fonts

1. Fonts

2. Serif
Serif fonts are often referred to as ‘Roman’ by Typography sources. This is due to the
origins of serif when all writing was done in stone during the Roman period. Serif is a
type classification, and has short lines at the end of each stroke in a letter called ‘Serifs’.
During the Roman period, these short lines were created to neaten the ends of the
lines after they were chiseled in stone. These fonts are easily readable
and look very elegant. Serif fonts are generally seen in books, newspaper
columns and magazines.
This copy of Moby Dick uses the font ‘Gill Sans’ to give it a more
traditional look as this book was written in 1851.
Georgia, Baskerville, Times New Roman

3. Sans Serif
Sans Serif (which is often referred to as ‘Gothic’) is the opposite of serif; This type
classification does not have the short lines at the end of each stroke on a letter. The
name comes from the French word ‘sans’ which means ‘without’. This font goes back
as far as 5 B.C. as it can be found in Greek and Latin inscriptions.
These types of fonts are generally used for the display of text on computer screens as
low resolution screens are able to clearly show all of the word. They are also used on
newspaper headlines and are seldom used in body text.
Arial, Helvetica, Verdana

4. Decorative
Decorative fonts are also referred to as ‘Display’ or ‘Ornamental’. It is a type
classification which is identified by its decorative style and it’s use of ornaments. These
fonts became popular in the 19th century (Victorian Era) as well as the Art Noveau
movement. It is a decorative font that should only be used for decorative purposes and
not used for body text.
This classification is used in many advertisements and posters as it is eye-catching.
Party, LET, Broadway

5. Script
Script type faces are based on handwriting (particularly in the cursive style). These
fonts are based on the letterforms of the 17th-18th century writing masters such as
Shelley and Bickham. They began appearing in the 19th century and were used for
formal matters such as invitations and diplomas as they gave an elegant and elevated
look.
Zapfino, Bradley Hand, Snell Roundhand

6. Book Cover Research

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The book cover on this book shows the reader an
extract from the book which gives a slight insight on
what Charlie’s story is about. As this book is set out
in a letter structure, the text on the front cover is in
a script style as letters are generally
handwritten/were when this book was set. The script
style is quite messy, differs in size and is all in
capital letters.

9. Everything is Illuminated
This book also uses a script style. The title switches
between capitalised letters and standard letters,
thicknesses of the letters and styles between the
same letter (eg. N).

10. Frankenstein
The font on Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ is a
decorative font that looks quite creepy. The font also
has a red shadow in to make it match the creepy
castle that features on the front cover.