In design, there are thousands and thousands of different types of fonts. You can easily find these fonts on the internet and download them free. Some fonts you may have to actually pay for. You may find famous fonts or original fonts. Some fonts may appear to be just pictures. Other fonts may have nothing to do with what the letter is that they represent. Others are decorative – like the curse text for example. Some fonts may even be a foreign character. Sometimes the best looking fonts are the regular looking fonts.
Different types of fonts can make a poster, paper, presentation or Website more interesting if they are used properly. If they aren’t, you can easily spot a someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. The guideline to live by is to use no more than two fonts at a time on one page. If you use more than two, the page can become mismatched and can appear cluttered and unprofessional. This can be difficult because there are so many to choose from.
To begin to understand these different types of fonts and their different uses, you can start with the basics. The first baby step we can take is with serif and sans serif fonts. ‘Sans’ is simply French for ‘without’. Serifs are the little ‘tails’ on letters. Serifs are usually used in body texts because studies show it helps to guide the reader’s eyes along to the next letter and word and helps them read faster. This is why newspapers usually use Times New Roman for their article font. Sans serif fonts are typically used with titles. This is also why newspapers typically use Arial or Impact for headline fonts. The main difference for this rule is with the Internet. Online body text usually uses sans serif fonts.
Now that we have the basics of serifs and sans serifs out of the way, we can discuss script fonts. Script fonts are made to appear like a handwritten text and are very flowery and decorative. Most script fonts are inspired by 18th Century writing styles and are designed for the letters to join with the next letter in the series. They are often very elaborate and have lots of swirls and fine details in their lines. These fonts can soften the page and bring a variety to the design. They can also bring a touch of femininity to the design of the page as well. While they can be very beautiful, script fonts should be used minimally. This is because they can be difficult to read, especially with any sort of speed.