Typography of the Web: Serif Fonts

On screen display tends to focus on sans-serif typefaces, so unfortunately all of the serif fonts truly available to a webdesigner can be covered in one post. There are only two truly web safe serif fonts: Times New Roman (Times), and Georgia. The latter is found on both Mac and Windows operating systems, with Times and Times New Roman, essentially identical fonts (at least in terms of the web), appearing on Mac and Windows operating systems respectively.

Georgia

Georgia is my personal web-safe serif typeface of choice. Like Verdana, Arial, and a few other fonts, it was designed specifically for display on screen, so it remains legible even at small sizes. It has a larger x-height than Times, and its generally wider and rounder in shape, because Times was initially designed with the cost of printing in mind, and is therefore a narrower (editorial: uglier) typeface. Georgia also has a beautiful Italic styling that, like all italic styling, should be thought of as a completely different font.

Times

Serif fonts don’t seem to get much love on the web, I guess because all you crazy kids out there don’t think they’re hip, or cool, or whatever, but they can add a real touch of class and professionalism to your web layout. Girlslooknicenaked, an awesome blog made by some awesome people, is a good example of successful use of serif fonts in a very contemporary design.

Next post is going to cover the very exciting realm of monospace fonts. Your anticipation is palpable.

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