Typefaces and Typestyles History of the Book
Basic categories for fonts: 1.Old Face fonts derived from humanist fonts: regular and italic 2.Dramatic new forms of serif fonts: Didot, Fatface, Slab serif 3. Grotesque/Sans serif fonts: from advertising to book use 4. Colloquial fonts: the memory of handwriting’s special powers
Old Face Humanist Book Fonts Early Balanced line weights
Modified Old Face Dramatic Thick/Thin Weights
Utilitarian Old face: Moderate weight contrasts, Small verticals with strong lower case proportions, Heightened reading clarity and efficient use of space.
Didot Dominant 20 th C Design face Hairline slab serifs, Extreme weight contrasts, Elegant ratios
Development of multi-use Fonts for tickets, posters, bills, etc in 19 th c. Fatface fonts based on old face book fonts for clarity at small sizes, impact at large sizes
Slab Serif Advertising font Posters, etc. 19 th c.
Dramatic Advertising forms developed in the 20 th c.
Early Grotesque: The birth of san serif for advertising
20 th C. Grotesque: Magazine And book font use with lighter Weight, similar ratios to Times New Roman
Old Colloquial style: Copperplate scripts. Used to this day for personal texts that recall the intimacy created by handwriting: jewelry inscriptions, wedding invitations.
New Colloquial Hand- writing Fonts that indicate informality