Font Classifications

Old Style: 1475
   1. the axis of the thick-thin contrast slopes somewhat to the left.
   2. the crossbar of the lowercase 'e' is horizontal
   3. top serifs are roof shaped and have a trianglar form
Examples: Bembo, Garamond, Sabon, Albertina, and Palatino


Transitional: 1750
   1. Stress in almost vertical or slightly left
   2. Top serifs of lowercase are roof shaped
   3. Lowercase "e" has horizontal crossbar
   Examples: Baskerville, Concorde, Fournier, Perpetua, and Times New Roman


Modern: 1775
   1. the type faces show a strong emphasis on the vertical stroke
   2. sharp contrasts
   3. symmetry and sharp transition to the straight serifs, which are as thin as the thin parts of the letter
Examples: Didot, Bodoni, Walbaum, Linotype, and Didone


Slab: 1880
   1. Hardly any thick/thin contrast in the letters
   2. Heavy rectangular serifs are as thick as the letters themselves (defining characteristic)
   3. Differences in subdivisions are most clearly visible in lowercase letters (sometimes seen as sans-serif to which serifs were added — see lowercase "c")
   Examples: Serifa by Adrian Frutiger, Antique by Vincent Figgins, the first Clarendon by Robert Besley, Beton by Heinrich Jost, and Memphis by Rudolf Wolf


Humanistic Sans Serif: 1812
   1. Line widths are visually equal
   2. The extension on the lowercase "e" points to the right instead of turning toward the cross-bar
   3. The lowercase "g" often has a classic form with two bowls
   Examples: Gill Sans by Eric Gill, Profile by Martin Wenzel, Frutiger by Adrian Frutiger, Scala Sans by Martin Majoor, and Myriad by Carol Twombly and Robert Slimbach


Grotesk: 1898
   1. No Serifs
   2. Axis of Rounding is vertical
   3. Ascender height is usually equal to capital height and the curve of the lowercase "e" is pointed up towards cross-bar
   Examples: Akzidenz Grotesk, Helvetica, Univers, Arial, and Neue Helvetica


Geometric: 1920s
   1. no serifs
   2. link thicknesses are only visually and minimally corrected
   3. the axis of the roundings is vertical
Examples: Futura, Avant Garde, Eurostile, Erbar, and Neuzeit