Fonts

SerifSerif 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, newspapercolumns and magazines.

This copy of Moby Dick uses the font ‘Gill Sans’ to give it a moretraditional look as this book was written in 1851.

Georgia, Baskerville, Times New Roman

Sans SerifSans 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

DecorativeDecorative 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

ScriptScript 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

Book Cover Research

The Perks of Being a WallflowerThe 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.

Everything is IlluminatedThis 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).

FrankensteinThe 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.