Who shot the serif?

TYPOGRAPHY TERMS

One of the reasons for starting this site was that I felt there just wasnt enough being said about the topic. Secondly, and more significantly, I always found it difficult to quickly locate typographic resources. The long-term aim of this blog is to be such a resource, a one-stop-shop for everything about typography, from terminology to new typefaces, from inspirational examples of type to choosing the best typeface for the job, whether that be on- or off-line.

So without further ado, lets take a look at type terminology. Now, before my alliteration sends you running, let me say that there is nothing to fear. But why should you be interested in the terminology of type? Does it really matter if I dont know my ascenders and serifs from my descenders and diacritics? Well, what you will discover, is that learning just a little about the terminology will help you to have a greater appreciation for type; it will also help you to identify different typefaces and fonts and that in turn will help you make better, more informed choices about the fonts you use. Oh, and lastly, youll learn what fish scales and serifs have in common. Today were going to get intimate with the serif (youll learn more about her friends in future Typography Terms posts):

One of the terms of type that most are familiar with is Serif and is easily distinguishable from Sheriff John Wayne has shot and killed several sheriffs; to the best of my knowledge, he has never out-gunned a serif. Serifs are often small, but theyre tough. Before writing this, I sent several questions on type terminology to friends who know little about the topic. Most answered Whats a Serif? with something like, its the curly bits at the ends of letters. And although you are unlikely to read that in a typography text book, thats just about right (though theyre not always curly, of course).

So why the word serif? Well, its commonly held that the origin of the humble serif can be traced back to ancient Rome. Before an Inscription was carved into stone the letters were first painted on. Anyone who has tried painting letters will know that one is left with slightly wider sections at the ends of the brush-strokes. The stone carvers would then faithfully carve out the letters including the flares at the end of the strokes thus was born the serif. However, it looks as though no-one knows much about the etymology of the word serif; some say that it comes from the Dutch schreef, meaning wrote, while other sources say the term sanserif actually pre-dates serif, so that sanserif on its own simply meant without serif (though that begs the question, where did the word sanserif originate?). Interestingly the equivalent term in Japanese, uruko, means fish scales, and in Chinese the term, translated literally into English, comes out as forms with/made with legs. The Chinese one is perhaps the most descriptive. So if someone tells you to give it legs, youll know that they are requesting a serif font. And if someone shouts he has no legs!, then I guess theyre looking at Helvetica. The TypoWiki defines a serif thus: A serif is a flare at the end of a letter terminal. And Wikipedia as: non-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. There are numerous kinds of serif. The two main types are Adnate and Abrupt (these are further subdivided into many more groups which well look at in future). The Adnate serif is more organic. Notice how the serifs join the the stems via a curve; the Abrupt Serif as its name suggests is squarer and more rigid, and doesnt flow into the base letterform; the slab serif is a good example of an abrupt serif. Its not rude; its just square.

In future articles well be taking a closer look at these related topics: Serifs, in and out of fashion; Serif or Sans serif which should I use? Great serif typefaces for Web and print.

In part one, Who Shot the Serif?, we learned among other things that serifs like milkshakes come in many flavours: The main two flavours are Adnate and Abrupt;

with Adnate serifs generally being more organic; Abrupt Serifs on the other hand are usually squarer, bigger, chunkier (the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the font world).

Today were going to take a brief look at the Serif family tree. And if were going to use the family tree metaphor, then lets stretch it a little. So without further ado, let me introduce to you (drum-roll) Mr Abrupt Serif and his wife, Mrs Adnate Serif. In an exclusive interview (they turned down a lucrative offer from FontShop), I was able to gain some insights into the private lives of the Serif family. The following is an excerpt from the interview (speaking from their home in Serifsville, Georgia). ilT: Could you tell the iLT readers a little about the Serif family heritage? Mr AS: On my side of the family Im most proud of my son Slab Serif. (My wife and others often call him Egyptian). Slab Serifs children include Clarendon, a fine young lady. Most would agree that she and her siblingsXenia, Geometric Slab Serif, and Rosewoodare very artistic, very decorative. Rosewood has starred in numerous Westerns; hes a bold, strong character, who was once very popular in advertising. On my wifes side

Mrs AS [interrupts]: yes, my side of the family is certainly more refined, perhaps I could go so far as to say, more natural, more organic. For example, my Baskerville (a fine young man, a real perfectionist from the Transitional Serif family) when born (I think it was about 1754), was considered anorexic, with his razor-thin serifs; however, hes stood the test of time, and his contrast makes him easily legible.

ILT: What about Old Style? Where does she fit in? Mrs AS: Well, some call her Old Style; I prefer to call her Humanist. Her great-great grandfather was the 16th Century typographer Claude Garamond. Humanist owes a lot to the calligraphic style of writing. Heres a picture of Sabon, one of Humanists children. She looks as though shes been designed with a wide-nib ink pen, doesnt she?

A big thank you to Mr and Mrs Serif. They have a busy schedule, what with books magazines, poster campaigns, and their recent popularity on the Web. We didnt really look at Modern Serifs (e.g. Bodoni and Didona) and Latin Serifs (e.g. Quant Antiqua). Can you think of more examples?

A full transcript of the interview will be available in the Who Shot the Serif? e-book, an edited and expanded compilation of all the Type Terminology articles.