The 16 Typography Vocab Words Most Likely to be Wrong

1
The 16 Typography Vocab Words Most Likely to be
Wrong

• For Document Design
• By Dr. Jennifer L. Bowie

2
Family, Face, and Font

• Type Family all related faces with the same name
  and design characteristics. Example Bodoni MT
  which includes Bodoni MT and Bodoni MT Black
• Typeface or face a category of type that
  includes all variations (such as italics, bold,
  all caps,) of the same specific name. Example
  Bodoni MT is a face.
• Font a specific application of a face, such as
  style and size. Example Bodoni MT size 28 in
  italics
• See Williams Type and slides

3
Legibility, Readability, and Usability

• Legibility the ability to make out/recognize
  small amounts of text such as a word or letters
• Readability the ease of reading a long body of
  text, such as paragraphs
• Usability how well users can use a document for
  the given task, includes both legibility and
  readability
• See Williams Type and Kimball Hawkins

4
Type Categories
Category Larger Category Structure Readability Legibility Voice-over
Oldstyle Serif Mod think/thin transitions Diagonal stress Slanted bracketed serifs Very good Good Traditional, calm, formal
Modern Serif Radical think/thin transitions Vertical stress Serifs thin and horizontal Poor Good/fair Cold, elegant, dazzling
Slab Serif Serif Little/no think/thin transitions Vertical stress Horizontal and think slab serifs Very good Good Straight-forward, plain, clean, athletic
Sans Serif Sans Serif No/little thick/thin transitions (monoweight) No stress no serifs Good Very Good Modern, technical, clean
Script Script looks like handwriting Letters may connect or not Often poor Often poor to fair Varies
Decorative Decorative Structure varies greatly Fun, distinctive, strong faces Often poor Often poor to fair Varies
Grunge or Distressed Decorative Structure varies greatly Distorted, trashed, schizophrenic, ugly, distinctive Often poor Often poor to fair Varies

• See both Williams books

5
Contrasts of Type

• Size One of Williams six type contrasts, should
  involve big differences in type size, but can
  apply contrast in other ways (such as a small
  font on a big page).
• Weight Another of Williams six type contrasts.
  Refers to the thickness of the strokes.
• Structure Yet another of Williams six type
  contrasts. Refers to how the face is built
  including thick/thin transitions.
• Form The shape of a letter. Letters can have the
  same structure but different shapes/forms. One of
  Williams six type contrasts. Example g and G
  have different shapes but are the same structure.
• See Williams Design

6
Conflict, Contrast and Concord

• Conflicting Two typefaces (or other elements)
  that are so similar they are disturbing (they
  conflict) and not contrasting, thus creating a
  weak design. Example Times New Roman Garamond.
  
• Contrasting Clearly distinct faces that contrast
  and create a strong design. Example Georgia and
  Verdana
• Concordant Fonts from one family without much
  difference and thus little contrast. Creates a
  calm, formal design that is not as strong and
  distinct as a contrast.
• See Williams Design

7
Good Luck and Have Fun!