Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Style Classifications
Classifying type helps a designer grasp the subtle differences
among styles, organizing them in a general way and further helping to select an appro-
priate typeface for a particular project; sometimes the historical or cultural context of
a particular style will add relevant communication to a typographic design. Classific-
ation is by no means easy, however, especially as our typographic tradition becomes
increasingly self-referential and incorporates historical formal ideas into modern ones.
The type-face Meta, for example, drawn in 1994 by the German designer Erik Spieker-
mann, is a modern sans-serif face sharing characteristics associated with oldstyle serif
types: contrast in the stroke weights, modulation of weight within major strokes, an ob-
lique axis, and a bowl-formed lowercase
g.
A number of systems for classifying type
have been developed during the past several decades. Today, as then, these classifica-
tions often change—but a few basic categories remain constant.
