Choosing Fonts · Page 2 of 7
Assessing a typeface
Before you can choose a font, you have to really see it. Start with its category, then look closely at the details that give it personality.
The main type categories
Most typefaces belong to a family of similar designs. Knowing the category tells you a lot about a typeface’s mood before you look any closer.
Oldstyle serif
Soft, angled curves and low contrast between thick and thin strokes. Feels classic, literary and warm.
Shown: EB Garamond
Transitional serif
Sharper contrast and more upright curves. Feels established, formal and dependable.
Shown: Libre Baskerville
Modern serif
Extreme thick-thin contrast and hairline serifs. Feels elegant, dramatic and expensive.
Shown: Bodoni Moda
Slab serif
Heavy, square serifs. Feels sturdy, confident and a little industrial or retro.
Shown: Roboto Slab
Humanist sans serif
Open shapes based on handwriting. Feels friendly, clear and approachable.
Shown: Source Sans 3
Geometric sans serif
Built from circles and straight lines. Feels clean, modern and efficient.
Shown: Montserrat
Script
Looks handwritten or drawn with a pen. Feels personal, romantic and formal. Never for paragraphs or all caps.
Shown: Great Vibes
Display
Made for headlines and signs. A loud personality that works big and brief.
Shown: Bungee
A typeface is the design, like Montserrat. A font is one style of it, like Montserrat Bold or Montserrat Italic.
Make a visual overview
Set the whole alphabet in the typeface and write down what you see. Writing it down makes sure you have actually looked. Use these questions as a checklist.
Stroke contrast
Are thick and thin strokes very different, or nearly even?
Shown: Bodoni Moda and Montserrat
Serifs
No serifs, small bracketed serifs, hairline serifs or heavy slabs?
Shown: Montserrat, Libre Baskerville, Bodoni Moda and Roboto Slab
x-height
Are lowercase letters tall or short compared with the capitals?
Shown: EB Garamond and Open Sans
Counters
Are the enclosed spaces in a, e and o big and open, or small and tight?
Shown: Fredoka and Abril Fatface
Width and shape
Is it condensed, normal or extended? Is the O a circle or a tall oval?
Shown: Oswald, Montserrat and Michroma
Stress
Is the thinnest part of the O tilted (oldstyle) or straight up and down (modern)?
Shown: EB Garamond and Bodoni Moda
Details
Swashes, ball ends, flicks, quirky letters? Are any two letters oddly alike or oddly different?
Shown: Playfair Display, Great Vibes and Pacifico
The blue marks show where to look: circles point to strokes and serifs, lines mark letter heights, a box marks width and a dashed line follows the stress.
Try it: compare five alphabets
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm
NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
1234567890 &?!
Choose a typeface
© Created by Sara Rosenstock, Marietta College Graphic Design.