Serif Type
Serif type constitutes one of
the two major categories of type used for text today. Although appearing to be
contemporary in origin, the first uses of serif type date back to Ancient Rome.
The serif letterforms were first evident in the marble and stone carved
writings on Roman architecture. The letterform style disappeared after the
fall of Rome, but reappeared in Western Europe during the mid 15th century.
The uppercase letterforms are based on ancient Roman capital letters and the
lowercase is based on humanist script of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Serif type can be described
as letterforms that have small extensions at the ends of letter strokes. These “serif”
extensions are commonly referred to as “feet”. The serifs we are now familiar with
were an invention of the ancient Roman stone carvers. What appeared to be
serifs in the carvings, were nothing more than chisel marks that the carvers hammered
at the end of letterform horizontal, vertical and diagonal strokes. This was
done to provide a practical way to finish off carved strokes so they appeared
consistent when light was cast on them. Some 15 centuries later, printers
and typographers were looking for inspiration to create a more practical,
easily producible, materially efficient, and cost effective style of letterform
to replace the Gothic letter style that was then is use. The chisel marks were
misinterpreted and given their own separate aesthetic purpose.
Another characteristic of serif
type is that the letterforms are almost always a combination of contrasting thicker
verticals and thinner horizontals strokes. In some typestyles this is
dramatically apparent and in others it may be very subtle. The major classifications
of serif typestyles include Old Style, also called Humanist, Venetian, or Classical;
Transitional; Modern also called Neo-Classical or Didone: Slab-Serif also
called Egyptian or Square-Serif; and Italic also called Cursive or Oblique.
Old Style/Humanist/Venetian/Classical
Developed in the mid 15th century and continuing to dominate type design on for the next two hundred years, Old Style letterforms
derive their appearance directly from two sources. Capital letters were
interpretations of letterforms that appeared on stone carvings in ancient Rome.
Lowercase letters were derived from the hand written Carolingian miniscule style
script that was still in use at the time, even though it originated in the late 8th century.
Some of the characteristics
of Old Style letterforms include less contrast between thick and thin strokes; a calligraphic appearance to lowercase letters; angled chisel-like serifs;
lowercase letterforms with a relatively small waist or x-height in comparison
to cap-height; the use of slightly angled horizontal strokes; and a central
axis to circular letters that leans to the left. The sturdy thicker appearance
of thick and thin strokes was to endure the stress placed upon them due to the relatively
crude technology used in the printing process of the 15th and 16th centuries. Although they originated several hundred years ago, contemporary
typeface designers still create fonts that can be classified as Old Style
today.
Examples of Old Style types include
Jenson, Bembo, Caslon, Centaur, Cloister, Garamond, Goudy, and Requiem.
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| Old Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
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| Old Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Transitional
Transitional types are those
that were created between the earlier Old Style period and the later Modern
period of type development. John Baskerville is generally credited with popularizing
the adoption of these types. The Transitional style advanced upon the classical
references of Old Style types and became the precursor to Modern Style types.
This historical typographic movement was relatively short lived, from 1750 to
1800, although the design of Transitional types carries on today. The more
refined appearance of Transitional type designs became possible due to
technical advancements in printing.
Still retaining some of the
structural traits of Old Style types, Transitional letterforms differ in that
they have more contrast between thick and thin strokes; eliminate angled
horizontal strokes; show more roundness to letters that utilize circular
structure; have a vertical central axis in round letters; display larger serifs that rest
flat on the base-line and cap-line; and have a balanced waist-height
relationship to cap-height.
Examples of Transitional
typestyles include Baskerville, Bookman, Bulmer, Century, Fournier, Perpetua,
and Times.
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| Transitional Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
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| Transitional Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Modern/Neo-Classical/Didone
In 1790 in Italy,
Giambattista Bodoni took letterform structure to an extreme by creating type
forms that exhibited a drastic contrast between
thick and thin strokes. Soon afterward in France, Firmin Didot cut an even
thinner and lighter style, and the Modern or Didone type movement was born.
Although the model for Modern types is over 200 years old Modern styled fonts
are still very popular and continue to be developed today. Again, further advancements
in the printing and papermaking technology of the late 17th century
allowed for more delicate letterform structures to be printed. With these
technical refinements, printed impressions could be achieved without having to place an
extraordinary amount of pressure and stress on the cast letterforms. Even if
Modern styled cuts were available when the first serif types were being
invented, the printing presses of that period would simply not been able to
print with them.
Modern types display
characteristics that include an elegant relationship of full-bodied thick
letter strokes that contrast extremely thin ones; very thin refined serifs that
lie flat on the baseline and cap-line; round letterforms that are balanced on a
0-degree vertical central axis; lowercase letters with taller waist-height
relationship to cap-height; perfect 90-degree horizontal cross strokes; and
large conspicuous counters and eyes.
Modern type examples include
Bodoni, Didot, Fenice, Modern No. 20, and Wallbaum.
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| Modern Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
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| Modern Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Slab-Serif/Egyptian/Square-Serif
Twenty-five years after the
introduction of Modern serif types, Slab-Serif styles began to be produced; around 1815. The Emperor Napoleon can be credited with why they are also called
Egyptian. This was due to what type historians thought to be a visual similarity to some
characteristics displayed in the drawings Napoleon brought back from an expedition he led
to Egypt a few years earlier. Interestingly enough, the structure and
appearance of the Slab-Serif style presented the polar opposite to that seen in
Modern fonts. This occurred because Slab-Serif types differ in purpose than those
that were created as Old Style, Transitional, or Modern styles. The
intent of Slab-Serif types was to produce a very bold letterform that would
function well in circumstances where printed articles needed to be presented in
a public forum and viewed from a distance.
Characteristics of Slab-Serif
types include serifs that are the same thickness as letterform strokes; wider serifs than those seen in other classifications of serif types; strokes that display
an even-width relationship of thick and thin; and a firmly established horizontal
and vertical stroke relationship.
Examples of Slab-Serif
typestyles include American Typewriter, Clarendon, Courier, Glypha, Lubalin
Graph, Memphis, Museo, Rockwell, and Stymie.
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| Slab-Serif Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
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| Slab-Serif Style. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Italic/Cursive/Oblique
Italics were among the first
styles of Roman type to be created for Renaissance printing; predating some Old
Style Roman forms. The original italic was introduced in Italy in 1501 by Aldus
Manutius (Aldo Manuzio) and is known as the Aldine Italic. It came about as a
response to printers and typographers seeking a new kind of letterform to
replace Gothic movable types such as Black Letter and Fraktur. Smaller sized books also began to come into production, which demanded more space efficient types. The
Aldine Italic suited this purpose well being patterned after a combination of the Roman stone-carved
letterforms still evident on ancient monuments, and Humanistic cursive
handwriting styles in use during an earlier part of the 15th century. Although Italic types nowadays are incorporated into most text type
families and are used for emphasis in hierarchical typographic arrangements, they
originally were stand-alone fonts.
The main characteristic of
Italic types is their slanted appearance. Other stylistic traits of Italic
types include cursive styled lowercase letters, many with flourishes; lowercase
letter strokes with upward and downward turned endings; and letterforms that
appear to join togerther to give the appearance of connected letters to create a flowing "handwritten" look.
There are many examples of
Italic types in addition to the Aldine archetype including Old Style,
Transitional, Modern, and even Slab-Serif examples. Baskerville, Bodoni,
Clarendon, Garamond, Vivaldi to name a few.
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| Italic Style. Layout courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
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| Italic Style. Layout courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Disclaimer: The versions of historical fonts that are
in common use today have been redrawn and adapted to modern technology, and in
some instances they have been reinterpreted a number of times over decades and even centuries, so most fonts,
although retaining their original traits may be quite different in appearance from
their original cut.
