Typeface and font are two terms used to refer to the choice of letters or typography in a design. However, more often people call "font" all the types of letters used. In fact, it could be that what is meant is the typeface.
Typefaces and fonts may seem similar at first glance, but they are two different things. Although both are important in determining the success of a design, understanding the differences between the two will help you more accurately interpret what you want in a design.
The keyword for defining a typeface is the style of the characters. A typeface refers to a group of letters, numbers, or symbols that have the same characteristics, for example the presence or absence of serifs (hook); the size of the spacing and the difference in height of capital and small letters; and so forth. If you say Arial, Calibri, Lato, and the like, that is what is called a typeface.
Meanwhile, what is meant by font is variations in thickness or thinness, style (italicized/not) and typeface size. For example, the Arial typeface has various types of fonts, such as Arial Regular, Arial Bold, Arial Italic, Arial Bold Italic, Arial Narrow Regular, and many more.
So, in this article, typeface is the main discussion. In general, typeface is a part of typography that plays an important role in determining the aesthetics of a design. The typeface you choose will determine how strong or influential your design product will be.
Furthermore, typefaces are also divided into several groups, namely:
The characteristic of serif typefaces is the presence of hooks or lines at the ends of the letters. The presence of these hooks or lines makes this typeface have a classic but sophisticated impression. Times New Roman is an example of a serif typeface that is most often used today.
Please note, serif typefaces have actually been developed hundreds of years ago. Garamond is one of the oldest types. Then, as typography continued to develop, there were more and more types of serif typefaces, usually differentiated based on shape, size and style. For example, slab serif, hairline serif, handwritten serif, modern, and many more. The Didot typeface is now a popular type among modern serif typefaces.
This typeface does not have hooks or lines at the ends of the characters. They come with a more relaxed and informal impression. Helvetica is a well-known sans serif typeface, alongside Verdana, Futura, Calibri, and Avenir.
Then, there are four types of groups in sans serif typefaces, namely
- Grotesque: This is the oldest group of sans serifs, for example Franklin Gothic and New Gothic.
- Neo Grotesque: A slightly more modern type of Grotesque, for example Helvetica and Arial.
- Humanist: This is more contemporary, like Gill Sans.
- Geometric: An easy way to identify it is to find the perfect O shape in some of its letters. Futura is an example of Geometric.
Decorative typefaces are also called display typefaces. As the name suggests, this type presents an eye-catching impression. Decorative typefaces are suitable for writing that aims to attract attention, such as headlines, signs, and so on.
Even so, this typeface is not suitable for body text. Because apart from making it difficult to concentrate, it is also difficult to read. Outlaw and Morris Troy are two types of decorative typefaces that are quite popular.
Script typefaces represent letter characters that appear handwritten. This is suitable for those of you who want to promote a brand that is handmade or specially made. Examples of popular typeface scripts are Kuenstler Script, Kauffmann, and Brush Script.
Almost the same as decorative typeface, this type is a bit difficult to read at small sizes. Therefore, script typefaces are more suitable for use in logos or headlines. For denser text such as in the body of newspapers and others, serif or sans serif will be more appropriate.
These are the types of typefaces that you need to know when you start focusing on studying design. By knowing the characteristics of each typeface, it will make it easier for you to create work that matches your actual concept or desires. This is for example when using Garamond for a classy design or Avenir for a fairly long body of text.