Do you know what the font families? In the following article we will give you detailed information about everything you need to know about this.Don't miss this opportunity!
Typographic Families
This is a fundamental element for design, typography has as much power as color, it can send different messages just by changing the type of font, it can be the one that makes the context appear different and give multiple sensations to the reader.
Through the alphabet we can interactively visualize the use of language, which is why font families are considered very important in the field of graphic design. Since alphabetic signs have distinguished characteristics, this has helped man to communicate and even more so when technology has advanced.
Typographic families are not just letters of different sizes and shapes, those different characteristics in each one help us understand the true message that they want to give, a very clear example is when we think of the "comic" typeface that shows us a fun and playfully or when we look at "ALGERIAN", a time in the Middle Ages comes to mind.
History of typography
To focus a little more on the subject of typeface families, we will start with a short historical review that will give us why typeface became so important; This goes back to the time when the ability to create paper was achieved, which was achieved in the middle of the XNUMXth century when Johannes Gutenberg created a "type" machine, which was intended for printing letters.
This technique provided the beginning of the printing of the 42-line Bible that lasted for half a century, Johannes's invention had a great impact and his method known as "the Gutenberg method" became known throughout Europe.
This method reached Italy where it quickly gained strength and the first great printing press of the time was established there. It was here that movable type inspired by humanist and Carolingian calligraphy were used, which gave birth to what we know as Roman typography.
This facilitated the beginning of the creation of new adaptations to the passing of time and the industrial era, the types went through great names such as: Aldo Manuzio, hard of the Aldina printing press in Venice, and thus the birth of the first italics for their editions and Claude Garamond, which bears a typeface with his name on it.
In the XNUMXth century another important innovation in the world of typography came from William Caslon and it was Sans Serif typefaces. They had gone unnoticed for a long time due to their simplicity but little by little they made their way to this day.
The most remarkable leap is that of the Appel Macintosh, this operating system allowed its user different fonts to use, giving him a fairly wide choice. From that moment on, computers encouraged designers to look for more and more typefaces for his work. The Digital Revolution brought typography to its peak.
If you want to have much more extensive information on typeface families, we invite you to watch the video below, in this way, any other questions will be clarified:
Parts of a letter
The word "Letter" has its origin in Latin, it is used to denote the symbols used in the written language, parallel to it in the typographic families from Latin and Greek referring to the aesthetic aspect that defines the letters. The letters consist of different parts that are key to be able to specify the differences in them.
Height
Differentiating between upper and lower case letters. For the upper case letters, the dimension ranges from the base of the characters to the upper part thereof, thus forming the capital letters, and taking the height of the "x" as a reference, the lower case letters are dimensioned without take into account the ascending and descending antlers.
Auction
It is what characterizes the shape of the letter, it is the main and most appreciable aspect to the naked eye, there are ascending and descending antlers extending above and below the "height x" respectively, uprights being oblique or vertical seen as the Main lines, spine or wavy giving the appearance of curvature to some letters, bar or transversal are oriented horizontally.
Ring
Those that surround a blank space within the letters, also called even closed curves. Inside them you can see the "internal white" being another part of the letters, which in addition to being inside the ring is also contained by eyelets.
Buttonhole
Generated by a lower, curved and closed extension, also called a loop, if open it is considered a "tail", which are seen as oblique or curved hanging antlers generally extending below the letters, in addition there are very small projections considered "bases ”.
Arm
Viewed as the overhang projections horizontally or in the upward direction that are not within character boundaries. The limit is given by another important part known as "body", since it defines the size of the conventional letter to the printing of the same.
Auction
Mostly aesthetic, it is part of the ends or endings of an arm, tail or pole, it is not necessary to delimit a letter, therefore not all alphabets have them. Unlike the "vertices", which are the intersection of lines, finding a common exterior point.
Cartouche
This part of the letter, as well as the vertex, is a midpoint, which also serves to join the pole and the finish, being a straight or curved line. As well as another terminal segment that can be added to the ring or some antlers is the "ear".
Inclination
A fundamental part of the stylization of writing in general, is given by the degree of inclination of an angle that is taken as the axis reference for each of the letters, it is usually vertical. Always supported by the "baseline", because they define the height.
How are font families classified?
They are sets of character designs that have ornamental features in common. These families are considered families despite resembling each other, some have more appreciable differences than others. A common name for these families is "fonts" of French origin.
Thanks to the printing press and later to computerized designs, different models arose from which the most current sources are based. It is worth estimating the innovation and inventiveness that was generated in past centuries, in order to keep these typographic families in mind today.
The classification of these families or sources is given by collected characteristics through which we can associate them, because there are different ways of grouping them, the measures that are usually taken into account are their origins, the time they have, or aesthetic appreciations. Highlighting the importance of each typeface to generate feelings within the elements that are used by designers.
ATypI classifications
Modifying to use historical variables, being as "secular types" the Humana, Garalda, Real and Didona families, as "modern age" to the Futura, Egyptian and Mecano families, the latter present in the XNUMXth century, and concluding with "XNUMXth century ”The Traditional and Incised families, being as indicated located in the twentieth century.
At the same time, the ATypI classification, standardized with the name DIN 16518, grouping by similar features makes the division into: "Roman" including Ancient, Transition, Modern, Meccane and Incised, "Dry stick" Linear in modulation and Grotesque, "Lettered" Calligraphic, Informal Gothic and Italic, and finally "Decorative" Fantasy and Epoch.
Roman
Fountains with a style present in the XNUMXth century, where the lines and curves are observed in opposition, being that it was a hand-carved writing, the finishes had to go according to the angles that could be shaped in stone, the writing being orderly and proportional . Divided into five elemental groups:
- Antigua or Garaldas: They are sources of French origin, created in the seventeenth century, with the shaft and the top being lightly pointed ends, all of which stand out with lines of different thickness. These fonts include Garamond, Century Oldstyle, and Times New Roman.
- Of Transition: expressing as its name indicates the transition from ancient Roman to modern Roman styles, appearing between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, giving concavity to the antlers and finials that are no longer triangular, as examples are the Caledonia and Baskerville sources.
- Modern: Making use of the new printing tools developed in the 20th century, thanks to Didot who created them, the more refined style allows the appreciation of these fonts in continuous text segments, as an example we have Firmin Didot and Modern N ° XNUMX.
- Meccano: Being grouped due to the foundations found in this source, it lacks modulation and contrast like the others within its family, so it can be considered with particular case, prominent examples such as Stymie and Lubalin.
- Incises: Similar to the "Mecano" font, these are a group apart from the other Roman ones, being a key feature the use of the imaginary reading line, since its antlers are of a thinner thickness, even looking at the naked eye and without detailing. sources of "Palo seco", among its sources are Baltra and Alinea.
Dry stick
Having the contrast between the Greek and Phoenician stylization of the capital letters, and on the other hand the compact, straight and united of the lower case letters, visualizing the essence of the industrial era in which it was created, they are divided into:
- Linear without modulation: being uniform, geometric in the thickness and style of the stroke, it has a great variety of derived fonts, it is not usually appreciated well in running text, such as Futura, Helvetica and Avant Garde.
- Grotesque: unlike the previous one if it is properly appreciated in running text, the most relevant is the Gill Sans.
Labeled
The ornamentalness of the cursive style reflects the calligraphy of the writers who designed them. Its 3 key groups are: "Calligraphic" based on the hands of its authors such as American Uncial and Bible Seript Flourishes, "Gothic" accented strokes and often less legible than others such as Wedding Text and Fraktur, "Cursive" with a less formal, popular style. in the decade of the 50's and 60's highlighting Freestyle Script and Kauffman.
Decorative
They are special cases not for regular use but, being "Fantasy" letters without much legibility, and of medieval appearance, example of them are Shatter and Croissant, on the other hand "Epoca" marks a simpler fashion style, visible for example in advertisements , the most used fonts are Peignot, Gallia and Broadway.
How to create fonts through a web page?
There are different web pages where we can put all our creativity and make our own fonts, these are tools that are quite useful if we try to find a specific result.
One of the most popular tools that exist for creating different fonts in typographic families on the web is called MyScriptFont, this is due to how easy and efficient it can be, you only need to fix things regarding the font, but the The rest of the work will be done by the application. Next, we will briefly explain the steps you will have to perform:
- Step 1: We will start by downloading a template that will be used to write the new font. The image will be in PNG or PDF.
- Step 2: Inside the application, MyScriptFont, you should look for the file in the part that says "Select File". In case it is uploaded directly to the cloud, you can simply add the URL.
- Step 3: Enter the name of the font you want to make and that's it. When installing it on your computer, you just have to double click on the file you made and once it is open, click on "Install".
How to create fonts in Adobe Illustrator?
Before starting this process, you must first have the "Adobe Illustrator" program downloaded and installed on your computer, you can easily find it on Google, as well as being free. Photoshop or Font Forge might also be useful to you, but in this explanation, we will only focus on Illustrator.
We will start by making the type of typography that we want to create on paper (a physical sheet of paper), then we will pass it on to the computer. This process will be entertaining to you, because you can design the font you want in the way you want, after finishing this, scan the sheet and convert it into an image on your computer; Next, we will explain in detail what to do:
- Step 1: Start the program and once inside, open the image of the font that you created earlier. We recommend that you zoom in on the image to be able to appreciate it better.
- Step 2: On the left side of the application, you will see the tools and select the one you need for this task, the pen. We recommend using a strong color like red to go over the lines of the letters.
- Step 3: Reviewing the typography is simple, you just have to click on the ends of the letters (each one separately). You will see how in the letters, lines will be formed that will go over you; On the left side, you will see other tools that will facilitate this work, such as, for example: The one to create shapes, such as circles, to review the circular letters faster.
- Step 4: Now you must go to your Google search engine to search and enter the page: Calligraphr.com, here you can locate the templates you need for creating your typography for free. The process on the website is easy, you just have to go where it says "Get started for free" and then register; When you have done it, download the PDF template, which you must open in Adobe Illustrator to continue with the next step.
- Step 5: Once opened, you will appreciate that there are several boxes in which you can add one by one, the letters that you previously reviewed. To do this, first open the file that had the letters reviewed, so that you have both open: the template and the letters.
- Step 6: First select the letters, then simultaneously press the Ctrl and C keys (this is for copying) and paste it into the template by pressing the Ctrl and V keys (this is for pasting). You can see that they appear very large, but simply reduce their size to start copying each of the letters in the boxes.
- Step 7: Once done, save the template that has the letters, but you must do it as a PDF file.
To finish, go to the aforementioned web page and upload the file, after that, click on "Generate source". After that, you must click on "Download font", with this, you have your new custom font, which you can add to Word or to a design program.
A simple method to add this font to your computer is to go to the "Fonts" folder in Windows and paste the PDF file you created.
If you liked the article on typographic families and you are interested in reading another, we invite you to visit the following: Polymorphism in object-oriented programming.