Types of fonts
Type classification sorts typefaces by how their letters are built. Learn the eleven classes below and you can place almost any font you see — the first step to identifying it.
Why fonts look the way they do
Early serifs imitated the broad-nib pen, which makes strokes thick and thin depending on its angle. As engraving and printing sharpened, type designers pushed that contrast and turned the pen upright, until the Didones of around 1800 had hairline serifs and perfectly vertical stress. Drag the slider to watch the “o” change through those periods.
The same idea — seeing a mechanism move instead of reading about it — is why explainers like this stick. Type pairings click faster when the logic behind them is visible, which is the thinking behind ahaboo, a small collection of explainers you can move through and explore.
The eleven classifications
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Geometric sans
Sans serif · e.g. Futura, Avenir, Gotham, Century Gothic · shown: Montserrat
Built from circles and straight lines: a near-round “o”, often a single-storey “a”, pointed or flat apexes.
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Grotesque / neo-grotesque sans
Sans serif · e.g. Helvetica, Arial, Univers, Roboto · shown: Roboto
Even, rational strokes; terminals on c, e and s cut horizontally; tight apertures; a two-storey “a”.
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Humanist sans
Sans serif · e.g. Gill Sans, Frutiger, Myriad, Verdana · shown: Open Sans
Proportions from handwriting: open apertures, slight stroke contrast, angled terminals, a true italic.
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Old-style serif
Serif · e.g. Garamond, Caslon, Minion · shown: EB Garamond
Diagonal stress (thinnest at 11 and 5 o’clock on the “o”), bracketed serifs, modest contrast, slanted “e” crossbar in older designs.
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Transitional serif
Serif · e.g. Baskerville, Times New Roman, Georgia · shown: Libre Baskerville
Near-vertical stress, sharper contrast than old-style, bracketed serifs, wider and more regular letters.
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Didone / modern serif
Serif · e.g. Bodoni, Didot · shown: Playfair Display
Extreme thick–thin contrast, perfectly vertical stress, hairline unbracketed serifs, ball terminals.
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Slab serif
Serif · e.g. Rockwell, Clarendon, Roboto Slab · shown: Arvo
Heavy, block-like serifs nearly as thick as the stems, often with little or no bracketing and low contrast.
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Glyphic / inscribed
Serif · e.g. Trajan, Copperplate Gothic · shown: Cinzel
Carved-in-stone capitals: tiny flared or triangular serifs, often capitals only or small caps.
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Monospace
Other · e.g. Courier, Consolas, JetBrains Mono · shown: JetBrains Mono
Every character takes the same width; the “i” and “l” get big serifs or slabs to fill their cell.
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Script & handwriting
Other · e.g. Brush Script, Lobster, Comic Sans · shown: Pacifico
Letters joined or drawn like pen, brush or marker strokes; slanted, with visible entry and exit strokes.
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Display
Other · e.g. Impact, Cooper Black, Bebas Neue · shown: Bebas Neue
Made for large sizes: very condensed, ultra-heavy, decorative or stylised shapes that break down in body text.
Beyond the basics
Formal systems go further. The Vox-ATypI classification (1954, adopted by the Association Typographique Internationale) named categories like Humanist, Garalde, Réale and Didone; it was withdrawn by ATypI in 2021 because it no longer covered modern and non-Latin type. The practical groups above map closely to it and are what most designers use day to day.
Want to test yourself? The identification key walks you to a class in three or four questions, and serif vs sans serif covers the first and most important split.
Questions people ask
What are the main types of fonts?
The broad groups are serif, sans serif, slab serif, script, monospace and display. Designers split serifs into old style, transitional and Didone, and sans serifs into grotesque, geometric and humanist.
What is the difference between old-style and modern serif fonts?
Old-style serifs (Garamond) have diagonal stress and gentle contrast inherited from broad-nib pens. Modern or Didone serifs (Bodoni, Didot) have vertical stress, extreme contrast and hairline serifs, made possible by finer printing and paper around 1800.
Which font type is easiest to read?
Research has not found a consistent winner between serif and sans serif for readability at normal sizes. Familiar letterforms, adequate size, x-height, spacing and line length matter more than the class.
What is a display font?
A typeface designed for large sizes such as headlines, posters and logos. Display fonts often have extreme weight, width or decoration that breaks down at text sizes.