Form & construction
5. Structure *
Examine a, e, n, o and the overall skeleton of the typeface. Look at how the letters are constructed — their basic proportions, curves, joins, and openness. Consider whether the underlying forms are geometric ↔ humanist, rigid ↔ organic, and open ↔ closed.
Humanist forms are influenced by handwriting and calligraphic movement — natural, asymmetric shapes and curves that suggest hand movement. Geometric forms are constructed from regular, simplified shapes such as circles, squares, and straight lines. Hybrid forms fall between the two — relatively neutral, functional letterforms.
6. Curves / Form *
Examine o, O, C, G, and e. Look closely at the shape and construction of the curves. Are they round and circular, oval, or squared? Notice whether curves transition smoothly or become more angular at the sides, top, or bottom.
Round/Circular: Futura, Avenir, Memphis. Oval: Helvetica, Frutiger, Adobe Caslon, Garamond. Squared: Eurostile, Bank Gothic, Serifa.
Stroke, contrast & axis
7. Stroke Contrast *
Compare the thickest and thinnest portions of o, e, c, n. Is the stroke nearly the same thickness throughout, or is there a noticeable difference between thick and thin areas?
Example: Futura has relatively low stroke contrast, while Didot has very high stroke contrast, with heavy vertical strokes and extremely thin hairlines.
Low Contrast (like a mono-weight) High Contrast (like a Modern typeface)
8. Stroke Contrast — Uppercase *
Examine O, H, N, M, and X. Observe the difference between the thickest and thinnest strokes.
Futura: minimal contrast. Garamond: moderate contrast. Bodoni: high contrast.
9. Axis / Stress *
Examine o, O and the lowercase e. Identify the direction of the letter's visual axis, or stress — imagine a line running through the thinnest parts of the curved form.
Example: Didot has strong vertical stress; a more humanist font like Garamond has more diagonal stress.
10. Terminals *
Examine C, S, a, c, e, r, and s. Look at how an exposed stroke ends.
Ball : ends in a small, precise circular dot (e.g. Bodoni). Teardrop / Lachrymal : ends in a softer, teardrop-shaped drop rather than a perfect circle. Finial : a curved, gracefully narrowing end, often on the tail of a lowercase "c" or "e". Beak : a sharp, pointed, serif-like spur off the end of a stroke. Straight-Cut / Flat : cut at a hard 90° angle to the stroke. Angled / Diagonal : cut on a slant rather than straight across. Rounded : a soft, semi-circular end, common in humanist sans-serif. Choose "Varied" if the font mixes multiple treatments without one clearly predominating.
12. Predominant Serif Type *
Examine the serifs on H, E, M, n, b, and p. Select the serif treatment that predominates across the typeface. Choose None for a sans serif.
Bracketed — curved transition into the stroke. Hairline — very thin, delicate. Slab — heavy, close in weight to the main strokes. Tuscan — decorative, split, bifurcated, pointed, or ornamental. Wedge — triangular/tapered. Flared — strokes widen toward their ends.
13. Serif Weight Compared with Stem *
For serif typefaces only. Examine H, E, M, n, b, and p. Compare the visual weight of the serifs to the main vertical stems.
Proportion & space
14. Proportion: X-height *
Examine the lowercase x, n, and d in relation to the capital height of H. Compare with at least three other typefaces at the same point size — do not resize to make heights match.
Mrs Eaves: relatively small x-height. Interstate: relatively large x-height.
Short x-height Tall x-height
15. Overall Width *
Examine H, n, o, and the alphabet overall. Compare with at least three other typefaces at the same point size. Do not use the font's style name (e.g. Condensed or Extended) to determine your answer — evaluate what you actually see.
16. Character Width Variation *
Compare H, E, S, N, M, O. Determine whether the typeface has relatively consistent widths or a strong range from narrow to wide forms.
Example: Helvetica has controlled, consistent character widths; Adobe Caslon has greater variation in individual character proportions.
17. Form & Space: Aperture *
Examine the openings in a, c, e, and s. An aperture is the opening between the terminal of a stroke and the rest of the letterform.
Example: Helvetica and Bodoni tend toward more closed apertures; Frutiger and Adobe Caslon tend toward more open apertures.
18. Counter Size *
Examine the interior spaces in a, e, o, and p. Look at the size of these spaces relative to the strokes and overall size of the letters.
19. Counter Shape *
Examine the counters in o, p, d, and b. Look at the shape of the interior white space, not its size.
Futura/Poppins: more circular. Source Serif 4: more oval. Roboto Slab: more squared.
Round / Circular Squared
Character construction
20. Lowercase a *
Look at the default character, then check the glyph set/OpenType features for alternates.
21. Lowercase g *
Look at the default character, then check the glyph set/OpenType features for alternates.
22. Two-story g — Loop *
If the typeface has a two-story g, is the lower loop open or closed?
23. Tittle Shape — i, j and . ! ? " *
Observe the dot (tittle) above lowercase i and j. Identify its predominant shape and note how it relates to the dots/forms used in . ! ? "
24. Lowercase b, d, p & q — Structural Relationship *
Compare stems, bowls, curves, and joins. Are the letters constructed from the same basic form mirrored/flipped/rotated, or individually constructed?
25. Lowercase f, t & l — Shared Construction *
Compare stems, crossbars, terminals, curves, and joins. Do the letters share a common structural language?
28. Uppercase R — Leg Construction *
How does the leg emerge from the bowl toward the baseline?
29. Spurs, Beaks & Barbs *
Examine C, G, S, b, and q for small projecting strokes, pointed terminals, or sharp extensions. Select all that are present.
30. OpenType Alternates *
Explore the typeface's OpenType features and full glyph set. Look for stylistic alternates, contextual alternates, swashes, alternate a/g forms, ligatures, small caps, alternate numerals, or other variations. Record the character and the alternate(s) found. If none, write "None."
Classification & family
31. Typeface Classification *
Select the predominant classification based on the typeface's overall structure and characteristics.
33. Typeface Family — Styles / Fonts *
How many styles/fonts are in the family? List them.
34. Different Classification Version *
Does the typeface have a version in a different classification (e.g. Meta Sans and Meta Serif)?
36. Italic or Oblique *
Determine whether the family includes a true italic (letterforms specifically drawn for it, differing in construction, particularly a, f, g, y), an oblique (primarily slanted, same basic construction), both, or neither.
37. Figure Styles *
Compare 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (particularly 3, 4, 5, 7, 9). Lining figures align with uppercase and sit on the baseline; oldstyle/non-aligning figures vary in height and position.
Distinctive details & resources
38. Unusual or Distinctive Letterforms *
Identify unusual or distinctive letterforms not captured by previous questions — unusual Q tail, R leg, G construction, lowercase g/a/k, ampersand, numerals, punctuation, terminals, joins, or other details. You need at least 10 specific characteristics. Record the character(s) and briefly describe what makes each distinctive.
39. Typefaces Used as Resources *
List all the typefaces you used as resources.