2. 16th
Century typography
Garamond, designed by Claude
Garamond in 1532, has many contemporary variations making it the most
widely used old style typeface today.
18th
Century typography
Caslon, designed by William Caslon in 1734,
used widely in the early days of the American Colonies and was the font
used for the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Baskerville, designed in 1757 by John
Baskerville, was his reaction to improving the Caslon typeface and remains
important as the transitional period between the Old Style and Modern.
Bodoni, designed by Giambattista Bodoni in
1767, was a truly “new” typeface displaced the Old Style and Transitional
styles and was the most popular typeface until the mid-19th century.
Didot, designed by Firmin Didot in 1783 and
influenced by Bodoni, uses increased stroke contrast and is described as
neoclassical and evocative of the Age of Enlightenment.
3. 19th
Century typography
Bookman, designed by Alexander Phemister in 1858
as an alternative to Caslon with straighter serifs, was more suitable for book,
display, and headline applications.
Century, designed by Linn Boyd Benton in
1894, is noted for its exceptional legibility and has been an enduring favorite
of American typographers for over one hundred years.
20th
Century typography
Futura, designed in 1927 by Paul Renner, is
based on simple geometric forms such as circles, triangles and squares and
with strokes of even weight it is the only typeface to have been granted
registration under copyright as an original work of art.
Gill Sans, designed by Eric Gill in 1928,
continues in popularity today and is held to bring an artistic or cultural
sensibility to an organization's corporate style.
4. Times New Roman, designed by Victor
Lardent in 1931, has been influential in the development of serif typefaces
both before and after the start of the digital font era and was adopted in
Microsoft’s early products.
Rockwell, designed in 1934 by Frank
Hinman Pierpont, belongs to the slab serif classification and is used primarily
for display rather than lengthy bodies of text.
Palatino, designed by Hermann Zapf in 1950,
employs a strong, open style that is highly legible and whose popularity has
spawned a host of latter century imitators.
Optima, designed by Hermann Zapf
between 1952 and 1955, is inspired by classical Roman inscriptions,
distinguished by its flared terminals, and is especially popular as a branding
typeface within the fashion industry.
5. Courier, designed by Howard "Bud" Kettler
in 1955, is a slab serif typeface designed as the most popular typeface used
on typewriters for over thirty years and was included on the first personal
computers.
Helvetica, designed in 1957 by Max Miedinger
with Eduard Hoffmann, this neutral typeface has exceptional readability,
simplicity in form, and can be used on a wide variety and sizes of signage.
Verdana, designed by Matthew Carter for
Microsoft Corporation in 1996, utilizes a generous width and spacing of
characters and is a desirable legibility feature in small font sizes on
computer screens.