Sans-serif

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	Sans-serif font
	Serif font
	Serif font (red serifs)

In typography, a sans-serif or sans serif typeface is one that does not have the small features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans (meaning "without"), so the term literally means "without serifs."

In print, sans-serif fonts are typically used for headlines but not for body text. The conventional wisdom is that serifs help guide the eye along the line and that the lack of serifs makes sans-serif fonts harder to read in large blocks of text.

But because electronic screens (computer monitor or otherwise) render sans-serif fonts cleaner than serif fonts, sans-serif fonts have become the de facto standard for body text on-screen, especially online.

Before the term “sans-serif” became standard in English typography, a number of other terms had been used. One of these outmoded terms for sans serif is gothic, which is still used in Japanese typography and sometimes seen in font names like “New Century Gothic”.

Sans-serif fonts are sometimes, especially in older books, used as a device for emphasis, due to their typically blacker type color.

Classification

For the purposes of type classification sans-serif designs broadly divide into four major groups:

Grotesque, early sans-serif designs, such as Grotesque or Royal Gothic.

The Helvetica typeface

Neo-grotesque or Transitional, modern designs such as Standard, Helvetica, Arial, and Univers. These are the most common sans-serif fonts. They are relatively straight in appearance and have less line width variation than Humanist sans-serif typefaces. Transitional sans-serif is sometimes called "anonymous sans-serif" due to its relatively plain appearance.

The Frutiger typeface

Humanist (Edward Johnston's Railway type, Gill Sans or Frutiger). These are the most calligraphic of the sans-serif typefaces, with some variation in line width and more readability than other sans-serif fonts.

The Futura typeface

Geometric (Futura, Century Gothic, or Spartan). As their name suggests, Geometric sans-serif typefaces are based on geometric shapes. Note the perfectly circular letter "O" and the simple construction of the lowercase letter "a". Geometric sans-serif fonts have a very modern look and feel.

Other commonly-used sans-serif fonts include Optima, Tahoma and Verdana.

Note that in some sans-serif fonts I (capital-i) and l (lowercase-L) appear exactly identical. (Arial: Il) Verdana, however, keeps them distinct: Il due to the fact that Verdana's capital-i, as an exception, has serifs.

Sans-serif

Classification

See also