Typeface

A typeface is a visual representation of a set of alphabetic characters used in printing. Typefaces are characterized by having a consistent style of related character forms.

Historically typefaces were first carved from wood and set on a letterpress. After about 400 years, wood type was replaced by cast metal type. "Cold" metal type lasted for about a century and was replaced by hot metal type which was cast mechanically on demand. Hot metal type was replaced within 50 years by optical laser type, which quickly evolved into computerized digital type stored as outline coordinates in one of several data formats (TrueType, OpenType, and Postscript). These are often referred to as fonts, though that term more precisely refers to a specific weight or subset of a typeface.

The most popular typefaces in current usage are probably Helvetica or one of its many variations, and Times Roman in its many forms.

Modern digital typefaces are available online from sites like Monotype, Fontcraft and MyFonts.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Typeface”

• Best Opening Titles Ever

  
  dougsploitation — Authority: 130
  Yeah, I know Ive talked about how much the MARY TYLER MOORE show has influenced my life before, but watching season 5 of the series on DVD has made me once again appreciate the wonderful opening titles. Ive decided to take an in depth look at the sequence, which is unparalleled in its greatness. More happens in this ...
  2 days ago

• Microsoft Found Guilty Of Character Input Copyright Infringement In China

  
  China Legal Blog — Authority: 155
  Beijing No.1 Intermediate Peoples Court has announced that Microsoft was found guilty of infringing the [...]
  4 days ago

• How Typefaces Will Look On The Web? Web Font Specimen

  
  WebResourcesDepot — Authority: 133
  Web Font Specimen is a project by Tim Brown of Nice Web Type , for seeing how a typeface renders in browsers. It is simply a well-prepared HTML/CSS setup that displays most important elements like headings, lists, text in different colors/sizes, emphasis of them & more. The download comes with the ...
  5 days ago

• ARCO© Typeface

  
  plural blog — Authority: 131
  New at the YWFT store , only 30 bones.
  6 days ago

• NYTimes: Mistakes in Typography Grate the Purists

  
  Next Big Design — Authority: 121
  How much does appropriate use of typeface matter to you? Are you one of the few that can spot a font disaster in a glance? Do you find yourself mulling over the ubiquitous misuse of Helvetica? Thankfully, youre not alone. In Sundays New York Times, writer Alice Rawsthorn discusses the problems that font lovers face as ...
  6 days ago

• Typography, cold?

  
  Random Sarah — Authority: 121
  So I’ve been asking people what they think of my new theme, and most people like it. However I did get one comment on twitter that threw me for a bit. @danlavelle said: @ sarahcooley love the format, very simple and easy to read. What don’t I like? The fonts. Too industrial and not enough ...
  1 week ago

• Typography: Concordant, Contrasting & Conflicting!

  
  SitePoint — Authority: 139
  As type is one of the major building blocks of page design on the web and in print, it’s a reasonable question to ask how do I choose my typefaces and which ones work best together? Well there are relationships that exist in typography that can help us reign in a design and subdue it when required, or to produce ...
  1 week ago

• Editorial Potpourri

  
  EditorMom — Authority: 104
  For your editorial pleasure, here is a potpourri of goodies: This one is a handy tool for both editors and writers: " The Ultimate Resource Guides for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE ." Its a compendium of links to web sites explaining the various styles and showing examples of materials that follow them. Information on ...
  1 week ago

• 2009 must be the year of slim script typefaces for me since I...

  
  Junesix Media — Authority: 122
  2009 must be the year of slim script typefaces for me since I can’t seem to get enough of them. This one is Aphrodite Slim by Brazilian foundry Typesenses. I’m amazed at how quickly it’s jumped up to the #20 bestselling font spot at MyFonts. By the way, if you are ever in need of font porn, check out the ...
  1 week ago

• Haiku - Typeface Design

  
  Trade the Picture — Authority: 131
  Typeface Designh then o and youhave the DNA for p,q, n, u et al.
  1 week ago

• Hofstede Design

  
  AisleOne — Authority: 415
  I love this double-sided A2 poster , by Australia based Hofstede Design , to promote Tobias Frere-Jones’ visit to Melbourne for a conference. Simple and works both folded and opened.
  1 week ago

• The Blackletter Typeface: A Long And Colored History

  
  SitePoint — Authority: 139
  The Blackletter typeface (also sometimes referred to as Gothic, Fraktur or Old English) was used in the Guthenburg Bible, one of the first books printed in Europe. This style of typeface is recognizable by its dramatic  thin and thick strokes, and in some fonts, the elaborate swirls on the serifs. Blackletter ...
  2 weeks ago

• Futura Animated

  
  Motionographer | Motion graphics, design, animation, filmmaking and visual effects — Authority: 591
  Futura Animated , The Beast by Colin Sebestyen: an animated typeface with Livetype / Motion file for download. Posted on Motionographer
  2 weeks ago

• How To Add A Custom Font To Your PC

  
  Tech - for Everyone — Authority: 128
  Fonts Add Flair To Your DocumentsSometimes, our creative side demands that we use a special, uncommon font– a fancy and festive font perhaps. Fortunately, there are many fonts (and font “families”) available for downloading and adding to your computer’s repertoire.Last year around this time, I published the ...
  2 weeks ago

• IKEAs Futura is Verdana.

  
  Linolumixa's Notebook. — Authority: 100
  This post discusses IKEAs move to use Verdana, a typeface mainly used for its notable legibility on web pages, but also closely associated with Microsoft. In-between paragraphs are images of IKEA which I have captured for the past four years (s... Read and post comments | ...
  3 weeks ago

• Zummi의 타이포그래피

  
  ??? ?? — Authority: 135
  Highheel Typeface _ Zummi Carpe Diem _ Zummi
  3 weeks ago

• The Decorative Typeface

  
  SitePoint — Authority: 139
  This is the last in the series of font categories. We’ve looked at Old Style , Modern , Slab Serif , Sans Serif , Script fonts and their characteristics. We’re going to finish up today with a look at decorative fonts. These are also known as Ornamental of Display fonts. Decorative and display fonts became ...
  3 weeks ago

• History: The Font

  
  Speaking of Clover — Authority: 118
  Typography and font production have been a huge interest of mine for the past few years and when I get the chance to talk about design I really enjoy highlighting the often overlooked world of typography. You can enjoy more of my thoughts on what I regard as great design by tuning here on a regular basis. - Wes ...
  3 weeks ago

• tuesday.typeface : : st. lorie

  
  suffix.abuse — Authority: 107
  A sweet little typeface with lovely small caps. [ + ] St. Lorie
  3 weeks ago

• Phonetikana – Nihongo never sounded…I mean read any better.

  
  BionicBong — Authority: 426
  So what do you do when you can’t read Japanese? Get a dictionary? Nope…create a font that has the phonetics embedded. At least that’s what the people at Johnson Banks are thinking. Driven by trips to Japan and continual frustration at being unable to read the language, Michael Johnson and his team at Johnson ...
  3 weeks ago

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