Styles, Weights, Widths; It’s All in The (Type) Family

This is about understanding the style of typeface. If you just start learning typeface, this is right for you.

Styles

The concept of coordinated type families consisting of different related typefaces or styles is a fairly recent phenomenon. The two most common styles are roman (upright) and italic (a different, slanted design). The basic shape of italics is a stylised form of handwriting. It took form in the Renaissance when Aldus Manutius looked for a space saving alternative to roman faces. Without going too much into details, originally italics were designs in their own right, unrelated to roman designs and used independently. Only by the sixteenth century did the italic assume its current role as emphasis, a variation on the roman design. Read more.....