Text Styles

1What is a text style?

A text style is the look of a set of letters: thick or thin, upright or leaning, plain or fancy. The same word can look serious, friendly, loud or gentle, just by changing its style.

2Serif and sans serif

Some letters have tiny strokes, like little feet, at the ends of their lines. These feet are called serifs, so this style is called serif. Letters without the feet are called sans serif. "Sans" is a French word that means "without".

3Five common styles

• Serif: letters with little feet. Often used in story books and newspapers.
• Sans serif: plain letters with no feet. Clear and modern, good for signs.
• Italic: letters that lean to the right. Used to make one word stand out in a sentence.
• Bold: thick, heavy letters. Used for titles and warnings.
• Outline: only the edge of each letter is drawn, and the inside stays empty. Fun for posters.

There is also script, which looks like joined-up handwriting, and many decorative styles: bubble letters, letters made of sticks, or letters covered in leaves.

4Choose the style for the message

• A road sign must be read quickly: use bold sans serif.
• A wedding card should look graceful: script suits it.
• A long story needs easy reading: plain serif or sans serif.
• Use no more than two styles in one design, or it looks messy.

5Look closely

William Caslon made metal letters for printers in London. In 1734 he printed this sheet to show all his letter styles, the way a shop shows its goods. The words are in Latin, an old language; he used them only to show off the letters.

• Find the huge ABCD at the top left. Do these capitals have serifs?
• Find the heading Roman (upright letters) and the heading Italick, the old spelling of italic. How are the two styles different?
• Look at the right-hand side. Some letters are not English at all. These are other alphabets, such as Greek and Hebrew.

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.