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”

• The Blackletter Typeface: A Long And Colored History

  
  SitePoint — Authority: 138
  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 ...
  1 day ago

• How To Add A Custom Font To Your PC

  
  Tech - for Everyone — Authority: 127
  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 ...
  6 days ago

• IKEAs Futura is Verdana.

  
  Linolumixa's Notebook. — Authority: 99
  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 | ...
  1 week ago

• Zummi의 타이포그래피

  
  ??? ?? — Authority: 133
  Highheel Typeface _ Zummi Carpe Diem _ Zummi
  1 week ago

• The Decorative Typeface

  
  SitePoint — Authority: 138
  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 ...
  1 week ago

• History: The Font

  
  Speaking of Clover — Authority: 113
  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 ...
  1 week ago

• tuesday.typeface : : st. lorie

  
  suffix.abuse — Authority: 112
  A sweet little typeface with lovely small caps. [ + ] St. Lorie
  1 week ago

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

  
  BionicBong — Authority: 424
  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 ...
  1 week ago

• You can do wonders with TypePhoto on your iPhone!

  
  iWorld — Authority: 142
  Direct from the creator of TypeDrawing , Hansol Huh has this other photography gem that was released back in August this year, but unfortunately, slipped past our radar. What a travesty that would be! Luckily, we chanced upon it just before this and its better late than never. Photography buff, this is for you. ...
  2 weeks ago

• LAIKA: the dynamic digital font

  
  Doobybrain.com — Authority: 611
  I’m not sure that I’ll explain this correctly, but I’ll try. Basically, LAIKA is a web-based font project that aims to make type a changing and fluid part of the digital realm. The font interacts with several inputs given by the mouse based on the pointer’s location on a digital plane. And from those ...
  2 weeks ago

• LAIKA

  
  No legacy — Authority: 128
  LAIKA a dynamic typeface from Michael Flückiger & Nicolas Kunz. Test it out  here
  2 weeks ago

• Mozilla adopts WOFF for Firefox 3.6

  
  The Sly Oyster | culture, entertainment, liberal arts, shenanigans — Authority: 446
  Just the very thought of Firefox supporting the Web Open Font Format , or WOFF , has me excited for the possibilities of future typeface designs on this site.  It’s pretty frustrating having to stick to four or five fonts.  “But WOFF has two key advantages over TrueType and OpenType: WOFF fonts are compressed, ...
  2 weeks ago

• tuesday.typeface : : kari display

  
  suffix.abuse — Authority: 112
  Im loving this playful typeface; it has gobs of glyphs to jazz up your project. Kari Display is the product of a long standing idea I had to give the well-received Positype typeface, Kari, plastic surgery. Just referring to giving a typeface plastic surgery, or letter lipo, stuck in the back of my head until I was ...
  2 weeks ago

• Washington Post Unveils Redesign

  
  Recording — Authority: 515
  The Washington Post unveiled its new look Sunday, with a return to a century-old typeface and a style of headline writing that long ago went out of fashion at many metro newspapers. More on Newspapers Go here to see the original: Washington Post Unveils Redesign
  2 weeks ago

• Washington Post Unveils Redesign

  
  heave-ho.org — Authority: 461
  The Washington Post unveiled its new look Sunday, with a return to a century-old typeface and a style of headline writing that long ago went out of fashion at many metro newspapers. More on Newspapers Go here to see the original: Washington Post Unveils Redesign
  2 weeks ago

• simple, modern logo for blog/website by makingof

  
  Pro Freelance Projects — Authority: 177
  Hi, We are looking for a logo design for a blog/website related to gifts. A simple, clean typeface (11 letters + eventually top level domain) with a gift/parcel/present somehow integrated (or attached) will probably be fine – alternatives are welcome though… (Budget: $30-250, Jobs: Illustration, Illustrator, ...
  2 weeks ago

• It’s funny when the s*** comes back up your loo!

  
  Jack Yan on Vox — Authority: 130
  Gotta love these official notices typeset in Comic Sans. ‘S*** might come back up your toilet while we work on this, but it’s really fun! Yay!’ Read and post comments | Send to a friend
  2 weeks ago

• Hitler subtitler gets a cheap font CD

  
  Doobybrain.com — Authority: 611
  Using the now infamous Downfall movie scene featuring an enraged Hitler, some clever person decided to change the situation by seeing what a cheap font CD would do to the person responsible for adding subtitles to Hitler and his men. Thanks FontFeed !
  3 weeks ago

• Whats my font?

  
  Ask MetaFilter — Authority: 634
  [Fontfilter] Short and sweet question for you, fontaholics...what font is used in The Logo Factory logo found here? There are two examples of the logo on the page; one top right in the title bar and one lower down, reversed out in white over purple above a podcast button. Some variation of a worn typewriter font ...
  3 weeks ago

• Daily Drop Cap

  
  blog GAMIL: an insider look at design — Authority: 110
  Typographer and Illustrator, Jessica Hische , has set out to create “an illustrative initial every day,” and she is sharing her beautiful work through a website dedicated to her efforts: dailydropcap.com . She is currently on letter “N.”
  3 weeks ago

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