There are five classic typefaces within design, each equally significant yet very different from one another. Although we may not immediately identify “typography” as a field of importance within our lives, it is every where you go. The ads on the side of your cereal box, the commercials you see on television, and the menus passed out at restaurants, most likely consist of either Garamond, Baskerville, Didot, Century, or Helvetica. Upon first glance, these typefaces probably look quite similar, however there are many small differences that set them each apart wether it be their origins, serifs, or lines.
Garamond:
Garamond is one of the old style typefaces with french origins. Something I enjoy about these kinds of fonts is the diagonal stress and heavily bracketed serifs that they are characterized by. The letters tend to be more open and round, the arches in the letters having a variety of thicks and thins. Garamond is an elegant font in my opinion, the contrast of the lines accompanied by the thick serifs create a smooth and readable look that never gets old. Claude Garamond’s original cuts inspired designer Jean Jannon in the sixteenth century, and many other designers throughout the years, resulting in a variety of slightly different styles of the font.
Didot:
Didot is modern style typeface, characterized by very strong vertical stress and unbracketed serifs. Although both Garamond and Didot both come from french origins and share similar heavy contrast of lines, I think the difference in brackets is what really sets them apart. Where Garamond connects its strokes and serifs by adding a small yet ascetically pleasing arch, Didot leaves the strokes and serifs unconnected, creating a more simple and modern style. Firmin and Pierre Didot this to model type in Paris in attempts in keeping up with the typography trends that the eighteenth century offered.
