Typeface nerds, what font should I use?

[pokerfan]

I'm looking in your direction, Oeditpus Rex, jmowreader, ogneopasno, davsand, etc.

I'm pretty clueless about typefaces but in my profession (engineering) I tend to generate a lot of documentation. I generally use Courier New when I need monospaced (tables of numbers) and Helvetica for everything else. It's important that everything is readable on a display but it should also look professional when printed.

Is there anything like 'Elements of Style' (Strunk & White) for typography?

[keroro gunsou]

1. myriad pro

for the win.

[KitchenWitch]

2. papyrus

add some whimsy!

[Midlodemocrat]

3. How much copy are you talking about?

If it's a lot, you need a serif font. Helvetica is a sans serif font, and IMHO, overused. I would go with Garamond for headlines, etc.

If there is a lot of copy that needs reading, seriously, you need a serif font.

[pokerfan]

6. Long, boring technical documents

You're saying I should use a serif font for long documents. But aren't sans serif fonts easier to read on a monitor?

[Midlodemocrat]

9. No. Sans serif fonts are NOT easier to read.

Here's why.

A serif font, with the little tags on the letters, allows the reader to 'sweep' over the word and not read every letter. Therefore, the reader is able to read the entire document without eye strain.

Most of the time, when someone says that something is 'boring', 'doesn't hold my interest', 'too hard to comprehend', it is because it is in a sans serif font and the eye gets tired. It's too much work.

Having written WAY too much copy in the old days, (end of the 80's, early 90's) I think the rules still apply.

[pokerfan]

14. Gotcha

I was taught (apparently incorrectly) that on monitors, serifs can get lost since displays don't have the same resolution as print.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

4. I like Skia

for just about everything. It's clean and extremely legible. Of course, it may just be a Mac thing.

[kentauros]

7. That reminds me quite a lot of Trebuchet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet_MS

I've seen the engineers around here using serif fonts, but I'd have to open up one of their reports to find out... Well, by the looks of things, they're lazy: New Times Roman. I would have suggested Bookman although Palatino is a very nice serif font. :)


Wikipedia has a wonderful list of fonts, most linked to pages about the font with good images of the font in use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_typefaces

Most serif fonts are easier on the eyes for reading, though certainly a sans serif would work well for lists. Courier seems a bit dated and might stand out negatively to your readers.

You might also look to a book you've read recently and note the font used. It's usually pointed out in the masthead, though sometimes in the acknowledgements.

[Jamastiene]

5. Times New Roman is a safe bet. n/t

[ghostsofgiants]

8. Well I always use Times New Roman for things like school assignments and résumés.

Simple, classy, readable.

[Jamastiene]

11. Yep. n/t

[leeroysphitz]

10. Century Gothic.

[kentauros]

13. That is a nice sans serif font

:D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/CenturyGothicSpecimen.svg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Gothic

[leeroysphitz]

15. I use it for drafting. Easy to read, stylish without going over the top. n/t

[elana i am]

12. fonts

do you have mostly just the standard PC fonts that your computer came with?

i can give you some basics.

for readability:
- generally speaking fonts WITH serifs are easier to read when you have a lot of body copy. i personally like helvetica for body copy as long as there's not too much of it, but some people have a hard time reading sans serif fonts in large bodies of text
- using decorative fonts (i.e. juice or jokerman) and display fonts designed to be big (impact) is ok for short titles and headlines, but not body copy and not long headlines. big fat display fonts like impact and showcard gothic are designed for use on signs that are viewed from feet away.
- old serfied standbys like times new roman and garamond work best for body copy in reports and papers.
- condensed versions of fonts work for headlines and titles but not good for body copy. ditto all caps fonts.


aesthetically speaking:
- courier, prestige and any font that looks like it was done on a typewriter is yucky. i only use it when i specifically want the font to look like it was typed.
- avoid script and handwriting fonts (edwardian, embassy and freehand) like the plague
- the less fonts you use per document the better. (a font's different STYLES like bold or italic is ok but no more than 2 different font faces)


i design ads and promotional pieces so there's leeway for creativity, but doing reports and stuff that has pages and pages of copy and charts is probably going to look better if your primary concern is readability. maybe use a bold sans serif for titles and headers and use garamond for the body.

[pokerfan]

16. Just what came with XP

which seems to be about sixty fonts.

If not Courier, what do you recommend for tabulated columns of numbers?

Thanks.

[Maven]

17. OMG.

That IMPACT graphic.

:rofl: