Strong Typefaces
As mentioned in the previous link certain typefaces have very strong associations, or for lack of a better word, personalities. Here we shall take a brief look at some of these typefaces. It is crucial that you learn how to associate typefaces with particular eras, locations and styles. This will not be easy at first but as time goes by you will surprise yourself with how easily you start to make these connections. Some of these typefaces may look similar initially: Baroque typography uses a lot of script and calligraphic fonts, as do the designers of the 1950's. Stuyvesant (a 20th century font), to the untrained eye, may look scarily similar to Englische Schreibschrift (a baroque font). They are not: When you take a closer look you will see that Englische Schreibschrift is sombre and formal whereas Stuyvesant is quite lighthearted and playful. The only way to learn to make these distinctions is to look at design work very carefully and think while you are doing so; not just in design books and design sites but wherever you are, especially if you are travelling in the western hemisphere.

Remember that these typefaces should only be used within the bounds of taste and discretion. Use them as Initials or in the background: A little bit goes a long long way! In a way strong typefaces are like spice in food: Too much of a good thing and you ruin the meal! Type is the single most powerful element you put on a page and even one wrong character can completely ruin a perfectly good design. So be careful, as careful as you possibly know how...


Geography
Tribal

I have serious doubts about even putting these in here, I don't think I would use them with a gun pointed at me - maybe with the possible exception of Matisse. Nonetheless, for what it is worth, these are ethnic/tribally inspired fonts.

Swiss

As the name already implies...

Islamic
There are no fonts in this category that I can think of and that I feel totally comfortable putting here. Stay away from the so called calligraphic or script fonts that try to emulate an "Islamic feel". Stick to your generic fonts for this one. Oh, and... Pixel fonts enlarged will give you a wonderful kufi effect!



Oriental

You will, hopefully, be wise enough to steer well clear of the obvious "Chinese Restaurant Fonts". The above selection is a more innovative one, based upon an "oriental feel" but still quite contemporary in design. Especially nice is Electroharmonix. Again, I would only use these as ornaments or initials.


Era
Medieval

The primary typefaces associated with Medieval times are obviously the Gothic Typefaces. Above we have a selection of traditional Gothic type, such as Fette Fraktur, as well as some contemporary Gothic type interpretations, such as Barnbrook. Gothic Type has very strong vertical strokes and very narrow horizontal strokes due to the fact that this kind of script was initially written with a sharply chiseled calligraphic pen and thus carries these characteristics. Another characteristic of traditional Gothic Typefaces is that these are quite heavily condensed: Paper was unknown in Medieval Europe and the parchment that was used to produce the monasterial books was extremely expensive. Hence the scrittori that designed these books utilised page areas to the utmost and condensed type enabled them to put more text on an individual page.


Yet another typestyle that has very strong medieval, especially Celtic, associations are the Uncials.



Medieval calligraphy and book illumination is renowned for its type design that utilises initials. Above are samples of Medieval Initials and contemporary interpretations thereof. Bear in mind that initials should never be set into full words and sentences but only used at the start of words or even better paragraphs.

Renaisance

Where typography is concerned The Renaisance is a transitional time. While on the one hand we still see a great deal of Gothic Type, albeit less condensed; on the other especially where titles and uppercase letters and initials are concerned Roman characters are certainly making their presence felt:

Along with these the renaisance is a time of the personal notebook (as exemplified by the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci) and hence handwriting:


Baroque

European type designers in the 16th and 17th centuries took the art of typography to its highest point in history. Designers such as Garamond, Bodoni and Caslon designed the beautiful serif typefaces that we still use today. Geoffrey Tory wrote and designed the famous Champs Fleury, the manual of modern type and typesetting, unsurpassed even today.


Baroque Typography too uses initials as well as a lot of scrolls and flourishes. Again bear in mind that these have to be used sparingly and the initials never in full sentences.


The beautifully flourished calligraphic scripts of the Baroque era can be incorporated into contemporary design with great fascility. Be careful not to confuse these with the brush scripts of mid 20th century graphic design.


19th Century/Art Nouveau

The overwhelming characteristic of late 19th century, Art Nouveau type is its curvaceousness and almost plantlike lines and forms.


Again Art Nouveau type uses a lot of initials, and again remember never to use these as full words, only accents.


Art Deco/Early 20th Century

Early 20th Century typefaces distinguish themselves by being predominantly sans-serif. A clever typographic innovation however supplants serif typefaces and these are the demi-serif fonts: Fonts that have no serifs but show serif type attributes in that their horizontal strokes are narrow and vertical strokes are thick, i.e. Broadway or the elegant Peignot. Be careful not to use these demi-serif fonts outside of an Art Deco retro context since they are virtually confined to this era. Art Deco/earl 20th century typefaces are strongly geometric, shaped out of circles and triangles like Premiere or Bauhaus, and again you should be careful when using these fonts out of their own contexts.


1950's Retro

These are extremely playful fonts, with lots of individuality. The boxed ones are especially nice. These will immediately evoce a "retro" feel when used, so be extremely careful not to use them out of context.


Look at Retro Script and Retro Brushscript very carefully to recognise its characteristics and how it differs from other script: Again he keyword is playful. Also be aware there are some extremely ugly Brushscript fonts around that haven't been shown here for obvious reasons of taste - avoid them like the plague!!!

Mood/Concept
These should be more or less self evident. I have given one example for each, amongst the thousands to choose from. When chosing "mood" type remember your type can also have stylistic, i.e. era, geography, cultural references. This is especially applicable to food and fashion industries: A restaurant can be both "Elegant" and "Chinese", a clothing store can be both "upbeat" and "50's retro", etc...

Upbeat
Sports, Entertainment, vacation, youth, energy, soft drinks

Hygienic
Medicine, health, household


Romantic
Nostalgic, soft, warm, curvaceous

Corporate
Serious, understated, legible


Techno
Computers, telecommunication


Grunge/Graffiti
Urban, rebellious


Appetising
Food and Food Packaging


Minimalistic
Design, Architecture


Elegant
Fashion, elegance, catering


http://www....
For the screen