Font Types

● Serif: a font with decorative or accessory strokes known as serifs (also known as ornaments or feet)

that accentuate the ends of a letter or character. Serifs are said to increase readability or reading

speed. Serif fonts are usually used in print mediums. EG. Times New Roman, Garamond, Cambria

○ serif - "extra strokes for extra character"

○ characters have thin and thick strokes

○ may stand out in a body of text

○ has been theorised that serifs make characters easier to recognise by giving the brain more

time to see the letters, therefore increasing reading speed for a reader or viewer

○ increased readability in print media

○ decreased readability on screen or digital media

● Sans Serif: do not have serifs or decorative strokes. Popular for digital mediums, being used for

websites, blogs, etc. EG. Arial, Helvetic, Verdana

○ no serifs

○ characters have strokes of even widths

○ decreased readability in print media

○ increased readability on screen or digital media

○ can be perceived as being too informal

● Decorative:

Decorative fonts are fonts with exaggerated features such as serifs or swashes, or any font designed to

be used as a heading. They are engaging and artistic. They are used mainly for decorative or

ornamental pieces and as headings, but are mostly unsuitable for use as body text. They’re meant to

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be used in moderation, and to draw attention due to that very rationing of their usage, such as in

headlines, greeting cards, posters, brochures and advertisements.

Decorative fonts usually have very distinctive looks, for example, blood streaming down a wall.

Decorative fonts can be ideal for use in multimedia products, especially in advertising and posters, as

they impart a sense of character to a text, and can even come to define the product or even franchise.

EG: The Pokemon Font.

FORMATTING: bold, italics, underline, alignment, indents, bullets, numbers, size, colours

● help the product to stand out and attract the attention of potential buyers

● keeps consistency in design and layout of a piece, therefore increasing readability and ease of

navigation for the target audience of a multimedia product

● designer/creator can specify or change the appearance of a chosen font in order to suit the product

● formatting fonts make presentation of a product better, making the product more accessible to a target

audience

● increases legibility and makes a product look more professional

● is considerate of the audience

● white space (natural space between paragraphs and text within a body of text)

● increases consistency of layout and readability

STROKE AND FILL

● Stroke: the line style for a shape

● Fill: the colour of the interior of the shape.

HEADINGS AND SUBHEADINGS

● Headings and subheadings organize content to guide readers. A heading or subheading appears at the

beginning of a page or section and briefly describes the content that follows.

● break content into smaller, more specific sections. They give readers avenues into your content and

make it more scannable by people, assistive technology, and search engines so that the content on

each page remains compliant with government appointed accessibility standards.

PAGINATION

● Pagination is the process of grouping or organising the layout of a document in order to increase

readability. By separating either digital or print content into discrete pages, pagination provides users or

the audience of a multimedia product with additional navigational options for browsing through separate

parts of a given article or piece.

TYPOGRAPHY

● Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and

attractive when displayed. Digital artists/producers must consider typography when creating, modifying

or designing multimedia products because it is the medium through which they communicate with and

engage their audience.