Types of Fonts | A Complete Guide to MakersType Font Classifications

Serif Fonts

Serif fonts have tails or feet, which are small strokes that help distinguish each character and add a unique look to the font. More often than not, serifs are seen as easier to read in printed material.

Subcategories of Serifs

Traditional

Traditional or classic serifs tend to be clean glyphs with obvious tails. These generally look like the stereotypical design when a designer thinks of a serif font.

Sans Serif Fonts

Sans-Serif fonts, like the name implies, do not have tails or feet.

Subcategories of Sans

Traditional Sans Serif Fonts

Traditional Sans are clean typefaces with no flags or tails.

Script Fonts

We define a script as a font where many of the characters and glyphs connect to each other or have a fluid stroke.

Subcategories for Scripts

Calligraphy Fonts

Very difficult to capture digitally, Calligraphy fonts simulate the art of broad tipped lettering.

Similar Pages: Stylish Fonts

Symbol Fonts

Also called Dingbats, Symbol fonts don’t really use traditional characters. They use pictures in place of each glyph for easy vector clip art.

Subcategories of Symbol Fonts

We split these up into categories to help them be a bit easier to search through.

Animal Fonts

Dingbats that feature animals can be found in this category. As of all Symbol fonts, these vector images should work well with any cutting machine.

Framed Fonts

If you are looking for a selection of decorative borders to give your next project some flair, these fonts typically have multiple options of a similar style and are an easy way to spruce up your design. If you would like to include letters on top of these borders you will need to layer them on top in something like Photoshop or PowerPoint. If you would like something with letters already included check out the “Framed” section.

Icon Fonts

Icon dingbats can help your design look unique and fresh by giving commonly used symbols (arrows, socials, actions, etc…) a fresh look that might be more in line with your project. These can help your workflow by speeding it up, especially if you need to include them alongside the text.

Nature Fonts

Find images of flowers, trees, fruits, scenery, and more in this symbol category.

Heart Fonts

Find all the images your heart can take of … hearts. What did you think we were going to put in the heart category?

Cultural Fonts

Dingbats that are associated with a culture, country, or area can be found here. Topical examples would be something like flags and holidays.

Aesthetic Fonts

There are always fonts that don’t fit into the traditional categories because they either have so much character or bend all the rules of each definition. Often these are called display fonts, but that term is falling away because it doesn’t really give you any indications of what it might look like. (You can display any font. 🙂 ) So we chose the word aesthetic because these fonts are really something you want to use if you are looking for something visually unique. Because Aesthetic covers a wide range, we have lots of subcategories that help to break it down more.

Comic/Cartoon

These fonts evoke a similar feeling to those found in comic books and cartoons

Gothic

Also called blackletter fonts, Gothic fonts tend to have a medieval vibe, often using highly detailed capital letters.

Graffiti

As you might think, these fonts give the feeling of a street artist tagging with a brush or spray can. These fonts have also been known as urban decay fonts.

Typewriter

These simulate the look of text being printed by an old typewriter.

Digital

These are designed to resemble the look of digital text screens. Think old calculator, scoreboard, or alarm clock.

Monogram

While almost any font can be made into a monogram (i.e. decorative initials, like those used to personalize jewelry, drinkware, etc…), these fonts are typically highly embellished in an elaborate, over-the-top style.

Filters Guide

We use filters to help narrow down your search by selecting the styles, feelings, or features that you are interested in. If you are looking for a happy script, you don’t necessarily need to look through all the fonts in the horror or western, so we help you cut those out and save time.

Technique

We use the term technique to help describe the medium or tool used when creating the font.

Brush Fonts

Brush Fonts give a look as if they were made with a paintbrush

Chalk Fonts

A font that looks as if a piece of chalk was used to draw it.

Distressed Fonts

A popular style that gives a feeling of the font beomg weathered or eroded.

Handwriting

Fonts that give the impression that they were handwritten on a piece of paper. These fonts are often made with a pen or stylus on a pad to give a more authentic feeling.

Sketch Fonts

Fonts that look as if someone used a pencil or chalk and sketched the glyphs out on paper or a chalkboard.

Case

The case of a font generally has to do with its overall height. Fonts tagged with these filters will generally have a uniform height, making them a great choice when you need lines of text right against each other without a lot of awkward empty space.

All Caps Fonts

Where both the uppercase and lowercase characters are all versions of capital letters.

Mono Height Fonts

In these fonts, both upper and lowercase letters are roughly the same height.

Style

In this category, fonts include common characteristics that are classically included in typeface definitions. These characteristics include weight (number of pixels wide), spacing, slant, and line strokes, A well-tooled font may include many of these styles all under one title.

Bold

Bold fonts tend to look a bit thicker than the average font. If a font family has multiple weights, the largest one tends to be the Bold version.

Light

Light fonts often are the smallest in a font family, but also can be individual fonts.

Thicc

These uber-bold fonts tend to be proud of their size and are not trying to hide it.

Narrow

Narrow fonts have a much smaller “Advance Width” than most fonts, especially when compared to other fonts in the same family. Overall these fonts look have a narrower width witch can be helpful for including more characters in a single line.

Wide

As you might have guessed, wide fonts have a greater than average “Advance Width” than most fonts, especially when compared to other fonts in the same family. These fonts are great at taking up more empty space on a single line because they are wider over all.

Italic

Italic fonts have a slant to the glyphs to help them stand out when paired with other fonts.

Inline

Fonts that have a line down the middle of each letter are often known as an Inline fonts. This can be either a white space down the middle or the inverse and have a black line on the inside of an outline font.

Outline

Outline fonts often trace around outside of a glyph. They typically only have the outline of a letter surrounding negative space.

College

Typically very blocky and bold, college fonts reminisce of university logos and acronyms. Easily readable from any distance.

Embossed

Like Monogram fonts, Embossed fonts are often over-the-top aesthetic fonts that give the look of being carved or imprinted into something.

Characteristic

Characteristics are a feature or detail that runs throughout each glyph and define the whole font’s overall look.

3D

These typefaces give a look of multi-dimensional depth to their glyphs.

Curly

Many fonts are curly, but these fonts have all kinds of curls.

Stencil

These fonts simulate the look of a stencil being used to create each letter.

Bouncy

These fonts have the ability to use characters in a way that moves the font up and down based on your design needs.

Dotted

These typefaces usually only use dots to create each glyph, giving the look of a “connect the dots” drawing for the letters.

Framed

Most of these fonts are encased in a decorative element of some sort.

Genre

The Genre font category describes typefaces that are designed to fit a particular theme or trope.

Farmhouse

Farmhouse fonts are typefaces that fall into the farm, country, or cottage style.

Vintage

These typefaces have the feeling of being old or having a classic look. Sometimes known as antique fonts.

Western

Western fonts, as they sound, look as if they belong in the wild west. Many have “spurs” (not like cowboy boot spurs) or pointed extensions off of the main stroke.

Tattoo

Tattoo fonts are all about looks. These typefaces normally won’t be great for writing a paragraph but will make a single word or phrase have lots of character and stand out.

Seasonal

Spring

Spring fonts often bring out feelings of brightness and freshness. They also may include small designs or accents that are common to spring, like raindrops or flowers.