Display typeface

A number of common genres of display typeface

A display typeface is a typeface that is intended for use in display type (display copy) at large sizes for titles, headings, pull quotes, and other eye-catching elements, rather than for extended passages of body text.[1]

Display typefaces will often have more eccentric and variable designs than the simple, relatively restrained typefaces generally used for body text.[2][3][4][5] They may take inspiration from other genres of lettering, such as handpainted signs, calligraphy or an aesthetic appropriate to their use, perhaps ornamented, exotic, abstracted or drawn in the style of a different writing system.[6][7][8]

Several genres of font are particularly associated with display setting, such as slab serif, script font, reverse-contrast and to a lesser extent sans serif.[9][10] Walter Tracy defines display typefaces in the metal type sense as "sizes of type over 14 point" and in design that "text types when enlarged can be used for headings, display types, if reduced, cannot be used for text setting."[11]

Titling fonts are a subset of display typefaces which are typically used for headlines and titles. They are often only uppercase, and have stroke widths optimized for large sizes.[12][13]

  1. ^ David Consuegra (10 October 2011). Classic Typefaces: American Type and Type Designers. Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. pp. 1998–9. ISBN 978-1-62153-582-9.
  2. ^ David Raizman (2003). History of Modern Design: Graphics and Products Since the Industrial Revolution. Laurence King Publishing. pp. 40–3. ISBN 978-1-85669-348-6.
  3. ^ Eskilson, Stephen J. (2007). Graphic Design: A New History. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780300120110.
  4. ^ Frere-Jones, Tobias. "Scrambled Eggs & Serifs". Frere-Jones Type. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  5. ^ Lewis, John (April 2007). Typography: Design and Practice. Jeremy Mills Publishing. pp. 13–17. ISBN 978-1-905217-45-8.
  6. ^ Bruce Willen; Nolen Strals (23 September 2009). Lettering & Type: Creating Letters and Designing Typefaces. Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 66–79. ISBN 978-1-56898-765-1.
  7. ^ Ellen Lupton; Julia Lupton (12 May 2009). Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things. St. Martin's Press. pp. 165–174. ISBN 978-1-4299-9423-1.
  8. ^ Mosley, James. "English Vernacular". Typefoundry (blog). Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  9. ^ Mosley, James (1999). The Nymph and the Grot: the Revival of the Sanserif Letter. London: Friends of the St Bride Printing Library. pp. 1–19. ISBN 9780953520107.
  10. ^ Mosley, James. "Comments on Typophile thread - "Unborn: sans serif lower case in the 19th century"". Typophile (archived). Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Letters of Credit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Strizver, Ilene (21 June 2017). "All About Titling Fonts".
  13. ^ Strizver, Ilene. "Titling Fonts". Retrieved 15 June 2021.