In the first installment of this two-part series on type classification, we covered the basics of type classification — the various methods people have used, why they are helpful, and a brief survey of type history, classifying and...
In the first installment of this two-part series on type classification, we covered the basics of type classification — the various methods people have used, why they are helpful, and a brief survey of type history, classifying and identifying typefaces along the way. Unfortunately, we only got as far as Roman (traditional serif) typefaces and the early-19th century. Now we’re back for part 2!
Part 2 will primarily cover sans typefaces, with a nod to display typefaces and other less common categories, as well as address a few of the questions people have about whether type classification is helpful and necessary.
If you haven’t read part 1, now’s your chance to go over it. It lays important groundwork for this article, covers the categories of serif typefaces, and contains plenty of useful information about the development of serif type. If you already have read it, here is a quick recap to get us started before we move on to the new material.
Review
Type Classification Systems
Type has been classified in many ways over the years, both formal and informal — Thibaudeau, Vox, British Standards, etc. None of these are complete or all-encompassing, but they’re helpful as an aid to study as well as for learning to use type correctly and effectively. The material in this two-part series draws heavily from the Vox-ATypI system, which is the most “official” of the systems today, having been adopted by the Association Typographique Internationale in 1962 and still the most commonly referenced system.
Is it perfect? No, but it provides a good overview of what is out there; and when you describe typefaces using the terms you’ll learn in this series, anyone who is reasonably familiar with typography will know what you’re talking about.
Here is a quick overview of the type categories we covered in part 1.
Humanist/Venetian
Notable calligraphic influence, patterned after handwriting.
Strongly angled axis or stress.
Based on typefaces designed in Renaissance cultural hubs such as Venice.
Garalde
Less calligraphic influence because type began to be viewed as separate from writing.
Named after influential type designers Claude Garamont and Aldus Manutius.
Still has a tilted axis but less obvious than in Humanist type.
Transitional/Neoclassical
No calligraphic influence. Designed independently, sometimes on a grid.
First appeared in the late-17th century.
Virtually vertical axis and high contrast between heavy and thin strokes.
Didone
Extreme contrast between thick and thin. Rigidly vertical axis.
Abrupt, or unbracketed, serifs. Very precisely designed.
Named after Firmin Didot and Giambattista Bodoni.
Slab Serif
Very heavy weight and low contrast between thick and thin.
Unbracketed, prominent serifs.
First typefaces created expressly for display purposes.
Sans Serifs
When we left off in part 1, it was circa 1815, with the first appearances of slab serifs, also called Mechanistics or Egyptiennes. By the time slab serifs were being popularized, early sans serifs had already been around for some time in a variety of forms. To follow the progression of sans serifs, we must step back in time a number of years.
History of Sans Serifs
The earliest sans-serif letterforms were, of course, not type, but inscriptions, dating back to as early as the 5th century BC, and enjoyed a resurgence in engraving and inscriptions in the 18th century.
Caslon’s Etruscan type, as seen in a 1766 specimen book. Larger view. (Image source: Typefoundry)
Strangely enough, the first “sans serif” type was created not for the Latin alphabet, but for use in 18th-century academic works on Etruscan culture, which preceded the Roman Empire in the geographical area of modern-day Italy. Circa 1748, the foundry of William Caslon (with whom you should be familiar) cut the first known sans-serif Etruscan type for the Oxford University Press, although there are earlier usages of sans serifs in similar applications.
Haüy’s type, created to emboss pages so as
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