Serif and Sans-Serif Fonts - CSS Typography | CSS: Presentation Layer
Standards Based Development
MAYBE THIS SHOULD BE ALL FONT STYLES
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DUMP
sans-serif The top category (most notable) is the lack of serifs...aka why they are serifs, durrrr Subcategories of sans serif typefaces differentiate finer details of form, including: Geometric-based designs, like Futura, designs based on Renaissance or humanistic proportions (like Optima), and those based on the proportions of slab-serif letters (like Helvetica, and Franklin Gothic).Those basing their proportions off slab serif letters are known as Gothic in the us, and as grotesque, or grot in the uk.
In French, sans serifs in general are known as linéale.
Also known as unserifed.
In the uk, another name for a variation of sans serif fonts.
Also known as Gothic in the us, Grotesque in the uk, linéale in French, and sometimes unserifed.
Serifs have many shapes, including hairline, bracketed, wedge, and slab.
Sans Serif
Serif
Two Kinds of Serif Quality
Serifs come in two kinds of quality: either slab, wedge, or hair, and are either bracketed or unbracketed.
Slab, Wedge, Hair Serif Quality
Hair Serif
Hair serifs have lines of minimum thickness and are unbracketed.
Slab Serif
The next thickness in stroke makes the font become a slab serif.
Thin Slab Serif
A Thin Slab Serif is called Fine.
Fat Slab Serif
A Fat Slab Serif is called Heavy.
Egyptian (Slab Serif) fonts are unbracketed, like Rockwell.
Times is a bracketed serif font.
Clarendon is a Slab Serif Font.
Wedge Serif
The third kind is Wedge Serif, like those in Wide Latin.
Bracketed/Unbracketed Serif Quality
Brackets can be full brackets, which means that the concave curve runs from the stem right out to the tip of the slab or hair serif, or fine brackets, when the curve has flattened before it gets to the end of the serif, giving a flat horizontal piece at the end.
The Other Serifs: Arms, Beaks, Finials, Spurs, Barbs, Cat's Ears
Serif Arms
Other Serifs include the arms on a "C" or an "S".
Serif Barbs (aka Cat's Ears)
The barbs (aka cat's ears) that stick out atop "C", "S", and "G" are also Serifs.
Serif Beaks
Beaks are another form of Serifs: some bigger examples include "L", "T", and "E".
Serif Finials
The Serif found at the end of a loop, like the bottom right finishes on "C" and "e", is a finial.
Serif Spurs
Spurs are the Serif seen atop the "T" in Garamond or Perpetua, like so:
I am Garamond.
I am Perpetua.
Serif Types
Humanist Serif
Old Style Serif
Transitional Serif
Georgia, Times New Roman
Slab Serif
Slab serif fonts were created to be readable from a distance. Typically have excellent headline capabilities.