TYPEFACE
CLASSIFICATION
BY MARGARET PORTIER
WHAT IS TYPEFACE?
• A typeface is a set of fonts with similar
characteristics.
• A font is specifically a member of a typeface, such as
roman, italic, or boldface
• Typeface specifies the consistent visual appearance of a
family of fonts
• Knowledge of typeface classification is important
when choosing fonts for specific purposes or
“feelings”
• Would you choose Braggadocio for visually impaired
readers? Or do you think Comic Sans is a good font for a
professional document?
ASSOCIATION TYPOGRAPHIQUE
INTERNATIONALE (ATypI)
• ATypI is an international nonprofit organization dedicated
to typography.
• In 1962 they adopted the
Vox-ATypI classification as a
standard.
• Originally a nine-part scheme
designed by Maximilien Vox
in 1954, it is now an 11 part
scheme used for classifying
typefaces.
• It was designed to make
sense of the fluidity of
typeface design and to
illustrate the similarities and
differences between types.
Vox’s Original nine-part scheme
with examples of each part.
BASICS OF VOX-ATypI
Domain
• All known typefaces
and fonts
Entities
• Individual typefaces
and fonts
CLASSES OF FONTS ACCORDING TO
VOX-ATypI CLASSIFICATION
• There are three main categories of
typeface in the Vox-ATypI
Classification scheme:
Classical
• Classical
• Modern
• Calligraphic
Humanist
• Each of these categories can be
broken down further into
subcategories.
Modern
Calligraphic
Didone
Script
Mechanistic
Graphic
Lineal
Blackletter
Glyphic
Gaelic
Garald
• One other category that is
included is Non-Latin which
includes fonts and typefaces that
are not based on the Latin
alphabet (ex. Chinese, Japanese,
Hebrew, Arabic, etc.)
Transitional
VOX-ATypI STRUCTURE
• It is a faceted classification that looks at letterforms,
influences, and time periods to determine class.
• Classical typefaces are often referred to as “old style” and
are historically based, they are characterized by triangular
serifs and oblique axes.
• Modern typefaces are characterized by the simple and
functional feel of typefaces generated during the industrial
revolution.
• Calligraphic typefaces have characteristics that resemble
hand writing or are characterized by graphic or imaginative
letterforms.
A CLOSER LOOK AT CLASS
RELATIONSHIPS
Typeface
Classical
Modern
Humanist
Transitional
Garald
Didone
Mechanistic
In the Vox-ATypI classification system,
all entities of the same class share
similar features. But that does not
necessarily mean that they share all
of them or that the features shared
are exclusive to one class.
•
•
For example, all classical fonts
have historical influences but the
influences are from different time
periods
Another example, classical fonts
often incorporate serifs, but so
do some modern and
calligraphic typefaces
Calligraphic
Lineal
Glyphic
Grotesque
Script
Neogrotesque
Graphic
Geometric
Blackletter
Humanistic
Gaelic
Non-latin
CROSS-CATEGORY
CLASSIFICATIONS
• “Humanist” is a term that is used multiple times in different
categories.
• In Classical fonts, humanist fonts resemble the text found in
renaissance writings. (ex. Perpetua)
• In Modern Lineal fonts, the humanist subcategory contains sans-serif
fonts that resemble monumental Roman capitals (ex. Gill Sans)
• “Blackletter” is another term that can be used multiple times.
• It is a subcategory of the Modern Lineal class
• It is a synonym for “bold”
• Because a font is a specific instance of a typeface, there is a
difference between the following styles:
•
•
•
•
•
Roman
Italic
Blackletter (or bold)
Condensed
Light
THE PROBLEM WITH LETTERFORMS
• Letterforms are the shapes that characterize specific
fonts
• (for a detailed list, look at this website:
http://www.bsu.edu/web/ucspubs/pdf/other/letterform_anato
my.pdf)
• Serifs are visible in all three main categories of typeface,
but if you look more specifically at the Modern
typefaces, the Lineal subcategory is sans-serif.
• In fact, ALL sans-serif fonts are classified as Lineal Modern.
• One problem with using letterforms to classify typefaces
is the presence of font families that have both serif and
sans-serif forms
• For example: Lucida Bright and Lucida Sans are in the same
font family, but Lucida Bright would be classified as
Mechanistic Modern and Lucida Sans as Lineal Modern.
IMPRESSION
• Overall, I think this classification scheme is best suited to
historical and academic studies of typeface design. The
major categories are broad and all-encompassing, but
the lines that separate the subcategories are somewhat
vague in places and one typeface can have the
characteristics of more than one style.
• The recurrence of common terms, such as humanist and
blackletter, can make it difficult to understand the
relative location of one typeface in the overall
classification scheme.
• Also, there is only one subcategory for describing
“graphic” typefaces. In this current age, the number of
fonts that fit in the Graphic category is skyrocketing and
the Vox-ATypI classification scheme is ill-equipped to
adapt.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Typography. (n.d.). In Fine arts @ fontbonne. Retrieved March 5, 2011,
from http://finearts.fontbonne.edu/tech/type/index.html
• Haralambous, Y. (2007). Fonts and encoding: From unicode to advanced
typography and everything in between. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media,
Inc.
• Typedia: A shared encyclopedia of typefaces. Retrieved March 5, 2011,
from http://typedia.com/
• Dixon, C. (2002, September). Typeface classification. Paper presented at
the meeting of the First Annual Friends of St. Bride’s Conference, UK.
• Wikipedia. (2011, January 13). VOX-ATypI classification. In Wikipedia.
Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOXATypI_classification
• Adobe type library: Type classifications (n.d.). In Adobe. Retrieved March
5, 2011, from http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/classifications.html
• Adobe Print Publishing Technical Guides. (n.d.). Typography basics:
Anatomy of letterforms. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from
http://www.bsu.edu/web/ucspubs/pdf/other/letterform_anatomy.pdf