What are sans serif fonts in word

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)

1. Calibri. Having replaced Times New Roman as the default Microsoft Word font, Calibri is an excellent option for a safe, universally readable sans-serif font.

Furthermore, What does Sans font look like?

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. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than serif typefaces.

Simply so What is the most attractive font?

• 10 of the Most Beautiful Fonts for Web Designers. Design Tips. …
• Playfair. Some looks never go out of fashion. …
• Roboto. Roboto is a sans serif font – it’s geometric with friendly and open curves. …
• Raleway. Raleway is an elegant font with a thin weight – the unique ‘W’ really makes it stand out. …
• Pacifico. …
• Quicksand. …
• Oswald. …
• Lato.

Also, What are the 4 major font types? What are four main types of fonts?

• Serif fonts.
• Sans serif fonts.
• Script fonts.
• Display fonts.

What font is most pleasing to the eye?

Designed for Microsoft, Georgia was actually created with low-resolution screens in mind, so it’s ideal for your desktop and mobile site visitors alike.

• Helvetica.
• PT Sans & PT Serif.
• Open Sans.
• Quicksand.
• Verdana.
• Rooney.
• Karla.
• Roboto.

Why are sans serif fonts easier? Sans is a French word meaning “without”. Thus, a sans serif is a typeface that has no traces or lines extending from the edges of letters and alphabets. This way, there are no curls, and the sans serif letters appear simple and rounded. The Sans font is clean and the best font for reading on screen.

Why is sans serif better?

Sans-Serif have slightly increased readability compared to Serifs. Which is why Sans-Serif is a great typeface for the body of text. Don’t combine a Serif with a Serif and a Sans-Serif with a Sans-Serif because it can look a little bland and undifferentiated. Too many fonts in one design is not a good thing.

The most popular serif fonts are Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia, Garamond, and Didot (to name a few). These fonts are often pre-installed in computers, making them an easy default choice.

What are the most hated fonts?

My top 10 most loathed fonts as a graphic designer!

• Hobo.
• Scriptina. …
• Times New Roman. …
• Arial. …
• Bradley Hand. …
• Copperplate Gothic. If I see another law firm/accounting agency/corporate business use this font in their branding, it’ll be too soon! …
• Trajan. “In a world…” …
• Courier. This is just one of the ugliest fonts every created! …

What is the most annoying font?

Comic Sans: The most annoying font in the world Back to video. Even if you didn’t know what it was called, you will be familiar with Comic Sans. Comic Sans is type that has gone wrong.

Why is Arial bad?

Arial and Helvetica are the default font stack for most browsers and for most of the websites. That’s bad, really really bad. Arial and Helvetica suck on web and for paragraphs of text – they are unreadable (as compared to many other typefaces created specifically for web).

What are 3 common font styles?

They appear in order of popularity.

• Helvetica. Helvetica remains the world’s most popular font. …
• Calibri. The runner up on our list is also a sans serif font. …
• Futura. Our next example is another classic sans serif font. …
• Garamond. Garamond is the first serif font on our list. …
• Times New Roman. …
• Arial. …
• Cambria. …
• Verdana.

What is the oldest font?

Why Trajan, the World’s Oldest Typeface, Still Matters. “Red Cross 90th anniversary stamp, 1957. It was the last stamp design of nearly 500 done by [Jan] van Krimpen.”

What font is fastest to read?

Multiple studies, like the one conducted by Sarah Morrison and Jan Noyes of the University of Bristol, have found that Times New Roman is the best typeface for reading any document. Readers speed through material faster thanks to its simple letters.

What is the cleanest font?

Here are a few of the best free fonts for clean & modern logo design & branding.

• Montserrat.
• Nexa (Light & Bold only) Full family here.
• Bebas Neue.
• Exo 2.
• Raleway.
• Roboto.
• Open Sans.
• Titillium Web.

What is the easiest to read font?

What Is the Easiest Font to Read? (10 Top Options)

1. Arial. Arial is the standard font for many word processors, such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs. …
2. Helvetica. Another old-school sans-serif typeface you may want to consider is Helvetica. …
3. Georgia. …
4. Merriweather. …
5. Montserrat. …
6. Futura. …
7. Open Sans. …
8. Lato.

What is the hardest font to read?

What is the hardest font to read on Google Docs?

• Papyrus.
• Comic Sans.
• Calibri.
• Brush Script.
• Verdana. You know how I know Verdana is terrible?
• Lucida Calligraphy. “Oh yeah, THAT font.” Lucida Calligraphy is under-the-radar terrible.
• Times New Roman. Let’s get this one out of the way.

What is the easiest text to read?

What Is the Easiest Font to Read? (10 Top Options)

1. Arial. Arial is the standard font for many word processors, such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs. …
2. Helvetica. Another old-school sans-serif typeface you may want to consider is Helvetica. …
3. Georgia. …
4. Merriweather. …
5. Montserrat. …
6. Futura. …
7. Open Sans. …
8. Lato.

Why do typefaces have serifs?

Serifs give the eye a curve to hug. When carved into stone, serifs allow words to appear aligned. Hence, the Victorians used serifs in all of their typefaces, and they were common in Italian Renaissance architecture. They were seen as “Roman.” Today, the names of computerized fonts (Times New Roman, Comic Sans, etc.)

Is serif or sans serif easier to read dyslexia?

In a classic study about which fonts are easier to read for people who have dyslexia, researchers found these three typeface characteristics significantly improved readability: Sans-serif.

What is the hardest to read font?

What is the hardest font to read on Google Docs?

• Papyrus.
• Comic Sans.
• Calibri.
• Brush Script.
• Verdana. You know how I know Verdana is terrible?
• Lucida Calligraphy. “Oh yeah, THAT font.” Lucida Calligraphy is under-the-radar terrible.
• Times New Roman. Let’s get this one out of the way.

Which is the most attractive font?

Beautiful Internet: 10 of the Best Fonts for the Web

• Alternate Gothic.
• Open Sans. …
• Alegreya. …
• Titillium Sans and Dosis. …
• Merriweather. …
• Yellowtail. …
• Playfair Display. Playfair is a unique font, created by Claus Eggers Sørensen. …
• Arvo. Arvo is a very good slab serif font family, created by Anton Koovit. …

What is the most classy font?

The following serif fonts will undoubtedly give an elegant appeal to your works, and best of all, you can download them free of charge.

1. EB Garamond. …
2. Playfair Display. …
3. Crimson Text. …
4. Old Standard. …
5. Cormorant. …
6. Libre Baskerville. …
7. Caudex. …
8. Spectral.

Is times a serif font?

Times New Roman is a serif typeface. It was commissioned by the British newspaper The Times in 1931 and conceived by Stanley Morison, the artistic adviser to the British branch of the printing equipment company Monotype, in collaboration with Victor Lardent, a lettering artist in The Times’s advertising department.

What are sans serif fonts? Most people who work with a computer are used to reading these names (serif, sans-serif, sans…) on their font list when editing a text document on a word processor or using image edition software to add some text to a photograph.

But for designers, knowing more than the font names are essential.

Sans serif fonts, then, are the ones that don’t have these ornamental lines in them. They started being widely used during the 1920s Bauhaus movement. They were seen as more modern and informal than the usual fonts with serifs that we still see in print and screens.

Today, these sans serif fonts are used in blogs and online articles in newspapers with large bodies of text because their legibility on-screen is excellent. They are also used in small texts, titles, captions… Almost everywhere!

The sans-serif fonts are classified into three or four groups (depending on if you split the last category into grotesque and neo-grotesque or not). Let’s learn about the particularities of each one of them!

See also: 20 Best Creative Custom Fonts PowerPoint Design

Why do typefaces matter?

When you’re writing a marketing pamphlet or creating a poster, the typeface you choose may seem of little importance. But in reality, typefaces make a big impact in conveying your message and capturing the attention of your target audience. Choose the wrong typeface, and your project may not achieve its intended purpose. On the other hand, when you choose a suitable typeface, your message will be more effective and easier to read.

Guide to choosing a typeface

Now you can answer the question, “What are serif and sans serif?” but you may still be wondering how to choose the suitable typeface for your next project. Here are a few tips to help you narrow down your options.

Consider your brand

The quickest way to choose a typeface is to consider your brand’s style using actionfonts.com. Are you youthful and energetic? Or formal and refined? Do you want to show off your modern aesthetic or create an air of authority? As we’ve already discussed, serif and sans serif typefaces give off a completely different vibe, so it’s essential to choose the typeface that matches your brand.

Don’t overdo it

It’s easy to get excited about all your typeface options, but it’s usually best to stick with just one or two fonts per project. Using too many typefaces will confuse the reader and leave your brand lacking a cohesive, recognizable style.

Feel free to mix and match

Though you probably don’t want to choose more than a few typefaces for your project, you should feel free to mix serif and sans serif fonts. Selecting only one typeface category may look a little bland. Choose one typeface for titles and another typeface for the body paragraph to maximize readability and add interest.

Typeface categories

Understanding the connotation of each typeface category can help you choose the right one for your next project. But if you’re used to scrolling through your typeface options and selecting one at random, you may need a more extensive introduction.

There are essentially three different categories of typefaces: serif, sans serif, and script. We’ll dive into the differences between each typeface category below. But for now, it’s essential to keep in mind that since there are thousands upon thousands of typefaces available, being able to decide if you need a serif, sans serif, or script typeface ahead of time will significantly help you in your search.

Once you’ve decided on the particular mood or emotions, you want to evoke with your content, you can match that up with a typeface. Different styles of type create different moods. You need to make sure you’re picking one that matches the tone of your content.

So, what are sans serif fonts? What about serif fonts? How do they differ, and how can you tell them apart?

Sans Serif

Sans serif typefaces are considered more modern than serif typefaces. They lack the strokes that distinguish a serif typeface, hence using the French word “sans,” which means “without.” Sans serif typefaces are often used to signify something clean, minimal, friendly, or modern.

Some of the most popular sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, Open Sans, Calibri, and Verdana. Sans serif fonts are often used on the web for large text groups because of the lower DPI (dots per inch) that screens have compared to print. Sans serif fonts are generally easier for children to read because they’re simpler.

See also: 20 Best Fonts for Professional PowerPoint: Adios! You Won’t See Arial and Times New Roman Anymore

When is a Sans Serif typeface right for you?

If you want to convey a friendly, approachable vibe, a sans-serif typeface may be the best choice. Many companies choose sans serif typefaces when they want to be seen as young, hip, and casual. Start-up and technology companies often use this category of typeface to convey their relatability and cutting-edge style. As we mentioned above, this is also the preferred font style for designing websites, thanks to the increased readability.

Types of Sans Serif fonts

There are three main types of sans-serif fonts: humanist, transitional, and geometric.

Humanist Sans Serif

Humanist sans serif typefaces emulate calligraphy and have minimalist contrasting strokes. The design of these typefaces is suitable for small text and small text, so they’re often used in government, education, or finance work. Gill Sans and Whitney are considered Humanist sans serif typefaces.

The earliest designs were inspired by classic letters like Roman square capitals. Their designs are more varied than the other categories.

Transitional Sans Serif

Transitional sans serif typefaces have strong strokes and more upright and uniform characters than Humanist typefaces. Their natural and modern feel works great for tech and transportation writing.

Grotesque Style, the first sans serif designs found from the 19th century to the early 20th. They were solid designs, suitable for advertisements, titles, and posters. The terminals of the curves in these fonts are usually horizontal, and there’s a slight variation in the width of the strokes.

This was the evolution of the previous type, the grotesque. They also have limited variation, but they were more versatile and were very useful for readable bodies of text. They often feature a “folded up”-like design, where the strokes curve and end with horizontal and vertical lines.

Geometric Sans Serif

Geometric sans serif typefaces use geometric shapes to form the backbones of the letters, which creates a strict, objective, and universal feel. The letterforms are often simple. Such letters like “a” with an opening would be circular or square and then repeated with other letters with the same type of opening.

These typefaces have in common that they are designed after geometric elements, such as circles and squares. They became very popular during the 20s and 30s because their design was perceived as modern and clean.

See also: Font Pairing Tips and Tricks for Dummies

Serif

What is a serif font? This typeface is recognizable by the little lines or strokes that extend from letters. As you can see in the text above, the “i” and “f” have distinguishable feet. The “S” also extends down and up at the ends.

When is a Serif typeface right for you?

Serif typefaces are some of the older typefaces. Their mood is often classic, romantic, elegant, formal, and established because of their age. Some well-known serif typefaces include Times New Roman, Georgia, and Garamond.

Many people believe that serif typefaces should be proper in printed works because the little serifs make it easier and quicker to identify the different letters, but that might not necessarily be true.

In any case, serif fonts are a good choice when you want your message to convey experience and trustworthiness. Many brands choose serif fonts because they believe it gives customers more confidence in their brand and gives them a better reputation than brands that use sans serif fonts.

See also: The Only Guide You Need to Download and Install Fonts for Professional PowerPoint

Types of Serif fonts

There are three different kinds of serif typefaces: humanist, transitional, and slab serif. There are also a few more categories of serif typefaces, like Renaissance, baroque, modern, and wedge, but we’ll focus on the three listed previously.

Humanist Serif

Humanist serif typefaces emulate classical calligraphy with contrasting strokes. These typefaces were the first Roman typefaces. Other characteristics of Humanist typefaces are small x-height and low contrast between strokes.

You’ll often see classic and traditional content printed with a humanist serif typeface, like books and articles.

Transitional Serif

Transitional serif typefaces have sharper serifs and more contrasting strokes to create a solid and dynamic style and are often used in law or academics. The influence of a pen has gone with Transitional typefaces. An example of this is the vertical stress in the bowls of letters, meaning the thinnest part of the letter.

In the Humanist typefaces, the vertical stress is actually on a diagonal since that’s how the vertical pressure of a letter generally is when words are handwritten. Georgia and Baskerville are Transitional serif typefaces.

Slab Serif

Slab Serif, or Egyptian or square serif, typefaces have heavy and boxy serifs with almost no contrast in the letter’s strokes.

This creates a friendly yet authoritative feel, like in a marketing application. New typefaces were very suitable for advertising and such, so a bolder typeface was important.

See also: How to Embed Fonts in PowerPoint into Various Platforms

Serif vs. Sans Serif fonts

When it comes to choosing serif vs. sans serif fonts, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. “When it comes to typography, there’s no one right way,” says Young.

The best font for you and your brand will entirely depend on what you want your designs to say to your audience. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing fonts for your brand:

Choose a font that feels you uniquely

Serif and sans serif fonts can both be equally effective—the key is to choose a font that feels you uniquely. “Both typefaces have their place in logo design, but the decision on which to use should be made thoughtfully,” says Downey. “Your font choice should accurately reflect your brand’s personality.”

Think about where and how people are going to interact with your brand

Choosing a font style that feels on-brand is essential, but choosing a type that makes sense on the mediums and platforms people will use to interact with your brand. “Serifs are naturally easier for the eye to read quickly and we can find this typeface in most books and newspapers,” says Downey. “Sans-serifs on the other hand, mainly dominate the digital world on websites and apps.”

“For brands that intentionally want their aesthetic to feel classic and aren’t as worried about how the branding with appear on a screen, a sophisticated font is a great choice,” says Young. “Brands that want a modern aesthetic that scales well at different sizes and is easy to read on screens are going to choose sans serif for their main branding elements.”

Don’t get stuck in the “serif = traditional, sans serif = modern” mindset

Generally speaking, serif fonts are more traditional, while sans-serif fonts have a more modern feel. But there are exceptions to every rule. “Although the rule of thumb is that sans-serif equals modern and serif equals traditional, we need to break those design stereotypes,” says Downey. So, depending on how you use your fonts, you can create a modern look using serif fonts—or a more traditional feel with sans serif fonts.

Let’s visit RRSlide to download free PowerPoint templates. But wait, don’t go anywhere and stay here with our RRGraph Design Blog to keep up-to-date on the best pitch deck template collections and design advice from our PowerPoint experts.

What is a sans serif font? What is the difference between serif and sans serif fonts? These are just some of the questions we will be answering today in this short article. 

Then we will share some terrific examples of sans serif fonts you can find at Envato Elements.

What Is a Sans Serif Font?

Let’s start by answering what font is sans serif? Serifs are small lines or strokes attached to the end of the main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letters. And the word sans is French for without. So sans serif fonts are fonts without serifs. 

What Is the Difference Between Serif and Sans Serif Fonts?

If you want to learn more about the difference between serifs and sans serifs, check out the video below:

Pop Quiz

Which of the following describes sans serif fonts?

1. a font without serifs
2. a font with serifs

Is Calibri a sans serif font?

1. No
2. Yes

**Answers at the end of the article.

Sans Serif Font Examples

Though sans serifs possess the same common feature of having no serifs, they do come in a wide range of styles. Let’s check out some examples of sans serif fonts.

Hoglar Sans Display (OTF, TTF)

Hoglar Sans Display is bold and striking, making it perfect for branding, movie and book titles, signage, and more. Hoglar includes both upper and lowercase characters, numbers, and punctuation, as well as multilingual support.

Confillia Sans Serif (OTF)

Confillia is a wonderful sans serif that offers four styles: normal, italic, bold, and bold italic. The font includes upper and lowercase characters, numbers, punctuation, symbols, and multilingual support. 

Stark: A Modern Sans Serif (OTF)

If you are looking for a clean, modern, minimalist font, then Stark is a great choice for you. This terrific sans serif is perfect for both headers and body text. It comes in five weights, with five italic styles.

Arubi Sans Serif Font

Arubi is a cool and contemporary font that’s an excellent choice for branding and editorial projects. This display font offers stylish uppercase letters only.

Sprout Sans Serif (OTF)

This slender and condensed font is a great choice when you need an elegant and delicate font for your stationary, titling, product labelling and more.

Heroes Sans Serif (OTF, TTF, WOFF)

Sans serif fonts can be as exciting as you need them to be. And when you need a sans serif with a bit of pizzazz, you can’t go wrong with Heroes, a condensed sans serif font that is fun and eye-catching. Use Heroes when you need a display font for your album covers, logos, branding, magazine covers, social media, etc.

Nickels Bold Sans Serif (OTF, TTF)

When you need a bold sans serif for your signage, headers, and titles, choose Nickels, a fun display font with a lot of character. Download it today and take it for a spin in your next project. 

Pacco Sans Serif Font (OTF, TTF, WOFF)

Clean, minimalist, and eye-catching, Pacco is an excellent font to choose when you need a font for special projects like branding, merchandising, titles, and others. This sans serif offers uppercase characters only, but that’s all you’ll need. 

Semox Modern Sans Serif (OTF, TTF)

Looking for a unique sans serif font? How about Semox? This sans serif font offers a futuristic touch that is completely irresistible. It offers upper and lowercase characters, numbers, punctuation, symbols, and multilingual support.

ONIX Display Typeface (OTF, TTF, WOFF)

This clean and stylish sans serif typeface is a great choice for logos, product packaging labels, branding, websites, and more. The type comes in three weights: light, regular, and bold. 

**Answers to the Pop Quiz

1. A font without serifs
2. Yes

Choose Your Favourite Sans Serif Font 

Now that you know what a sans serif font is and you’ve seen some sans serif font examples available at Envato Elements, head on over to the site and select your favourites today. 

If you want even more information on sans serif fonts, check out these really helpful articles from Envato Tuts+:

Did you find this post useful?

Nona Blackman began her freelance copywriting career with Envato in 2017. Since then she has written over 600 articles for the Envato Tuts+ Design & Illustration, Photography & Video, Web Design, Code, Music & Audio, 3D & Motion Graphics, Business and Computer Skills sections, as well as the Envato Blog and the Envato Medium account.

Blackman holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of the West Indies, a Master’s of Fine Arts in Photography, Video and Digital Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Westminster in London.

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.

What are you wearing right now?

Wait, that was a little creepy. Let me reword that.

Think about the outfit you’re currently wearing. What does your outfit say about you?

Often times (whether right or wrong) people make a first impression based on the clothes you wear.

They make assumptions about things like your style, your personality, your age, or even the type of impression you want to make.

There are also different outfits for different occasions.

For example, you wouldn’t wear a bathing suit to a job interview.

The same can be said about the fonts you choose to use in your branding and in your website’s design.

Fonts, similar to the clothes your wear, provide people with a first impression about who you are.

They’re one of the first things people see when they discover your company so they can set the tone for your entire brand.

That’s why you need to be intentional and strategic with the ones you choose.

Why Is Choosing the Right Font so Important?

It’s all about choosing an “outfit” that fits your brand.    

Some fonts are more casual and expressive, while others are more buttoned up and reserved.

Choosing the wrong font can completely change the personality of your brand thus giving people the wrong impression about your company.

In the example below, you can see that by just changing the font on these iconic logos to Comic Sans the personality and feel of these brands completely changes. Brands that looked clean and refined now look childish and playful.    

Photo Credit: Lingo

That’s why choosing a font that compliments your brand is so crucial. You want to make sure people have an accurate perception of your company.

So where should you start with choosing a font?

Before you can choose a specific font, you need to understand the different categories of fonts. While there are a ton of different categories, such as script, display, gothic, the two main categories are serif and sans serif.

Serif vs Sans Serif: What’s the Difference?

Understanding the difference between these two categories will help you start narrowing down which one is right for you. Fortunately, recognizing the difference between the two is pretty easy.

The answer is simply in the name.

A serif is a decorative stroke that finishes off the end of a letters stem (sometimes also called the “feet” of the letters).

In turn,  a serif font is a font that has serifs, while a sans serif is a font that does not (hence the “sans”). Simple, right?

Notice the difference in the example below.

The serif font is more ornamental and has serifs extending from the ends while the sans serif font on the left has clean and very precise ends.

Both of these styles have their own unique personality and communicate very different messages.

That’s why it’s important to understand each style and make sure you’re choosing a font that aligns with the message you want your brand to communicate.

Now that you understand the difference between serif and sans serif fonts, let’s dive deeper into the background and psychology of each style of font.

Serif Fonts Say Traditional, Established, and Trustworthy

Serif fonts have a history that dates all the way back to the 18th century when stonemasons would carve letters into rock.

Today, we see a lot of serif fonts in traditional mediums such as newspapers, magazines, and books. That’s why serif fonts are typically seen as more classic and refined and are used by companies who want to exude these traits.

As mentioned above, the most notable characteristic of serif fonts is their decorative tails and strokes.

Serif letters also commonly use strokes that vary in weight meaning some areas of a letter may be thick while others are thin.

What Does a Serif Font Say About Your Brand?

The distinct characteristics and history of serif fonts give people a feeling of elegance, confidence, and trustworthy.

This usually makes them a good fit for companies who want to appear more reputable, established, and serious.

Professional businesses such as law practices, editorials, and insurance companies are all examples of companies that a serif font would be a good choice for.

Photo Credit: Different Perspective

Some of the more notable examples of serif fonts include Georgia, Garamond, Times New Roman, and Baskerville.

Let’s take a look at some serifs in action.

Examples of Serif Fonts in Design:

Dawson | Orr  

Dawson | Orr is a Florida-based law firm that has more than 60+ years of experience. They use a serif font to show people that they are  experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to helping them with their litigation needs.

The use of serif in their logo and headers, give you the feeling that their team is established, educated, and going to take your case seriously.

The New York Times

The New York Times is a timeless publication that’s been around since the 1850s.

From their logo to the fonts used in their articles, they use a serif font to give people the feeling of tradition and reputability.

Serifs are also conventionally associated with print newspapers so their use of this font also creates a sense of formality and credibility.

Sans Serif Fonts Say Modern, Approachable, and Clean   

Sans serif fonts, on the other hand, communicate a completely different message.

While serif fonts focus heavily on embracing tradition and history, sans serif fonts take the opposite approach and embrace simplicity and the feeling of being modern.

The main characteristics of serif fonts are their lack of serifs and use of simple, clean lines that are the same width throughout.

The clean, crisp lines of sans serif fonts are the main reason many web designers prefer this style of font for on-screen use.

The clean lines and sharp edges are able to render out more clearly on a screen which increases legibility for users.  

What Does a Sans Serif Font Say About Your Brand?

Sans serif fonts give off a feeling of being casual, informal, friendly, and very approachable. Companies who want their brands to appear more youthful and relatable tend to use sans serif fonts.

Photo Credit: Different Perspective

These traits make sans serif fonts are a popular choice among many start-up and tech companies who want to give people a sense of being cutting edge and more humanistic.

Some of the more popular serif fonts include Helvetica, Open Sans, Proxima Nova, and Arial.

Examples of Sans Serif Fonts in Design:

Wix

If you work in the digital marketing world chances are you’ve heard of Wix. They’re a cloud-based CMS that makes it easy for people to build websites.

Wix wants people to know that their product is easy to use, offers great customer support, and makes creating a website fun, and they accomplish that with their font choice.  

By choosing a clean and rounded font, they give people a feeling of relaxation and approachability from the second someone interacts with their brand.

Creating a website is no longer intimidating.

HubSpot

HubSpot is another example of a company that uses a sans serif font in their branding.

The rounded and clean appearance of their logo and website fonts give people similar feelings of friendliness and approachability.

This youthful font helps humanize their brand and makes their company more relatable.

Sans Serif or Serif — So, Which One Should You Use?

The short (and slightly vague) answer is there’s no one size fits all solution.

While we’ve seen a number of high profile companies start to rebrand themselves and make the switch over to a sans serif font, that doesn’t mean you need to jump on the bandwagon too.

You need to choose a font that’s going to that conveys the right message and embodies your brand’s personality.

It’s different for every company.

For example, a trendy tech company, such as Uber wants their brand to convey a much different message than a more buttoned-up company like The New York Times.

Before starting your search for a font, brainstorm some of the qualities and characteristics of your brand. Also, think about the medium in which people are going to be interacting with your company.

This will give you a roadmap to follow when researching fonts. You can then check any possible fonts against your brainstorm list to make sure it fits those qualities and use cases.

Remember, a font can drastically change the way your brand is perceived by people.

Apple is an interesting example of this.

In the early days of Apple, the tech giant primarily used a serif font in its branding before eventually switching to a more modern looking sans serif font.

Look at the two examples below. Which one looks more like the cutting edge industry leader we all know today?

Overall, you want to ensure that your font (and all of your design choices for that matter) reflect your brand.

Choose the Font That Exemplifies Your Brand

When used properly and chosen for the right reasons both serif and san serif fonts can be effective. What’s most important is choosing a font that’s right for your brand.

It’s all about finding a font that will give people the right first impression and continues to embody the qualities of your brand.

While there’s no one size fits all solution to picking the right font for your brand, there are some general guidelines you can follow to help you make the right choice:

1. Don’t Overload Your Brand With Too Many Fonts

It can be easy to want to choose a ton of fonts to use in your designs, but doing so can actually hurt your brand.

A rule-of-thumb to follow when choosing fonts is to stick between one to three different fonts.

Any more than that and your designs will begin to look cluttered and you’ll run into the issue of the different fonts starting to compete with one and other.

That being said…

2. Choose Fonts That Have the Right Amount of Contrast.

Choosing multiple fonts for your brand can be an effective way to create hierarchy in your designs. However, choosing two fonts that have the right amount of contrast while still working together can be tricky.

Online design tool Canva suggests finding fonts that have a shared quality. For example, maybe two fonts that have a similar letter height or width or fonts that are created by the same designer.
Merriweather and Merriweather Sans are a good example of two fonts that contrast each other nicely, but still feel cohesive.

These fonts were both created by the same designer so they share a lot of similar qualities in the spacing and shapes of the letters that help the fonts feel more related.

3. Look for a Font With Multiple Weights and Styles

A font that has multiple weights and styles (such as light, semibold, bold, etc) makes the font more versatile and allows you to communicate different messages throughout your designs with a single font.

4. There are no hard set rules.

Companies that are more traditional don’t need to stick to only serif fonts and vise-versa.

While serif fonts are associated with being more traditional and sans serif fonts are typically more modern, there are always exceptions to the rule. It’s all about HOW you use the fonts.

Если вы когда-либо были на охоте на идеальный шрифт, есть два термина, которые вы, вероятно, заметили — «Serif» и «SANS Serif». Зная, что значит эти условия, поможет вам лучше понять, что вы ищете.

Шрифты и шрифты

Во-первых, давайте кратко поговорим о

Термины, которые мы используем для описания внешнего вида текста

Отказ То, что большинство людей относятся к «шрифту», на самом деле является «шрифтом». Например, классика

Times New Roman.

это шрифт. «Шрифт» технически файл, который содержит шрифт. Тем не менее, большинство людей используют «шрифт» и «шрифт» взаимозаменяемо.

СВЯЗАННЫЕ С:




В чем разница между шрифтом, шрифтом и семейством шрифта?

Что такое «сериф»?

В значительной степени все шрифты могут быть классифицированы как «Serif» или «Sans Serif». Оба эти условия включают «Serif», так что давайте там начнем. Вот техническое определение «Serif:»

Небольшая проекция, заканчивающая инсульт письма в определенных типах.

В основном, в любое время вы видите немного лишнего бита, торчащего из концов буквы, это «засечка». Как это на самом деле выглядит? Давайте вернемся к нашему старому другу

Times New Roman.

, который является шрифтом Serif.

Все эти маленькие дополнительные линии являются заседаниями. Любой шрифт, который имеет какой-то тип выступа или хвоста, который классифицируется как Serif Ponten. Некоторые другие популярные Serif Pants включают

Гарамонды

С

Камбриа

, а также

Роквелла

Отказ Эти шрифты обычно рассматриваются как более «формальные» выглядят.

Sans означает «без»

Хорошо, теперь мы знаем, что выглядит засеть, что такое «

претендент

Serif «шрифт? Если вы знаете, что слово «SANS» означает, что вы, наверное, уже выяснили его. «Санс» просто означает «без».

Любой шрифт, который не имеет засечек, классифицируется как «Sans Serif». Это буквально просто означает «без засека». Вот пример с другим очень распространенным шрифтом,

Преступник

Отказ

Вы можете увидеть, что этот шрифт выглядит намного проще. Концы букв очищаются, у него нет никакого этого дополнительного талата. Sans Serif Fonts обычно рассматриваются как более современные. Популярные Sans Serif Fonts включены

Helvetica

С

Футура

, а также

Calibri

Отказ

---

Это действительно все, что есть к этому! Вы можете использовать эти знания для легкого

найти нужный шрифт

Отказ Serif Skysceface будет идеально подходящим для формального свадебного приглашения, тогда как чего-то, что нужно легко читать или иметь современный внешний вид, выиграет от Sans Serif Serif.

СВЯЗАННЫЕ С:




Как изменить системный шрифт по умолчанию на Windows 10

Why does this matter? Because typography has the power to tell a story, create an atmosphere, and elicit a response. Pick the right font and you can add an accent to an image, enlivening it with a hit of energy or a flourish of elegance. Whether you favor modern trends or more classical, whimsical creative for your business or personal social feeds, your design will benefit from choosing the right font. Fonts can tie a photo and brand logo together, convey a powerful message, and help your work stand out from the crowd.

The last few decades have seen a renaissance in the use of sans serif fonts. With the rise of the digital age, many high-profile companies redesigned their logos and replaced classical serifs with sans serif typefaces. Armin Vit, graphic designer and author of the popular branding blog Brand New, believes that the recent shift started with Airbnb’s rebrand in 2014 – by the London-based DesignStudio – which switched the logo from a bubbly script to a restrained sans serif. Google followed soon after, substituting its old serif logo for Product Sans, a custom-designed, geometric sans serif.

History of the Sans Serif Font

• Sans serif fonts go back to 1816, when William Caslon IV created a typeface called Two Lines English Egyptian. Later in the 1830s, the Figgins foundry in London released a new sans serif font for advertising purposes. Back then, sans serif fonts were considered grotesque due to their apparent ‘malformations’. Design tastes have since changed of course.
• Sans serif fonts became popular in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s in accordance with the Bauhaus School’s principle of ‘less is more’. The Bauhaus School was a German school of the arts in the early 20th Century that is now world-renowned for its enduring influence on modern and contemporary art. It embraced simplicity of form and function, even down to font styles. So it’s no surprise that the Bauhaus School was a strong supporter of a simple sans serif font, with a balanced layout and geometric shapes. It believed that sans serif bare geometric typefaces were appealing, and efficient for reading.
• One of the most popular sans serif fonts based on Bauhaus style is Futura, designed by Paul Renner in 1927. Renner was not a representative of the Bauhaus School, but he shared their taste for fonts with simple and strong geometric lines. Futura stands out among other sans serif fonts with its long ascenders and classical Roman style capitals. Back in 1991, Louise Fili chose Futura as the one and only typeface to live with for the rest of one’s life, citing, “It’s the typographical equivalent to the basic black dress.” Try out Futura when editing in Picsart to give your pictures a look of stylish elegance, characteristic of brands like Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana.
  
  
• Sans serif fonts with clean minimalist layouts later took over the design world with the emergence of Helvetica. This font was released by Eduard Hoffmann and Max Miedinger in 1957 under the name of Neue Haas Grotesk. Later renamed Helvetica, it was the most popular of the three neo-grotesque typefaces (along with Univers by Adrian Frutiger and Folio by Konrad F. Bauer and Walter Baum).
• Humanist sans serif fonts later emerged, evoking a feeling of warmth as opposed to the cold, minimalist neo-grotesque typefaces. They were inspired by calligraphy and were based on the human touch and simple handwriting.

What Is the Difference Between Serif and Sans Serif Fonts?

Your choice of typeface has a significant impact on the look of your design and the message it conveys. That’s why you need to make sure your font choice is suitable for your brand, to capture the attention of your target audience. Be sure to look into both serif vs sans serif font family options before you decide which one is right for you. Both of these font styles are unique and communicate strikingly different messages, so your choice will depend on the mood you want to evoke.

Serif fonts are characterized by their decorative strokes, whereas sans serif fonts are known to be clean and minimalist. Serif fonts tend to be conservative and have a cultural weight as they hark back to the carved inscriptions of ancient civilizations and the invention of print by Gutenberg. They are conventionally associated with the font of print newspapers (i.e. The New York Times) and create a sense of gravitas, tradition, and elegance. Reputable and established law firms, banks, universities, and insurance companies also tend to use serif fonts to communicate a message of authority, credibility, heritage, confidence, power, and formality. The most popular serif fonts are Georgia, Baskerville, and Times New Roman.

On the other hand, sans serif fonts convey a casual, approachable, and friendly vibe. Choose one if you want to be seen as friendly, warm, and casual. Brands now use them to appear more approachable, so go down this route if you fancy the stylish simplicity of the clean, unornamented, minimalistic design.

Mixing sans serif and serif fonts can also work beautifully to create a chic contrast or a cohesive feel and stand for a visual statement of your personality. You can learn more in this comprehensive guide to font pairing.

Which one is Arial?

Arial is a hugely popular contemporary sans serif font that can be used in both print and web design. Have you noticed that Google and Twitter use Arial most of the time? While it’s become so popularly used that it won’t help your design stand out from the crowd, Arial is an approachable, simple font that pairs well with other fonts. You might choose Arial for your body text if you have a unique picture you want to draw attention to, leveraging supporting text overlay to merely complement the image. You might also switch to Arial instead of Helvetica to avoid licensing fees, as Arial is a free font.

Are Sans Serif Fonts More Readable? 

Design is about both form and function. So when asking if sans serif fonts are more readable than serif fonts, opinions vary. Some designers find serif fonts easier to read thanks to the distinctive character of letters. They also think serif fonts visually guide the flow of words, making it easy for our eyes to follow serifs that link letters together.

Other designers promote sans serif fonts, arguing that they are more readable on large digital displays. They believe these fonts are noticeably more legible at smaller point sizes as well, both in print and on-screen.

With so many varieties of equally legible fonts, it is worth taking designer Alex Poole’s words as a guide, “It makes much more sense to argue in favor of serif or sans serif typefaces on aesthetic grounds than on the question of legibility.” Ultimately, you should select whatever typeface works best for you and your brand.

When Should You Use Sans Serif Fonts?

Do you want to imbue your design with a sense of modern minimalism, authenticity, and elegance? Select your signature font from the Picsart collection. You can even add your favorites with this step-by-step tutorial.

Or maybe you want your picture to embody an eco-friendly, casual, unfussy vibe? A minimalist font will take the edge off and give your design a fresh, relaxed, and approachable look.

A sans serif font might also be the finishing touch you’re looking for to add to a cutting-edge innovative design for anything from your startup to a contemporary science fiction project. Select a bold and sleek sans serif then take it to the next level by experimenting with gradient and texture overlays for unique effects. These seemingly small steps can have a big impact on your final design. From avant garde to simplistic, the font you opt for can say so much.

What Are the Best Sans Serif Fonts?

Just as designers have varying opinions on sans serif vs serif fonts, they also have varying opinions when it comes to selecting the best ones. It all depends on your goals and business. When trying to decide what is the best option for you, ask yourself what message you want to convey and who your target audience is. You can make your design powerful and bold, vibrant and exciting, or minimalist and elegant, by leveraging the collection of fonts available in Picsart. 

You don’t even need a deep knowledge of calligraphy or graphic design to select the font you project needs. Simply open the Picsart editor and upload an image, then begin editing in the Text editor. Dive deep into the mystery of science fiction by pushing the boundaries with Urban Fonts. Use the Haunting Halloween Fonts to brew up some spooky vibes. Get nostalgic with Back to School and Handwritten Fonts. The possibilities are limitless.

Create at the Speed of Culture 

Picsart is a full ecosystem of free-to-use content, powerful tools, and creator inspiration. With a billion downloads and more than 150 million monthly active creators, Picsart isn’t just the world’s largest creative platform; we’re also the fastest growing. Picsart has collaborated with major artists and brands like BLACKPINK, the Jonas Brothers, Lizzo, Sanrio: Hello Kitty, I am a Voter, Bebe Rexha, Maroon 5, One Direction, Warner Bros. Entertainment, iHeartMedia, Condé Nast, and more. Download the app or start editing on web today to enhance your photos and videos with thousands of quick and easy editing tools, trendy filters, fun stickers, and brilliant backgrounds. Unleash your creativity and upgrade to Gold for premium perks!