Vox-ATypI classification

In typography, the Vox-ATypI classification makes it possible to classify typefaces into general classes. Devised by Maximilien Vox in 1954, it was adopted in 1962 by the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) and in 1967 as a British Standard, as British Standards Classification of Typefaces (BS 2961:1967),[1] which is a very basic interpretation and adaptation/modification of the earlier Vox-ATypI classification.

Vox proposed a nine-type classification which tends to group typefaces according to their main characteristics, often typical of a particular century (15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th century), based on a number of formal criteria: downstroke and upstroke, forms of serifs, stroke axis, x-height, etc.[2] Although the Vox-ATypI classification defines archetypes of typefaces, many typefaces can exhibit the characteristics of more than one class.

Typographic parts of a glyph: 1) x-height; 2) ascender line; 3) apex; 4) baseline; 5) ascender; 6) crossbar; 7) stem; 8) serif; 9) leg; 10) bowl; 11) counter; 12) collar/link/neck; 13) loop; 14) ear; 15) tie; 16) horizontal bar; 17) arm; 18) vertical bar; 19) cap height; 20) descender height.

On April 27, 2021, ATypI announced that they had de-adopted the system and that they were establishing a working group building towards a new, larger system incorporating the different scripts of the world.[1]

  1. ^ a b "ATypI de-adopts Vox-ATypI typeface classification" (Press release). Association Typographique Internationale. 2021-04-27. Archived from the original on 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  2. ^ Mosley, James (1960). "New Approaches to the Classification of Typefaces". The British Printer (Reprinted for the United States House Committee on the Judiciary).