science, and outer space. Its metallic, 3D look would work well in video games, movie titles, and tech-related branding. The font includes all Latin letters from A-Z, numbers, and punctuation marks.

Cyborg — Futuristic Technology Typeface

Cyborg is another futuristic tech font. Inspired by science fiction, it’s perfect for titles related to space, technology, and science. It comes in OTF, TTF, and WOFF formats.

Put Fonts to Work in Your Microsoft Word Document Today

As you’ve learned in this article, you don’t need to stick to the default fonts in Microsoft Word. Follow the steps outlined above to replace the default fonts with ones that are more appropriate to your document. 

Now that you understand how to add fonts to Microsoft Word, you’re ready to start taking advantage of the unique look a professionally designed font can give your documents. 

At Envato Elements and GraphicRiver we’ve got some of the best Microsoft Word fonts available. Take a look at our Microsoft Word fonts list today. Download your favorites for your next MS Word document.

In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called «serifs» at the end of strokes.^[1] Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than serif typefaces. They are often used to convey simplicity and modernity or minimalism.

Sans-serif typefaces have become the most prevalent for display of text on computer screens. On lower-resolution digital displays, fine details like serifs may disappear or appear too large. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning «without» and «serif» of uncertain origin, possibly from the Dutch word schreef meaning «line» or pen-stroke.^[2] In printed media, they are more commonly used for display use and less for body text.

Before the term «sans-serif» became common in English typography, a number of other terms had been used. One of these outmoded terms for sans-serif was gothic, which is still used in East Asian typography and sometimes seen in typeface names like News Gothic, Highway Gothic, Franklin Gothic or Trade Gothic.

Sans-serif typefaces are sometimes, especially in older documents, used as a device for emphasis, due to their typically blacker type color.

Classification[edit]

For the purposes of type classification, sans-serif designs are usually divided into three or four major groups, the fourth being the result of splitting the grotesque category into grotesque and neo-grotesque.^[3][4]

Grotesque[edit]

This group features most of the early (19th century to early 20th) sans-serif designs. Influenced by Didone serif typefaces of the period and sign painting traditions, these were often quite solid, bold designs suitable for headlines and advertisements. The early sans-serif typefaces often did not feature a lower case or italics, since they were not needed for such uses. They were sometimes released by width, with a range of widths from extended to normal to condensed, with each style different, meaning to modern eyes they can look quite irregular and eccentric.^[5][6] Grotesque typefaces have limited variation of stroke width (often none perceptible in capitals). The terminals of curves are usually horizontal, and many have a spurred «G» and an «R» with a curled leg. Capitals tend to be of relatively uniform width. Cap height and ascender height are generally the same to produce a more regular effect in texts such as titles with many capital letters, and descenders are often short for tighter line spacing.^[7] Most avoid having a true italic in favor of a more restrained oblique or sloped design, although at least some sans-serif true italics were offered.^[8][9]

Examples of grotesque typefaces include Akzidenz-Grotesk, Venus, News Gothic, Franklin Gothic and Monotype Grotesque. Akzidenz Grotesk Old Face, Knockout, Grotesque No. 9 and Monotype Grotesque are examples of digital fonts that retain more of the eccentricities of some of the early sans-serif types.^{[10][11][12][13]}

According to Monotype, the term «grotesque» originates from Italian: grottesco, meaning «belonging to the cave» due to their simple geometric appearance.^[14] The term arose because of adverse comparisons that were drawn with the more ornate Modern Serif and Roman typefaces that were the norm at the time.^[15]

Neo-grotesque[edit]

Neo-grotesque designs appeared in the mid-twentieth century as an evolution of grotesque types. They are relatively straightforward in appearance with limited stroke width variation. Similar to grotesque typefaces, neo-grotesques often feature capitals of uniform width and a quite ‘folded-up’ design, in which strokes (for example on the ‘c’) are curved all the way round to end on a perfect horizontal or vertical. Helvetica is an example of this. Unlike earlier grotesque designs, many were issued in large families from the time of release.

Neo-grotesque type began in the 1950s with the emergence of the International Typographic Style, or Swiss style. Its members looked at the clear lines of Akzidenz-Grotesk (1898) as an inspiration for designs with a neutral appearance and an even colour on the page. In 1957 the release of Helvetica, Univers, and Folio, the first typefaces categorized as neo-grotesque, had a strong impact internationally: Helvetica came to be the most used typeface for the following decades.^[16][b]

Other, later neo-grotesques include Unica, Imago and Rail Alphabet, and in the digital period Arial, Acumin, San Francisco and Roboto.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]}

Geometric[edit]

Geometric sans-serif typefaces are based on geometric shapes, like near-perfect circles and squares.^[24] Common features are a nearly-circular capital ‘O’, sharp and pointed uppercase ‘N’ vertices, and a «single-storey» lowercase letter ‘a’. The ‘M’ is often splayed and the capitals of varying width, following the classical model.

The geometric sans originated in Germany in the 1920s.^[25] Two early efforts in designing geometric types were made by Herbert Bayer and Jakob Erbar, who worked respectively on Universal Typeface (unreleased at the time but revived digitally as Architype Bayer) and Erbar (circa 1925).^[26] In 1927 Futura, by Paul Renner, was released to great acclaim and popularity.^[27]

Geometric sans-serif typefaces were popular from the 1920s and 1930s due to their clean, modern design, and many new geometric designs and revivals have been developed since.^[c] Notable geometric types of the period include Kabel, Semplicità, Bernhard Gothic, Nobel and Metro; more recent designs in the style include ITC Avant Garde, Brandon Grotesque, Gotham, Avenir, Product Sans and Century Gothic. Many geometric sans-serif alphabets of the period, such as those authored by the Bauhaus art school (1919–1933) and modernist poster artists, were hand-lettered and not cut into metal type at the time.^[29]

A separate inspiration for many types described «geometric» in design has been the simplified shapes of letters engraved or stenciled on metal and plastic in industrial use, which often follow a simplified structure and are sometimes known as «rectilinear» for their use of straight vertical and horizontal lines. Designs which have been called geometric in principles but not descended from the Futura, Erbar and Kabel tradition include Bank Gothic, DIN 1451, Eurostile and Handel Gothic, along with many of the typefaces designed by Ray Larabie.^[30][31]

Humanist[edit]

Humanist sans-serif typefaces take inspiration from traditional letterforms, such as Roman square capitals, traditional serif typefaces and calligraphy. Many have true italics rather than an oblique, ligatures and even swashes in italic. One of the earliest humanist designs was Edward Johnston’s Johnston typeface from 1916, and, a decade later, Gill Sans (Eric Gill, 1928).^[32] Edward Johnston, a calligrapher by profession, was inspired by classic letter forms, especially the capital letters on the Column of Trajan.^[33]

Humanist designs vary more than gothic or geometric designs.^[34] Some humanist designs have stroke modulation (strokes that clearly vary in width along their line) or alternating thick and thin strokes. These include most popularly Hermann Zapf’s Optima (1958), a typeface expressly designed to be suitable for both display and body text.^[35] Some humanist designs may be more geometric, as in Gill Sans and Johnston (especially their capitals), which like Roman capitals are often based on perfect squares, half-squares and circles, with considerable variation in width. These somewhat architectural designs may feel too stiff for body text.^[32] Others such as Syntax, Goudy Sans and Sassoon Sans more resemble handwriting, serif typefaces or calligraphy.

Frutiger, from 1976, has been particularly influential in the development of the modern humanist sans genre, especially designs intended to be particularly legible above all other design considerations. The category expanded greatly during the 1980s and 1990s, partly as a reaction against the overwhelming popularity of Helvetica and Univers and also due to the need for legible computer fonts on low-resolution computer displays.^{[36][37][38][39]} Designs from this period intended for print use include FF Meta, Myriad, Thesis, Charlotte Sans, Bliss, Skia and Scala Sans, while designs developed for computer use include Microsoft’s Tahoma, Trebuchet, Verdana, Calibri and Corbel, as well as Lucida Grande, Fira Sans and Droid Sans. Humanist sans-serif designs can (if appropriately proportioned and spaced) be particularly suitable for use on screen or at distance, since their designs can be given wide apertures or separation between strokes, which is not a conventional feature on grotesque and neo-grotesque designs.

Other or mixed[edit]

Due to the diversity of sans-serif typefaces, many do not exactly fit into the above categories. For example, Neuzeit S has both neo-grotesque and geometric influences, as does Hermann Zapf’s URW Grotesk. Whitney blends humanist and grotesque influences, while Klavika is a geometric design not based on the circle. Sans-serif typefaces intended for signage, such as Transport and Highway Gothic (both used on road signs), may have unusual features to enhance legibility and differentiate characters, such as a lower-case ‘L’ with a curl or ‘i’ with serif under the dot.^[40]

Modulated sans-serifs[edit]

A particular subgenre of sans-serifs is those such as Rothbury, Britannic, Radiant, and National Trust with obvious variation in stroke width. These have been called ‘modulated’ or ‘stressed’ sans-serifs. They are nowadays^[when?] often placed within the humanist genre, although they predate Johnston which started the modern humanist genre. These may take inspiration from sources outside printing such as brush lettering or calligraphy.^[41]

History[edit]

Letters without serifs have been common in writing across history, for example in casual, non-monumental epigraphy of the classical period. However, Roman square capitals, the inspiration for much Latin-alphabet lettering throughout history, had prominent serifs. While simple sans-serif letters have always been common in «uncultured» writing and sometimes even in epigraphy, such as basic handwriting, most artistically-authored letters in the Latin alphabet, both sculpted and printed, since the Middle Ages have been inspired by fine calligraphy, blackletter writing and Roman square capitals. As a result, printing done in the Latin alphabet for the first three hundred and fifty years of printing was «serif» in style, whether in blackletter, roman type, italic or occasionally script.

The earliest printing typefaces which omitted serifs were not intended to render contemporary texts, but to represent inscriptions in Ancient Greek and Etruscan. Thus, Thomas Dempster’s De Etruria regali libri VII (1723), used special types intended for the representation of Etruscan epigraphy, and in c. 1745, the Caslon foundry made Etruscan types for pamphlets written by Etruscan scholar John Swinton.^[42] Another niche used of a printed sans-serif letterform from 1786 onwards was a rounded sans-serif script typeface developed by Valentin Haüy for the use of the blind to read with their fingers.^[43][44][45]

Developing popularity[edit]

Towards the end of the eighteenth century neoclassicism led to architects increasingly incorporating ancient Greek and Roman designs in contemporary structures. Historian James Mosley, the leading expert on early revival of sans-serif letters, has found that architect John Soane commonly used sans-serif letters on his drawings and architectural designs.^[48][52] Soane’s inspiration was apparently the inscriptions dedicating the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy, with minimal serifs.^[48] These were then copied by other artists, and in London sans-serif capitals became popular for advertising, apparently because of the «astonishing» effect the unusual style had on the public. The lettering style apparently became referred to as «old Roman» or «Egyptian» characters, referencing the classical past and a contemporary interest in Ancient Egypt and its blocky, geometric architecture.^[48][53]

Mosley writes that «in 1805 Egyptian letters were happening in the streets of London, being plastered over shops and on walls by signwriters, and they were astonishing the public, who had never seen letters like them and were not sure they wanted to».^[42] A depiction of the style (as an engraving, rather than printed from type) was shown in the European Magazine of 1805, described as «old Roman» characters.^[49][54] However, the style did not become used in printing for some more years.^[g] (Early sans-serif signage was not printed from type but hand-painted or carved, since at the time it was not possible to print in large sizes. This makes tracing the descent of sans-serif styles hard, since a trend can arrive in the dated, printed record from a signpainting tradition which has left less of a record or at least no dates.)

The inappropriateness of the name was not lost on the poet Robert Southey, in his satirical Letters from England written in the character of a Spanish aristocrat.^[56][57] It commented: «The very shopboards must be … painted in Egyptian letters, which, as the Egyptians had no letters, you will doubtless conceive must be curious. They are simply the common characters, deprived of all beauty and all proportion by having all the strokes of equal thickness, so that those which should be thin look as if they had the elephantiasis.»^[58][48] Similarly, the painter Joseph Farington wrote in his diary on 13 September 1805 of seeing a memorial^[h] engraved «in what is called Egyptian Characters«.^[59][48]

Around 1816, the Ordnance Survey began to use ‘Egyptian’ lettering, monoline sans-serif capitals, to mark ancient Roman sites. This lettering was printed from copper plate engraving.^[49][45]

Entry into printing[edit]

Around 1816, William Caslon IV produced the first sans-serif printing type in England for the Latin alphabet, a capitals-only face under the title ‘Two Lines English Egyptian’, where ‘Two Lines English’ referred to the typeface’s body size, which equals to about 28 points.^[60][61] Although it is known from its appearances in the firm’s specimen books, no uses of it from the period have been found; Mosley speculates that it may have been commissioned by a specific client.^[62][i]

A second hiatus in interest in sans-serif appears to have lasted for about twelve years, until Vincent Figgins’ foundry of London issued a new sans-serif in 1828.^[64][65][66] David Ryan felt that the design was «cruder but much larger» than its predecessor, making it a success.^[67] Thereafter sans-serif capitals rapidly began to be issued from London typefounders.

Much imitated was the Thorowgood «grotesque» face of the early 1830s. This was arrestingly bold and highly condensed, quite unlike the classical proportions of Caslon’s design, but very suitable for poster typography and similar in aesthetic effect to the (generally wider) slab serif and «fat faces» of the period. It also added a lower-case. The term «grotesque» comes from the Italian word for cave, and was often used to describe Roman decorative styles found by excavation, but had long become applied in the modern sense for objects that appeared «malformed or monstrous».^[7] The term «grotesque» became commonly used to describe sans-serifs.

Similar condensed sans-serif display typefaces, often capitals-only, became very successful.^[48] Sans-serif printing types began to appear thereafter in France and Germany.^[68][69]

A few theories about early sans-serifs now known to be incorrect may be mentioned here. One is that sans-serifs are based on either «fat face typefaces» or slab-serifs with the serifs removed.^[72][73] It is now known that the inspiration was more classical antiquity, and sans-serifs appeared before the first dated appearance of slab-serif letterforms in 1810.^[45] The Schelter & Giesecke foundry also claimed during the 1920s to have been offering a sans-serif with lower-case by 1825.^[74][75] Wolfgang Homola dated it in 2004 to 1882 based on a study of Schelter & Giesecke specimens;^[76] Mosley describes this as «thoroughly discredited»; even in 1986 Walter Tracy described the claimed dates as «on stylistic grounds … about forty years too early».^[45][77]

Sans-serif lettering and typefaces were popular due to their clarity and legibility at distance in advertising and display use, when printed very large or small. Because sans-serif type was often used for headings and commercial printing, many early sans-serif designs did not feature lower-case letters. Simple sans-serif capitals, without use of lower-case, became very common in uses such as tombstones of the Victorian period in Britain.

The first use of sans-serif as a running text has been proposed to be the short booklet Feste des Lebens und der Kunst: eine Betrachtung des Theaters als höchsten Kultursymbols (Celebration of Life and Art: A Consideration of the Theater as the Highest Symbol of a Culture),^[78] by Peter Behrens, in 1900.^[79]

Twentieth-century sans-serifs[edit]

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries sans-serif types were viewed with suspicion by many printers, especially those of fine book printing, as being fit only for advertisements (if that), and to this day^[when?] most books remain printed in serif typefaces as body text.^[81] This impression would not have been helped by the standard of common sans-serif types of the period, many of which now seem somewhat lumpy and eccentrically-shaped. In 1922, master printer Daniel Berkeley Updike described sans-serif typefaces as having «no place in any artistically respectable composing-room.»^[82] By 1937 he stated that he saw no need to change this opinion in general, though he felt that Gill Sans and Futura were the best choices if sans-serifs had to be used.^[83]

Through the early twentieth century, an increase in popularity of sans-serif typefaces took place as more artistic sans-serif designs were released. While he disliked sans-serif typefaces in general, the American printer J.L. Frazier wrote of Copperplate Gothic in 1925 that «a certain dignity of effect accompanies … due to the absence of anything in the way of frills», making it a popular choice for the stationery of professionals such as lawyers and doctors.^[84] As Updike’s comments suggest, the new, more constructed humanist and geometric sans-serif designs were viewed as increasingly respectable, and were shrewdly marketed in Europe and America as embodying classic proportions (with influences of Roman capitals) while presenting a spare, modern image.^{[85][86][87][88][89]} Futura in particular was extensively marketed by Bauer and its American distribution arm by brochure as capturing the spirit of modernity, using the German slogan «die Schrift unserer Zeit» («the typeface of our time») and in English «the typeface of today and tomorrow»; many typefaces were released under its influence as direct clones, or at least offered with alternate characters allowing them to imitate it if desired.^{[90][91][92][93]}

Grotesque sans-serif revival and the International Typographic Style[edit]

In the post-war period, an increase of interest took place in «grotesque» sans-serifs.^[94][95][96] Writing in The Typography of Press Advertisement (1956), printer Kenneth Day commented that Stephenson Blake’s eccentric Grotesque series had returned to popularity for having «a personality sometimes lacking in the condensed forms of the contemporary sans cuttings of the last thirty years.»^[28] Leading type designer Adrian Frutiger wrote in 1961 on designing a new face, Univers, on the nineteenth-century model: «Some of these old sans-serifs have had a real renaissance within the last twenty years, once the reaction of the ‘New Objectivity’ had been overcome. A purely geometrical form of type is unsustainable.»^[97] Of this period in Britain, Mosley has commented that in 1960 «orders unexpectedly revived» for Monotype’s eccentric Monotype Grotesque design: «[it] represents, even more evocatively than Univers, the fresh revolutionary breeze that began to blow through typography in the early sixties» and «its rather clumsy design seems to have been one of the chief attractions to iconoclastic designers tired of the … prettiness of Gill Sans».^[42][98]

By the 1960s, neo-grotesque typefaces such as Univers and Helvetica had become popular through reviving the nineteenth-century grotesques while offering a more unified range of styles than on previous designs, allowing a wider range of text to be set artistically through setting headings and body text in a single family.^{[5][99][100][101][102]} The style of design using asymmetric layouts, Helvetica and a grid layout extensively has been called the Swiss or International Typographic Style.

Other names[edit]

Early[edit]

• Egyptian: The name of Caslon’s first general-purpose sans-serif printing type; also documented as being used by Joseph Farington to describe seeing the sans-serif inscription on John Flaxman’s memorial to Isaac Hawkins Brown in 1805,^[48] though today^[when?] the term is commonly used to refer to slab serif, not sans-serif.
• Antique: Particularly popular in France;^[42] some families such as Antique Olive, still carry the name.
• Grotesque: Popularised by William Thorowgood of Fann Street Foundry from around 1830.^[7][64][74] The name came from the Italian word ‘grottesco’, meaning ‘belonging to the cave’. In Germany, the name became Grotesk.
• Doric: Used by the Caslon foundry in London
• Gothic: Popular with American type founders. Perhaps the first use of the term was due to the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry, which in 1837 published a set of sans-serif typefaces under that name. It is believed that those were the first sans-serif designs to be introduced in America.^[103] The term probably derived from the architectural definition, which is neither Greek nor Roman,^[104] and from the extended adjective term of «Germany», which was the place where sans-serif typefaces became popular in the 19th to 20th centuries.^[105] Early adopters for the term includes Miller & Richard (1863), J. & R. M. Wood (1865), Lothian, Conner, Bruce McKellar. Although the usage is now^[when?] rare in the English-speaking world, the term is commonly used in Japan and South Korea; in China they are known by the term heiti (Chinese: 黑體), literally meaning «black type», which is probably derived from the mistranslation of Gothic as blackletter typeface, even though actual blackletter typefaces have serifs.

Recents[edit]

• Lineale, or linear: The term was defined by Maximilien Vox in the VOX-ATypI classification to describe sans-serif types. Later, in British Standards Classification of Typefaces (BS 2961:1967), lineale replaced sans-serif as classification name.
• Simplices: In Jean Alessandrini’s désignations préliminaries (preliminary designations), simplices (plain typefaces) is used to describe sans-serif on the basis that the name ‘lineal’ refers to lines, whereas, in reality, all typefaces are made of lines, including those that are not lineals.^[106]
• Swiss: It is used as a synonym to sans-serif, as opposed to roman (serif). The OpenDocument format (ISO/IEC 26300:2006) and Rich Text Format can use it to specify the sans-serif generic typeface («font family») name for the font files used in a document.^{[107][108][109]} Presumably refers to the popularity of sans-serif grotesque and neo-grotesque types in Switzerland.
• Industrial: Used to refer to grotesque and neo-grotesque sans-serifs that are not based on «artistic» principles, as humanist, geometric and decorative designs normally are.^[77][110]

Gallery[edit]

This gallery presents images of sans-serif lettering and type across different times and places from early to recent. Particular attention is given to unusual uses and more obscure typefaces, meaning this gallery should not be considered a representative sampling.

• 

  Dublin 1848, caps-only heading with crossed V-form ‘W’

• 

  Corset advertisement using multiple grotesque typefaces, United States, 1886

• 

  Light sans-serif being used for text, Germany, 1914

• 

  German propaganda poster, 1914

• 

  Small art-nouveau flourishes on ‘v’ and ‘e’. Ljubljana, 1916.

• 

  Italic, Dublin, 1916

• 

  Nearly monoline and stroke-modulated sans; Austrian war bond poster, 1916

• 

  Broad block capitals. Hungarian film poster, 1918.

• 

  Monoline sans-serif with art-nouveau influenced tilted ‘e’ and ‘a’. Embedded umlaut at top left for tighter linespacing.

• 

  Art Deco thick block inline sans-serif capitals, inner details kept very thin. France, 1920s.

• 

  Artistic sans-serif keeping curves to a minimum (the line ‘O Governo do Estado’), Brazil, 1930

• 

  Lightly modulated sans-serif lettering on a 1930s poster, pointed stroke endings suggesting a brush

• 

  Geometric sans-serif capitals, with sharp points on ‘A’ and ‘N’. Australia, 1934.

• 

  Dwiggins’ Metrolite and Metroblack typefaces, geometric types of the style popular in the 1930s

• 

  Stencilled lettering apparently based on Futura Black, 1937

• 

  A 1940s American poster. The curve of the ‘r’ is a common feature in grotesque typefaces, but the ‘single-storey’ ‘a’ is a classic feature of geometric typefaces from the 1920s onwards.

• 

  1952 Jersey holiday events brochure, using the popular Gill Sans-led British style of the period

• 

  Swiss-style poster using Helvetica, 1964. Tight spacing characteristic of the period.

• 

  Ultra-condensed industrial sans-serif in the style of the 1960s; Berlin, 1966

• 

  Neo-grotesque type, Switzerland, 1972: Helvetica or a close copy. Irregular baseline may be due to using transfers.

• 

  Tightly-spaced ITC Avant Garde; 1976

• 

  Governmental poster using Univers, 1980

• 

  Anti-nuclear poster, 1982

• 

  1997 film festival poster, Ankara

See also[edit]

• East Asian sans-serif typeface
• Emphasis (typography)
• List of sans serif typefaces
• San Serriffe, an April Fools’ joke by the newspaper The Guardian

Explanatory notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The sanserif: the search for examples (lecture by James Mosley)
• The true source of the sans (lecture to ATypI by Jon Melton)
• The Sans Serif in France: The Early Years (1834–44) (lecture by fr:Sébastien Morlighem)
• Panorama: A reassesment of 19th century poster type (presentation by Pierre Pané-Farré to Ésad Amiens)
• Grotesque: The Birth of The Modern Sans Serif in The Types of The Nineteenth Century (Lecture at Cooper Union by Sara Soskolne)

Каждый бренд стремится к созданию собственного, уникального стиля оформления логотипа, рекламы, сайта, социальных сетей и других площадок. Для решения этой сложной и ответственной задачи необходимо не только разработать композицию и подобрать цветовые сочетания, но отыскать подходящие шрифты, ведь именно они вторыми после текста транслируют целевой аудитории сообщение. Как понять, какой шрифт подойдёт бренду? Для начала выбрать один из двух вариантов: Serif или Sans Serif.

Шрифты различаются важной составляющей начертания — засечками. Засечки представляют собой небольшие декоративные штрихи, выходящие за границы элементов букв. Сейчас засечки считаются «украшениями», однако изначально они выполняли важную функцию. Засечки помогали читать напечатанный текст быстрее (буквы как будто соединялись друг с другом, образуя единую линию — взгляд не «терялся» на странице, было легче удерживать внимание).

10-20 лет назад считалось, что начертания с засечками подходят лишь для напечатанного на бумаге текста. Дело в том, что было распространено следующее мнение: при чтении с экрана текста, написанного шрифтом с засечками, быстрее устает зрение. Такая «теория» сформировалась из-за того, что в начале 2000-х годов качество мониторов компьютеров было в целом на низком уровне: любой текст читался сложнее, чем на бумаге.

С 2010-х ситуация кардинально изменилась: появились щадящие зрение экраны – теперь отлично читаются все шрифты.

Обратите внимание: сейчас большинство официальных электронных документов оформляется именно при помощи начертаний с засечками – никаких сложностей и проблем их изучение не вызывает.

К группе Serif относятся шрифты с засечками. Общеизвестный пример начертания — Times New Roman. Декоративные линии бывают острыми или тупыми, объёмными и плоскими, полупрозрачными и насыщенными: у каждого семейства начертаний Serif есть свой особый стиль. Засечки дополняют как прописные, так и строчные буквы, цифры и другие символы.

Sans Serif — рубленые шрифты без засечек. Самые распространенные варианты — Arial и Calibri. Sans Serif появились в начале XIX века. В основном они применялись для создания крупных рекламных объявлений: текст, выполненный посредством такого начертания, был более разборчивым и четким, читался издалека.

Sans Serif отличаются большей универсальностью, нежели Serif. В то же время весомое преимущество шрифтов с засечками — придание любому символу уникальных черт.

Существует мнение, что засечки подчёркивают индивидуальные особенности начертания каждой буквы: «спутать» их между собой становится сложнее. Весомый недостаток Sans Serif заключается в меньшем числе декоративных элементов: из дизайнерских решений доступны лишь изменения жирности, высоты, отступа и межбуквенного расстояния.

Почему важно тщательно выбирать шрифты для логотипа?

Любая деталь, размещенная на эмблеме компании, оказывает прямое влияние на восприятие бренда. Каждый бизнес транслирует собственный месседж. Донести его в понятной и простой форме призван фирменный стиль, важной составляющей которого является начертание.

Serif и Sans Serif оказывают различное воздействие на эмоциональное состояние целевой аудитории. 

Так, начертания с засечками относятся к классическим (их также называют формальными). Шрифты без засечек — более современные и креативные. Неверный выбор стиля опасен тем, что может несколько исказить сообщение, следовательно, помешать достичь поставленных целей по продвижению, увеличению узнаваемости и продажам.

Бесспорное преимущество Sans Serif заключается в адаптивности: начертания без засечек проще масштабируются. Дело в том, что Sans Serif не отличается большим количеством деталей: символы будут оставаться разборчивыми даже при многократном уменьшении. Кстати, именно по этой причине начертания группы применяют более 70% компаний.

Смысловая нагрузка Serif и Sans Serif

Шрифты Serif транслируют уверенность, устойчивость, надёжность, стабильность приверженность традициям. Такие начертания используются на протяжении сотен лет — ещё со времён зарождения книгопечатания.

Ассоциации подтверждаются результатами многочисленных исследований: нередко шрифты с засечками респонденты называют «элегантными» и «научными».

Serif - оптимальный вариант для оформления дизайна компаний, позиционирующих себя как надёжные и серьезные предприятия. 

Отметим, что часто при выборе шрифтов с засечками элементы букв контрастны в толщине линий: эта деталь привлекает повышенное внимание и является неким символом творчества, готовности принимать нестандартные решения.

Начертания Sans Serif транслируют инновационность, динамичность и доступность. Часто эти шрифты ассоциируются с минимализмом и лёгкостью: они довольно просты и лаконичны, выглядят современно и аккуратно.

Результаты опросов свидетельствуют о том, что Sans Serif многие считают неформальными: это лучший вариант для бизнеса, связанного с технологиями, и необычных стартапов.

Советы по выбору идеального шрифта для логотипа компании

В последние несколько лет заметна тенденция избавления от засечек: все чаще владельцы бизнеса отказываются от применения этих элементов в пользу рубленых шрифтов. Нужно ли следовать такой моде или есть варианты преобразовать начертание с засечками, чтобы оно стало более актуальным и современным?

Не стоит перекраивать дизайн-концепцию фирменного знака из-за моды: из-за такой тенденции могут появиться сотни одинаковых «безликих» символов, утерявших всякую индивидуальность и оригинальность. Ответьте на два важных вопроса, прежде чем действительно «упразднить» текст, выполненный при помощи Serif, на логотипе, сайте и рекламных материалах:

1. Какую идею вы хотите донести до целевой аудитории? Если сейчас бизнес достиг такого уровня, когда ощущается острая необходимость сократить дистанцию с потребителями продукции, примерить более современный, непринуждённый образ, от засечек действительно можно отказаться. Если ценностью является солидность бренда, его устойчивость на рынке, надёжность и серьезность, не отказывайтесь от начертания с засечками.
2. Посредством каких площадок вы чаще взаимодействуете с аудиторией? На печатных материалах всё-таки лучше оставить Serif, для онлайн-страниц подойдёт Sans Serif, он же является универсальным вариантом, так как отличается большей адаптивностью.

Как определиться со шрифтом для логотипа?

1. Поинтересуйтесь тенденциями в сфере оформления эмблем и изучите дизайны лого конкурентов: обратите внимание на характеры брендов, их самопрезентации и позиционирование, применяемые маркетинговые и коммуникативные стратегии, исследуйте ценности, которые они транслируют своим целевым аудиториям.
2. Наложите на макет дизайна фирменного знака разные шрифты: создайте несколько вариантов, различающихся лишь начертаниями. Посмотрите, как будут смотреться различные шрифты на печатных носителях и в онлайн-пространстве. Это поможет понять, справляется ли начертание с возложенными на него задачами, а также прочувствовать, ценить эмоции, которые вызывает цельная композиция.
3. Если определиться с одним вариантом не получилось, используйте сразу 2-3 шрифта, но подходите к их выбору максимально вдумчиво и тщательно! Рассмотрите несколько комбинаций: наверняка найдется вариант, который придется по душе.

Шрифт — важный элемент дизайна логотипа каждого бренда. Начертание не только транслирует основную мысль, заложенную в тексте, но задаёт настроение, обладает дополнительным значением — вызывает определенные чувства и эмоции. Изучайте опыт других компаний, экспериментируйте, но не перегружайте оформление деталями и акцентами. Помните, что шрифт является маркером индивидуальности: демонстрирует аудитории, как именно позиционирует себя сама компания.

Категории: Без категории

На нашем сайте, вы можете скачать шрифт Microsoft Sans Serif для своего сайта, или на свой компьютер, абсолютно бесплатно!
Добавляйте выбранные начертания и шрифты в «Коллекцию» нажав кнопку [+], чтобы скачать ZIP архивом только те файлы шрифтов, которые Вам нужны.

Съешь ещё этих мягких французских булок, да выпей же чаю.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-=

MicrosoftSansSerifRegular.ttf Eot Woff

Как установить шрифт MicrosoftSansSerif Regular

1. Для того, чтобы установить шрифт MicrosoftSansSerif Regular в свой HTML-проект, сперва скопируйе содержимое архива в папку /fonts, которая должна лежать в той-же директории, что и папка /css вашего HTML сайта.

Структура проекта после установки шрифтов:
/ (корневой каталог шаблона или проекта)
    /fonts (Шрифты из архива распаковываем в папку /fonts)
        /MicrosoftSansSerifRegular

    /css (Папка со стилями должна находиться в той-же категории, что и /fonts)
        /stylename.css (Файл стилей, в котором подключаются русские шрифты)
                                

2. Далее вставляем код, указанный ниже, в файл стилей, который должен находиться в папке /css.

/* Код для подключения шрифта в /css/stylename.css */
@font-face { 
    font-family: "MicrosoftSansSerifRegular";
    src: url("../fonts/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular.eot");
    src: url("../fonts/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular.eot?#iefix")format("embedded-opentype"),
    url("../fonts/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular.woff") format("woff"),
    url("../fonts/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular/MicrosoftSansSerifRegular.ttf") format("truetype");
    font-style: normal;
    font-weight: 400;
}

А лучше, используйте «коллекции» чтобы получить готовый архив с css файлом и нужными шрифтами, для этого жмите [+] и выбраный шрифт попадет в вашу коллекцию, можно добавлять разные шрифты и начертания, чтобы скачать только те, которые Вам нужны.
Кроме того, вы можете скачать сгенерированный плагин для WordPress сайта, и установить шрифты через менеджер плагинов в админке!

Вы можете скачать шрифт «Microsoft Sans Serif» одним zip-архивом, со всеми вариантами начертаний.