Design Essentials - Typefaces | Zise Creative Design

Over the next little while we will be posting some information relating to Design Essentials. We hope you enjoy the postings. Lets start by explaining typefaces.

Type is used for a variety of purposes and is basically surrounding us. There are plenty of ways typography is used, such as in books, posters, newsletters, cards and just about anything you could think about.

Typography not only helps the communication process but is also used for creative and artistic reasons. For instance, type can be very useful in attracting a viewer or consumer to your brand. There are a variety of options you must face when using typography and these will be explained in our later posts.

To start with, here is some information on typefaces. You will notice that the most common typefaces are Serif and Sans Serif.

Serif - This typeface has the little strokes on the ends of each letter. Serif is used most commonly in printed materials such as magazines, books etc.

Sans Serif – This sytle of typeface has clean ending and are typically used for headings, signage and other areas where you need high readability (print).

When using typefaces for the Web, you will notice that most of these are using the Sans Serif Typeface as it is easier to read on lower screen resolutions monitors.

Common Sans Serif typefaces are Arial, Verdana and Helvetica

Ornamental Typeface - These are usually used for decorative purposes and are not really suitable for body text.

Symbol Typeface - This is used for symbol purposes. An example of a symbol typeface is wingdings or Dingbats

Script Typeface – The usuage of this typeface is to simulate handwriting or calligraphy. This typeface is not usually used with body text as it becomes difficult to read.

Here are a couple more you can read about