![]() ![]() Since you're asking about web specifically: no, there's no wide consensus on the definition of these terms. The bottom line: Typographic terms, in general, have fuzzy definitions and the team at the W3C that created CSS styles and attributes didn't necessarily come from typographic backgrounds when they came up with their terms and definitions. One could argue that typeface refers to the 'design' and font refers to the 'code' these days, but there's no hard-and-fast rule regarding that. When it came to the digital world, the terms began to become much less specific. So Futura would be a typeface and Futura Bold 12pt would be a particular font. By cut, that is in the literal sense in that it was either cut from wood, or metal (or cast in metal). Font was a specific cut of said typeface. Traditionally, a typeface was a particular style of lettering. font = this is where things get really vague. This isn't really a typographic term outside of CSS's vs. additional secondary attributes = these dictate other aspects of the font beyond family and include font-weight (bold, thin, book, etc), font-style (italics, etc), font-size (12pt, 40px, etc), text-transform (allcaps, etc), and others.Īs for the terms you mention, these are all somewhat vague and have no universally agreed upon specific definition.įont Face = See above.= a way to load a digital font file and then refer to said font-file via CSS's font-family.As for style (italics, etc) weight (bold, etc) and such, these are all set via different CSS styles. ![]() Generic names would be something like monospace. Specific names would be something like Helvetica. font-family = either a specific or generic name for a computer font (digital file).The only web-centric terms would be those dedicated to CSS styles which would include: Is there an accepted use of these terms in the context of typography for web? Referencing "font", font face specifically refers to the software used to render a particular face of a family - You may have Helvetica bold as a font face, but not Helvetica italic. For example Bold or Italic are a face where as Helvetica would be the family. Whereas, "What font is used in this logo?" is incorrect (should be typeface).įont Face - (somewhat interchangeable with typeface) the face of the type family. It should be "Oh, I like that typeface." However, "Which font did you pick for that Photoshop design?" would be correct. In the world today many use the word "Font" incorrectly - "oh, I like that font." is wrong. You choose a font from the typeface menu. For example Helvetica Bold Italic would be referred to as the typeface where Helvetica is the Family and Bold Italic is the face.įont - Refers to the computer software file which contains information regarding the display and output of a typeface. Typeface is generally referred to by family + face. Typeface - the specific weight or instance of a particular family. Helvetica Condensed is a type family, Myriad Pro is a type family, etc. The design of all the characters comprised of a family and all its encompassing faces. Type Family - You didn't mention this but it's important. ![]()
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