What the Font? – Understanding
Typefaces on the Web
by Angela Nielsen
Do you operate a website, send out electronic newsletters
or e-mail campaigns? Have you ever experimented with the different fonts
(typefaces) available? If you have, you probably discovered there are
numerous fonts available on your computer – in some cases 100-200 or
more. How then do you decide which font to use?
This article will give you a brief overview of choosing
fonts for the internet, so that the next electronic piece of information
you send achieves the desired effect.
Where the Font Do We Start?
First, even though there are thousands of fonts available to us, each
computer usually only has a hundred or so installed for use. Different
operating systems, and various other files or programs you obtain can
install various fonts on your computer and add to that number. Those
fonts are usually compatible across programs, meaning you will be able
to use all of your system fonts in any program. Let’s say your computer
came pre-installed with 150 fonts. Then you bought a common software
program that added 50 more fonts to your computer. You now have 200
fonts you will be able to use in any program that is designed to allow
font selection.
Isn’t that great? You instantly have more fonts to choose
from. If you’re working in print materials or graphics, then you
actually do have the freedom to choose whatever fonts you want. However,
if you are not printing the final version but instead delivering your
material via the internet, whether it be on a website, by email, or any
other type of electronic media, you don’t actually have as much freedom
as you may think. There are several factors to take into consideration
that could influence your choice, including perception, usability and
availability.
Perception.
The typeface that you select needs to accurately reflect the mood of
your message. Do you want the tone conveyed to your reader to be formal
or informal, friendly or serious, professional or playful? If the
message is of a professional and formal nature, then your font should
accurately portray that. But if the message is to a group of friends
inviting them to a party, you can have a little fun and take a more
informal approach with your fonts. Always consider the audience for
which the piece is intended, and then choose a font that achieves the
perception you desire.
Usability.
After you have established the intended audience for your message, make
sure they can actually read it! Many fonts are hard to read simply
because they are so small in size (like 8 point or 10 point). Cursive
and italic fonts can be hard on the eyes and are strongly discouraged
for the purposes of main bodies of text. Italics should only be used for
emphasis or as graphical elements. You also don’t want your font too
large, as this can make it difficult for the eyes to scan across a large
body of text. There are many fonts available intended specifically for
headings and logo text that would be inappropriate for the main body of
a message. To maximize usability, make sure to choose a font that is
legible and easy on the eyes.
Availability.
This is the most easily overlooked aspect of font selection and can
result in completely unexpected results. To insure the recipient sees
the same message style you created, the fonts you use must be available
on their computer. When you create a website for example, the HTML code
will “call” the font that is supposed to be displayed. This tells your
browser program what font it should display on that particular page.
Even though you may have 200 fonts installed on your computer and you
see your fonts fine and dandy, that doesn’t mean that the person on the
other end viewing your website has the exact same fonts as you. In a
case where he doesn’t, his browser will substitute a different font of
its own choosing, which could completely change their perception of your
intended message. At the very least, they may think you were sloppy in
putting your material together. Email programs, and electronic
newsletters, all work the same way. So bottom line, you need to use
fonts that you are positive your entire web audience will have available
on their computer. We call these “Web-Safe” fonts.
With thousands of fonts out there, you’re probably
thinking, “No big deal, there are still plenty of choices”. Well, I hate
to be the bearer of bad news, but there are only 9. Yes, you read that
correctly, there are only NINE web-safe fonts that you can be assured
are on every single computer out there! Those fonts are Arial, Arial
Black, Courier New, Comic Sans, Georgia, Impact, Tahoma, Times New
Roman, Trebuchet, and Verdana. Let’s take a couple of minutes to
understand the differences in these fonts.
There are two basic types of fonts; serif or sans serif.
Serif by definition has a fine line finishing off the main strokes of a
letter, or letters may end with a rounded tip. And “sans” is a French
term meaning “without”, so in the case of sans serif it would be without
those fine lines. The most common serif font is Times New Roman and the
most common sans serif font is Arial, both of which are web-safe fonts.
Of the nine web-safe fonts there are only 3 serif fonts; Courier New,
Georgia and Times New Roman. Serif fonts in very small text sizes can be
hard to read, therefore caution should be used when selecting those for
small print.
(properly pronounced "are-ree-al")
Arial was introduced as the default typeface for Windows 3.1 when it was
released by Microsoft in the early 1990s. It is not difficult to read
unless used in very small sizes, and it is the most popular sans serif
font today. It is however quite plain, and people tend to get bored of
Arial because they see it every where. But, since it’s so widely
available, easy to read, and the default for Microsoft products, it is a
great font to use for main content areas of your marketing materials,
newsletters, websites, etc.
Arial Black is one of many versions of Arial, released with Internet
Explorer 3. It is a bolder font than Arial and is great for headings and
short sections of text that require emphasis.
Courier New, a serif font, was primarily a font used in old typewriters.
Not normally used as main bodies of text, it is still used to display
code in documents or when the writer wants the old-fashioned typewriter
look in their document.
Comic Sans started shipping with Windows 95 as a preinstalled font.
Designed to look like comic book lettering, the font was created for
informal copy. Regarded today as unprofessional, this sans serif font is
not recommended for materials of a professional nature. Comic Sans
became a more popular font when it started being used as the text inside
the tags on Beanie Babies!
Georgia, a serif font, was created for Microsoft in 1993 to provide a
clean font for use on the web that would display well even in small
sizes. Georgia font letters are taller than most other web-safe fonts,
making them easier to read when used in smaller sizes. Georgia is a
great alternative when you’re tired of traditional Times New Roman, but
still want a serif font.
Impact is a very bold sans serif font. By it’s name, it was designed to
impact the reader, and is therefore recommended only for headings, small
blocks of text, areas on the page that you want to grab the readers eye.
Because of it’s thick block style, Impact looks best when there is
plenty of space around it otherwise it looks cluttered.
Tahoma, a very close cousin of Verdana, was
designed in 1999 for Microsoft. It is so similar to Verdana that many
don’t see the difference in the fonts. Mainly, Tahoma keeps its
lettering tighter so that text does not spread out as far as Verdana
does. Tahoma is a great font option for those needing a sans serif font
but who are getting bored of Arial.
Times New Roman is the most widely used serif font, developed in 1931
for use by The Times newspaper in London. It has remained a very popular
font for setting type in books, magazines, newspapers, etc. The U.S.
State Department has been using Times New Roman 14 point on all
diplomatic documents since 1994, replacing their old font of choice
Courier New 12 point.
(properly pronounced "treb-u-shet”
Trebuchet was designed in 1996 for Microsoft and is a popular sans serif
font for those bored with the plain appearance of Arial. Having a
definite style all it’s own, Trebuchet is easy to read for large or
small type and works well for main bodies of text. Due to its unique
styling though, it can be seen as a feminine font and if your audience
is all men they may not relate well to that font.
Verdana, designed for Microsoft in 1996 is probably the most easy to
read web-safe sans serif font available. With its taller lettering, and
more evenly spaced letters it can be easily read in larger sizes as well
as small sizes. It does extend the width of text on a page, so it’s
great for filling design that have a lot of space with a small amount of
copy.
What Font do YOU Want?
Now that you understand the differences between the 9 web-safe fonts,
which one will you choose for your internet communications? If you’re
looking for a serif font, then Georgia is our recommendation. It is the
clearest serif font on the web, since it was designed for just that
purpose. If you are looking for a sans serif font, Verdana is the
clearest on screen font for readability and is our number one
recommendation, with good old Arial pulling up a close second.
About the Author
Angela Nielsen is President of
One Lily Inc., an award-winning web development company located in
southern California. To find out more about Angela Nielsen or One Lily visit
www.onelily.com. Copyright 2006 by Angela Nielsen. Editing
provided by
www.sharpediting.com.
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