{"id":53240,"date":"2020-01-28T12:54:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T20:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=53240"},"modified":"2024-04-19T05:33:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T12:33:51","slug":"what-is-a-typeface-different-font","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/what-is-a-typeface-different-font","title":{"rendered":"What is a Typeface and How Is it Different from a Font?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve ever had to ask what is a typeface<\/a><\/em>, you’re not alone. Getting a typeface confused with a font is something a lot of people—even sometimes designers—routinely do. Part of the problem lies in the fact that we’ve gotten used to using these two, distinct terms interchangeably.
Without getting into the particulars just yet, here’s how to tell the difference between a typeface and a font<\/a> right off the bat: one is what you see<\/em> while the other is what you use<\/em>. If that still doesn’t help you from asking what is a typeface, then understand that desktop publishing is ultimately to blame for worsening this confusion over the decades.
You see, the difference between a typeface and a font originates in the old-school process of how analog printers used to create a page layout. As things have gotten more digital over the last few decades, the separation between typeface and font has gotten blurrier.<\/p>

<\/span>Where It All Started<\/span><\/h2>

To understand the difference between a typeface and font<\/a>, it’s important to understand the origins of printing itself. Back in the days before digital printing, printers would cast entire collections of metal characters to comprise a font. In fact, the etymology of the word “font†is actually from the French, “fonte.†It means to be cast in metal.
Now, the fonts that shared similar characteristics or designs would be grouped together as a typeface. Each font would have a different set or case for capital letters and small letters. These cases, if you will, also remain in our vocabulary today as upper and lower case.<\/p>

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In order to even create something as basic as a page layout, printers would have to physically put together chunks of text letter by letter. This was then rolled out with ink, then subsequently pressed on paper to fashion prints.
As you may have guessed, old-school printers would require a plethora of metal casts of letters to create page layouts, and the task was quite labor-intensive, to say the least. These metal letters were then set out in relief (raised), so that they were more easily seen, thus making them the typeface. This ties back to how we mentioned you can distinguish a typeface from a font: it’s really what you see as opposed to what you use.
So how does a font<\/a> fit into all of this, and what is a typeface in relation to it?
A font refers to these metal frames or blocks that were a part of this larger and broader group of typefaces. Every font actually possessed a unique weight and size, allowing printers to get more detailed with the characters that they were using.
In other words, a font that had a size of 14 points was a different font than one that had a size of 18 points. When you add weight to the equation, things can get even more specific from a typography point of view. For example, a bold font at 22 points would be a very different font than an italicized font at 26 points.
Let’s look at an example using a specific typeface.
The Bulmer typeface is a serif<\/a> that was designed in the late 18th<\/sup> century. This font family is considered transitional because it’s historically regarded as epitomizing the rational, more symmetrical aesthetic of the Enlightenment, as opposed to quaint Old Style features<\/a>. A lowercase, italicized Bulmer at 9 point is a different font entirely than an uppercase, bolded Bulmer at 59 point. Though these two fonts would be part of the same font family (Bulmer) and, therefore, the same typeface, they are unique due to their significant weight and size differences.
So, to sum up, a font<\/strong> is essentially a subset of a typeface or font family, which encompasses various fonts of different sizes, styles, and weights. It’s important to point out that not every typeface will feature multiple fonts, however. It really all depends on the typeface in question.
Take a look at just some of our extensive typography assets to familiarize yourself with the difference between a typeface and a font:<\/p>

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That begs the question, if this was the origin of a typeface and a font, then how did we get to where we are today, where we’re routinely confusing the difference between a typeface and a font?
The answer: blame computers.<\/em><\/p>

<\/span>How Computers Forced Us to Ask, What Is a Typeface?<\/span><\/h2>

The digital revolution of the last few decades has been great. Information is now available at a moment’s notice with a quick search on the web, while remote work<\/a> is opening up career opportunities and new ways of collaboration that were unforeseen just a few years ago. Communication with anyone across the world is possible in real-time, as is shopping at the touch of a button.
All this progress, unfortunately, has also led to confusion between typefaces and fonts.
Computers gave rise to digital<\/em> typesetting, where entire font selections—er, rather entire typefaces<\/em>—were readily available to use on your new Mac or Windows desktop or device. You can thank desktop publishing as well as word-processing software specifically for introducing this confusion between typefaces and fonts.<\/p>

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Look at Microsoft Word<\/a>. You can easily find the font, not typeface, menu in the dropdown choices from the primary navigation, as well as in secondary and tertiary navigation tabs. Look at Apple’s answer to Word: Pages. In Pages, too, typefaces are routinely referred to as fonts, furthering the confusion. When you open up these font menus in these word processors, you’re really getting a huge list of typefaces in subsequent dropdown menus. Only after choosing the “font,†which is really the typeface, can you go ahead and set the particular characteristics of your typeface (size, style, weight, etc.).
Unless you’re a typesetter or a typographer (or someone who just enjoys correcting people), these distinctions don’t matter too much in practical terms. After all, in spite of the confusion, most people understand what you mean when you tell them that you like this font or that typeface. The irony is that people are more familiar now than ever before with the wide range of font families at their disposal, thanks to their digital devices.<\/p>

<\/span>The Difference Between a Typeface and a Font in Their Characteristics<\/span><\/h2>

One of the best ways to further illustrate the difference between a typeface and a font to anyone asking what is a typeface<\/a>, is to show them.
As mentioned, a typeface is an entire font family. It includes the broad range of fonts that all share a common design.
Here are some well-known and popular typefaces:<\/p>