Over the past few months when browsing the latest and greatest in modern web design, I have noticed a shift in web typography trends. It is quite apparent that serif fonts are transcending newspapers and novels and making their way into internet browsers. However the most basic typography rule tells us that sans-serif fonts are best for on screen and serif fonts are best for print. Is this is a rule of the past? A recent influx of articles on web design blogs has sparked the discussion of whether it is safe to use serif fonts in web typography.

If you don’t know much about fonts you are probably wondering what all this serif talk is all about. A serif font is a font with which have short, decorative lines at the end of letter strokes (fonts like Times New Roman and Georgia)  and a sans-serif font is a font without these (sans is Latin for without) (fonts like Arial, Verdana or Helvetica)

From a readability perspective we have always learned to use sans-serif fonts on screen because they are easier to read. But with modern browsers such as Internet Explorer 7 and 8 that use font smoothing, this is becoming less of an issue.

But aren’t serif fonts old fashioned? Well yes they are, and like most things old fashioned they are classic, elegant, decorative and due for a comeback. Quintessential serif typeface Baskerville captures the elegance and sophistication that serif fonts can offer and is popular choice by designers across all mediums. An example of Baskerville in web design - http://jontangerine.com/

With the print industry rapidly moving to web it’s no wonder that serif elements are appearing within modern web design. Serif fonts capture attention and create interest. They are also believed to guide readers from one letter to the next making scanning text easier… which is amazingly logical for websites because as internet users we more often than not scan a website rather than reading it thoroughly.

Some of my favourite sites that feature serif fonts…
http://radio.nymoon.com/
http://www.blackestate.co.nz/
http://www.weheart.co.uk/
http://www.newyorker.com/

Further resources:
Smashing magazine discusses recent patterns, practices and statistics of web typography and to my surprise the trend skews towards serif fonts. (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/20/typographic-design-survey-best-practices-from-the-best-blogs/ )
Web Designer Wall article The next serif trend offers a showcase of sites which use serif fonts effectively (http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/the-next-serif-trend/ )

PT

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