Typography - types

Question 1

What is a Serif?

Answer 1

A serif is a small shape or projection that appears at the beginning or end of a stroke on a letter. Typefaces with serifs are called serif typefaces.

Source material.io

Question 2

List the different types of serif fonts

Answer 2

Old-Style serifs resemble writing in ink, with:

• Low contrast between thick and thin strokes
• Diagonal stress in the strokes
• Slanted serifs on lower-case ascenders

Transitional serifs have:

• High contrast between thick and thin strokes
• Medium-High x-height
• Vertical stress in the strokes
• Bracketed serifs

Didone or neoclassical serifs have:

• Very high contrast between thick and thin strokes
• Vertical stress in the strokes
• “Ball” terminal strokes.

Slab serifs have:

• Heavy serifs with imperceptible differences between the stroke weight
• Minimal or no bracketing

Source material.io

Question 3

When should you use serif fonts?

Answer 3

Use serif fonts if you:

• Want to be seen as trustworthy, established, and reliable.
• Want your reader to stick with you longer because you have a large amount of printed text.
• Your printed text will be small

It is favored by publications like books and newspapers or long stablished news papers that go digital like the The New York Times

Source ethos3.com & masterclass.com

Question 4

What are sans serif fonts?

Answer 4

A typeface without serifs is called a sans serif typeface, from the French word “sans” that means “without.”

Source material.io

Question 5

List the different types of sans serif fonts

Answer 5

• Grotesque: Low contrast between thick and thin strokes, vertical or no observable stress
• Humanist: Medium contrast between thick and thin strokes, slanted stress
• Geometric: Low contrast between thick and thin strokes, with vertical stress, and circular round forms

Source material.io

Question 6

When should you use sans serif fonts?

Answer 6

Use sans serif fonts if

• If your audience has less time to read, like on a website or app.
• DeCotes also says that sans serifs work great for signage or having to read large letters from a distance.

Source ethos3.com

Question 7

What are monospaced fonts?

Answer 7

Monospace typefaces display all characters with the same width.

Source material.io

Question 8

When should we use monospaced fonts?

Answer 8

Use monospaced fonts:

• To display code blocks
• To help users find what they are looking for, quickly and easily on any device. Monospaced fonts are incredibly easy to read, on all screen sizes.
• To display tabular figures in tables, for finance results and mathematic formulas.

Source imaginated.com and pumpkinwebdesign.com

Question 9

What are handwriting fonts?

Answer 9

Handwriting typefaces are unconventional with a natural, handwritten feel. These typically are used as H1 - H6 in your type scale. T

Source material.io

Question 10

List the different types of handwriting fonts

Answer 10

• Black letter: High contrast, narrow, with straight lines and angular curves
• Script: Replication of calligraphic styles of writing (more formal)
• Handwriting: Replication of handwriting (less formal)

Source material.io

Question 11

When should we use handwriting fonts?

Answer 11

Use handwriting fonts if you:

• Want to give a personal touch or a unique character to your project
• What the user to focus and try to read the text.
• If you want to evoke a handmade character to your logo.
• If you are writing a short note and want to increase the possibility that the user will read it.

Sources naldzgraphics.net and editorx.com and blog.designcrowd.com

Question 12

What are display fonts?

Answer 12

A miscellaneous category for all classification types that are only suitable for use at large point sizes. Display fonts typically are used as H1 - H6 in your type scale.

Source material.io

Question 13

When should we use display fonts?

Answer 13

display fonts are intended for use in display type (display copy) at large sizes for titles, headings, pull quotes, and other eye-catching elements, rather than for extended passages of body text.

Source wikipedia

Question 14

How many fonts should a website have?

Answer 14

In general, limit the number of font families to a minimum (two is plenty, one is often sufficient) and stick to the same ones through the entire website.

Source Nick Babish at https://uxplanet.org/

Question 15

List the diferent ranks of fonts you should add to a website if necessary

Answer 15

• Primary font: this will be the most visible font on your page, your primary font should be most synonymous with your brand identity. Primary fonts are mostly used for larger text, such as headings.
• Secondary font: use this font for your body copy. This means that any article or description on your page is going to be in your secondary font. Above all else, your secondary font should be clean and easy to read.
• Tertiary (accent) font: this one is entirely optional. Accent fonts can be used for specific website elements such as a call-to-action or a navigation menu. They should be prominent enough in order to quickly catch the eye of your visitors.

Note: keep in mind that pairing two fonts is hard enough, without throwing a third into the mix.

Source qodeinteractive.com

Question 16

Why does the project scope (length) matters when you choose a font?

Answer 16

A long-term project (like a periodical or newsletter) will have a variety of different typographic needs over time. Your best bet for covering those different needs is to choose a large type family that includes a variety of weights, styles, and variants like small caps and ligatures.

A short-term project (like a poster, album cover, or logo) might not need extra weights, or the condensed and extended versions of a font. You could even choose a font with a single weight if you think it’s right for this particular task.

Sources design.google

Question 17

What fonts should you choose for headlines and subheads?

Answer 17

For headlines and subheads, you can choose an expressive, unique, even idiosyncratic font—including Display, Decorative, Handwritten, and Script styles. These unconventional, high contrast designs tend to work well in this context because their details and visual complexity help to attract the eye.

If you’d like to use a sans serif font for short bits of text, especially in large sizes, the regular weight tends to look a little out of place. Consider using the bold and compressed styles instead. If you prefer serifs, hairline serif fonts like Playfair Display or Rufina tend to work well in short lines because their high stroke contrast tends to grab the reader’s attention.

Sources design.google

Question 18

What fonts should you choose for medium-length text?

Answer 18

Medium-length text, defined loosely as three to four paragraphs, is pretty flexible.

If you’re leaning toward a serif font, opt for something in the old style like Quattrocento, a transitional style like Libre Baskerville, or a slab serif like Arvo.

If you prefer a sans serif? Then the best choice would be something in the humanist or grotesque style like Cabin or Raleway, but even some geometric styles like Montserrat will work. Experiment by trying out a few of these and see what works best in layout.

Sources design.google

Question 19

What fonts should you choose for longer sections of text –exceding fire paragraphs–

Answer 19

For longer sections of text—exceeding five paragraphs—a serif typeface is recommended.

Old Style or Transitional serif fonts like EB Garamond or Libre Baskerville, tend to be easy on the eyes for longer reading like news and magazine articles.

Sources design.google

Question 20

What fonts should you chose for small sizes (up to 16pt)?

Answer 20

For small font sizes it is usually recomended to use a sans serif fonts like Roboto, Montserrat and Raleway.

Sans serifs fonts tend to have a taller ‘x-height’ which makes a design more legible at small sizes.

Source design.google

Question 21

What fonts should you choose for medium sizes (from 16pt to 24pt)

Answer 21

At medium sizes—such as subheads, pull quotes, or smaller titles ranging from 16pt to 24pt—consider using a sans serif font in the geometric, grotesque, or humanist style. Montserrat, Lato, and Quattrocento Sans are good examples. Avoid extreme weights, neither too thick nor too thin, to keep text easy to read at-a-glance.

If instead you’d like a Serif font that’s contemporary and not too bookish, look for something without too much stroke contrast, like the Slab serif fonts Arvo, Sanchez, and Slabo.

Source design.google

Question 22

What language considerations should you take when choosing a font?

Answer 22

Even if you’re providing content in a single language, many people use a translate feature in browser so that content appears in their native language.

In other words, if the font you’ve chosen has only basic Latin letters, auto-translate takes the typography of your project out of your hands—shifting your layout into some other font for those letters, giving it a “ransom note effect” where individual, accented letters change and stick out. Choosing a font that includes characters for other languages, guarantees that the design of your site will remain consistent for a broader swath of your readership. This may sound like a losing battle, but there are plenty of font families that include multiscript support.

Source design.google

Question 23

What is a ransom note effect?

Answer 23

In typography, the ransom note effect is the result of using an excessive number of juxtaposed typefaces. It takes its name from the appearance of a stereotypical ransom note, with the message formed from words or letters cut randomly from a magazine or newspaper in order to avoid using recognizable handwriting.

Source wikipedia