Sans Serif Type Category

Video Transcription

Welcome back everyone, to our short talks on The Classifications of Typography here at Noble Desktop.

The type category we are looking at in this video is Sans Serif.

Because of their clean lines, and minimal simplistic structure Sans serif fonts are considered to be more modern than serif fonts. They don’t have the strokes or serifs at the ends of their letterforms and tend to have less variation overall than serif typefaces.

When William Caslon IV designed the first sans serif typeface In 1816, called Caslon; it was not popular. However at the beginning of the 20th century, modernism emerged ushering in the design concept of form following function, and the sans serif typeface’s popularity exploded.

You might recognize these popular san serif fonts…

Futura’s slender lines, long ascenders, and almost classical Roman capitals give it a stylish elegance, differentiating it from other geometric san-serifs. Futura can be used as a display and paragraph font and is seen in many notable and historic projects.

Helvetica, an aspect of Swiss design, was very popular at this time and largely promoted by advertising agencies in the US. Helvetica, in particular, became popular so quickly, due to its legibility and neutrality, it's easy to see why it was so widely appreciated by the design community.

DIN Alternative was originally designed for industrial uses, the first DIN-type fonts were simplified designs that could be applied with limited technical difficulty. It has become popular for general purposes use in signage and display adaptations.

The NY Subway Signage Due to a crazy array of various typographic and signage styles, the NY Subway system signage received a major redesign starting in the mid-1960s. At that time the New York City transit authority hired the design firm Unimark International to create a clear and consistent signage system. We can now see the evidence of this success by looking at the black and white signs with its simple color coding which use crisp, distinctive, bold, and highly legible Helvetica to help locals and out-of-towners find their way around.

Here is the CNN Web Page it uses its own custom CNN Font. An integral part of the CNN News Group the website is designed for the international viewer. While the overarching look and feel of the type and photos on the page are important, the facts are presented with a stark seriousness that makes it easy and fast to read the news online. In general, sans serif fonts tend to be easier to read at small sizes which can be required in UI design.

Naturally, one of the most important features of a lower third is the typography. Clear, strong, and sharp, this Lower third for the Pittsburgh Steelers uses the Avenir typeface. The way in which the type is used here lets us see the stats with no distractions. When data appears and disappears quickly on screen as it does in animated lower third designs it is crucial that people can read it quickly and correctly.

This uncluttered and understated NBC TV Weather Screen uses the Linotype Yalta sans pro font. This choice provides a clean easy-to-read, no-frills appearance which is ideal for the labels on the tv weather map. Yalta sans pro is known for its warmth and friendly feeling and for its ability to maintain the modern clarity of a sans serif font.

Next up in our line-up on the classifications of typography will be the script typeface category.