At the moment, a lot of fonts have been developed, and it is difficult for an amateur to understand their variety and purpose. There are several grading classifications. They are divided according to their purpose and origin.
Types of fonts and their historical classification
From the point of view of the style, all the fonts that are used in modern times, came from developed by masters in the Middle Ages and earlier. You can conditionally divide them into three large groups:
• Antiqua.
• Egyptian.
• Grotesque.
Each of them has its own specific style, which copies the style used in antiquity, ancient Egypt and during the Renaissance. They are also divided into subgroups, which take into account the size of strokes, penumbra and other writing features.
Types of fonts and their classification
The most common is a different systematization of all the used types of letter and number styles. It is worth dwelling in more detail.
1. Basic fonts
These types of fonts are distinguished by the severity of the font and the correct proportions in the writing of letters and numbers. They relate to a strict classical style. They do not use ornaments and ornate decorations, only serifs.
Basic or classic types of fonts for decoration are used in business letters,
advertising booklets of companies with such areas of work as medicine, construction, education. Often you can find the basic style in leaflets.
2. Themed fonts
This group contains styles from modern to vintage. Such a combination is not accidental, since all these types of fonts have a certain orientation. They are used in the drawings, for the design of posters of various subjects (festive, children's, propaganda and others).
A striking example of this style is the style in the design of Soviet propaganda posters. This font should not be used to make large arrays of text, but it will look best in the headings of printing products. "Soviet" style is also used for logos and slogans. All thematic fonts are applied based on the area of destination. In other places they will look out of place.
3. Handwriting
This is a group of Latin, Cyrillic and other characters written with imitation of a letter in pencil, pen, graffiti and other types of hand-painted. In its style it is a large group. Here you can find both strokes with a large number of ornaments and connections between letters (needed to make the text look integral), and careless forms of handwriting imitating printed letters made in chalk on a
blackboard.Calligraphic fonts are often used for headlines, slogans, and typography. They perform decorative functions and are not suitable for the execution of the main text.
4. Language style
Types of fonts in this group take as their basis the style from various written cultures: Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Roman and others. If you study this group on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, in some cases it is quite difficult to distinguish words in Russian from Chinese or Arabic.
Most often, design in the style of ethnic style is used on signboards, in printing products, for decorating covers and in book headers. You can find examples of such styles in the catalogs of restaurants of Chinese and Japanese cuisine.
5. Distortion of form
Drawing styles that belong to this group are distinguished by unusual shapes, altered proportions and outlines. All these species can be divided into several small groups:
• Three-dimensional.
• Digital.
• Triangular.
• Square.
• Initial letter.
• Rounded.
Most often, the decorative functions in these fonts are pronounced and even in the classical style they stand out among the basic varieties. These varieties look good in large inscriptions and titles.
The above classification is suitable for publishers and developers of posters, logos and websites. Thanks to it, you can create a detailed catalog for sections and use it to choose to write different text fragments.
Different types of fonts can be combined with each other to get catchy and aesthetic text. In addition to use in appropriate places, it is also important to choose the style of drawing, based on the texture of the base. A font that looks good on a poster or website may look ugly on a leather texture. So, vintage styles look best on aged and rough paper, and the modern font is suitable for a glossy background.
Poster Design
First of all, to choose the appearance of the text design of the poster, you need to pay attention to the layout. Will it be just a text fragment without illustrations or will the style complement the photo or drawing? It is important to consider the orientation of the poster:
• Poster.
• Advertising.
• Announcement of the event for children.
• Social advertisement.
Words on any of the posters should attract attention and help him stand out among hundreds of similar ones. It is possible to conditionally divide all posters into two groups by type of outline:
• Printing (typesetting).
• Graphic (handwritten and artistic).
The first posters are used for educational activities, as well as for messages about events (posters). It is best to choose the right font, as well as its color and size, together with a specialist typographer.
The most interesting types of fonts for posters are used when creating them in a graphic style. Here, the scope for the designer’s imagination is wider: in addition to typesetting types of styles, one can also find imitation of a hand signature and the use of other decorative elements.
Features of the use of fonts in tattoos
As a rule, in recent years, Latin and writing in a
vintage style of hand-written signature are used to create tattoos. These types of fonts for tattoos have become the basis for the most stylish and fashionable ornaments. Masters offer this choice for a reason - the Latin letters and English on the body look very beautiful, and decorated with additional monograms and patterns, they create a seamless pattern. At first glance, you can’t read such a tattoo, but those who know the language can take a closer look and decipher the written word or phrase.
As an exception, mostly in men you can find on the body a modern basic and even church font (Cyrillic). Such options look good when the phrase fits the style of writing and in general the tattoo looks harmonious. It is not recommended to combine several diverse fonts. Also, do not make too small a line of a tattoo, as over time it is slightly blurred and can turn into a dark unreadable spot. Good readability is also required for the use of fonts in tattoos.