Understanding typography when choosing fonts

With almost every design project, there comes a point where you have to choose fonts. With thousands of fonts to choose from, this can be a daunting task. While there are many styles to choose from, fonts are most commonly distinguished from one another by whether they are serif or sans-serif.

Serif fonts are fonts the have a line crossing beyond the “terminal” of a main stroke. A terminal is the ending point of a stroke. Some examples of serif fonts include: Times New Roman, Georgia, and Garamond.

Sans-serif fonts are fonts without serifs. They usually appear more straight and clean-looking. Some examples of sans-serif fonts include: Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana.

Every project has it’s own needs, and figuring out what font looks best depends on the feel of the project. For more modern, technology-based designs, such as a website for a cell phone application development company, a good choice might be sans-serif — since it’s cleaner-looking that serif fonts. On the other hand, a serif font might suit a softer design, like a flyer for an arts-and-crafts store.

Choosing fonts is never easy, but understanding some of the basics can help.

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