The Font Factor - Using, Choosing and Designing with the Best Fonts
The most important aspect of selecting a font of a particular typeface for a particular job is the suitability of the typeface with the nature of the document. Usually a long document set in a small sans serif font may possibly seem unsuitable and difficult to read. Likewise a cover designed with a classical type is unlikely to do its job perfectly. Successful design of a document depends on the layout of that particular document and the use of space as by the typeface. To design a layout that works competently and appears nice, it is quite essential to have the knowledge of the relevant principles of font design. The main reason behind the difference in looks from one another for the documents may depend on various factors like they have to communicate different things or they have to communicate in altogether different circumstances or they have to communicate to the audiences with different interests and motivation. For instance, if you take the example of Novels, here the design doesn't have to do more than acting as a medium for conveying the author's feelings off the page to the reader or the audience. Likewise text books, journals, magazines and the news papers have different set of goals before them, and each of them is designed using a different set of parameters. Therefore, before you select a typeface, always think about the kind of document you are trying to design and what is going to be the final objective that document is going to serve.
The Standard units of font type measurement in use in the countries like UK and USA are ‘point' and ‘pica’. In continental Europe the corresponding measuring units for fonts are 'Didot point' and the 'cicero'. The Didot point is little larger than the UK/ USA ‘point’ unit of measure but the philosophy of their uses are exactly the same. There are 12 points to a pica and this measures approximately 1 sixth of an inch. Presently, it is possible for you to specify a font layout in points, millimeters or inches but, if you plan to transfer any of the documents to a printer then there will be less likelihood of confusion if you are using the same system of measurement. Typefaces are normally specified in points and the columns and margins are usually given in picas and points. It is possible for one font of a particular size to look smaller than another but they will both take up the same depth from line to line.
There are over hundreds of thousands of typefaces available for the users to choose from and use currently and most of the fonts are named after their creator. Although the ultimate choice of the font would depend on the final objective of the particular document, but, there are some practical considerations which can definitely help you in selecting a font type for a particular document. You should always look for the following characteristics in a particular font like whether the particular font has serifs, if the font has the serifs then the shape of the serifs, the difference in the change from thick to thin in the strokes of the letters, the direction of the thick part of the letter from oblique to vertical and the average width of the characters known as set. This can be ascertained most readily by comparing the lengths of complete alphabets of the same point size of the different fonts.
Presently some of fonts particularly of recent design have the similar characteristics which belong in more than one font group like the modern fonts have fine, unbracketed serifs with a strong contrast between thick and thin strokes. There is a strong vertical stress in the direction of the heavy parts of the letters. Slab serifs have noticeably heavy, rectangular serifs. Sans serifs are usually without the terminal strokes at the ends of the stem, arms and tails of the letters and they are not suitable for continuous text. Decorative and display faces are faces drawn with a particular style in mind where legibility of the font may be surrendered for the decorative needs of the particular font.
Letraset is a full-bodied library of decorative fonts. Generally these are suitable for headlines. On the other hand script and brush fonts are useful in publicity and display work but unsuited for long text passages. Ultramodern fonts are very hard to classify but they include typefaces drawn since the introduction of the computer in graphic design area. Some of these fonts are already considered as the modern classics.
There is a remarkable difference between legibility and readability of a particular font. A particular font may be highly legible, but it would be pretty awful to try to read for any length of time. For readability, serif font types are more comfortable to read over a long length of time. Sans serif fonts look businesslike. They normally have a very wide range of weights, which makes them useful for publicity purpose. If you are using the columns with a narrow width, then it is better to avoid the use of fonts with a very wide set. It is always better to use a font with medium set.
Presently most of the graphic work is done on computers and the computers also have moved up to the level of genuine publishing systems with numerous options and advantages available to the users. But there are some basic issues preset that has to be addressed while using and managing the fonts on the computer currently. Usually there are two parts of any particular font that is required to be present in a computer system in order to provide you the satisfactory execution of the project. For your information each font is characterized by a screen font and a printer font. The screen font is a bit mapped font. Another on is the printer font. These are used by the printer to actually render the font on paper, film etc.
There are hundreds of thousands of font types available for the users but out of these some of the fonts are actually suitable for the use in a website design. Selection of the font always important for the success of the website, since it affects the way your readers perceive your web page. Beside that, there are some other factors like readability has to be given due weightage like the readability and the availability of the font.
While you are designing a website you should select a font that usually fits nicely to the character of your website, easy to read on any computer screen and widely available across the popular browsers and operating systems. Let's skim through the most popular font types available for the purpose and evaluate their availability, readability for your benefit:
Top on the list of the web designer in the most cases you will find the Arial font type, it is widely available and probably the most common sans serif font available around us. If we try to check the readability of this font then we may find that the readability on screen is medium, especially at small sizes. The characters have a streamlined and modern look but at the same time it is also plain and boring.
Next font on the list is definitely Times New Roman, this font is also immensely popular among the users and available everywhere quite easily. Works nicely for the font size of 12 pt and above, characters gives you an old fashioned and formal look.
Our next font is also quite popular with the web designers around the world and the font is Verdana. This font is also available quite easily. This font provides you exceptional readability, even at small sizes. The characters are modern, friendly and professional looking.
Georgia is another popular option before you, like other fonts the availability is very good. It provides very good on screen readability. It is one of the best serif fonts for on-line reading. The character provides you the modern, friendly and professional look.
Out of these fonts Verdana and the Georgia are the best bet before you.
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