Serif typefaces
8 serif typefaces, oldest first.
| Typeface | Year | Designer | What it signals now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garamond | 1530 | Claude Garamond | Books, literature, anything that wants to look like it was set rather than typed. |
| Caslon | 1722 | William Caslon | Eighteenth-century English printing. Legal, literary, deliberately traditional. |
| Baskerville | 1757 | John Baskerville | Transitional, high-contrast, formal. Certificates, university crests, anything wanting authority. |
| Didot | 1784 | Firmin Didot | French luxury. The same territory as Bodoni, slightly more refined. |
| Bodoni | 1798 | Giambattista Bodoni | Fashion. Extreme contrast, hairline serifs, expensive. |
| Times New Roman | 1932 | Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent | A document that had no design decision made about it. Academic submissions, legal filings, defaults. |
| Trajan | 1989 | Carol Twombly | A film poster. Specifically a serious one, or a legal drama. |
| Georgia | 1996 | Matthew Carter | A blog, a newspaper website, or long-form reading on screen. |
- Garamond Claude Garamond, 1530
- Caslon William Caslon, 1722
- Baskerville John Baskerville, 1757
- Didot Firmin Didot, 1784
- Bodoni Giambattista Bodoni, 1798
- Times New Roman Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent, 1932
- Trajan Carol Twombly, 1989
- Georgia Matthew Carter, 1996
Related pages
- Sans-serif typefaces 22 here
- Slab serif typefaces 2 here
- Display typefaces 4 here
- Monospace typefaces 1 here