Font
Also called: font, font family, typeface or typography
Within typography, a typeface or font defines how writing (letters, numbers and other characters) is designed in visual communication. Popular fonts include Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman and Verdana. Fonts contribute to the readability of a text, as well as to recognition.
The design of fonts seems so obvious, yet a lot of thought has gone into this. Each font is a recognizable collection (family) of characters with fixed characteristics. There are fonts with and without serifs, with variable or just fixed width(proportional or non-proportional), corps and typeface.
From the corporate identity perspective, fixed fonts are usually used within organizations. The use of these fonts is sometimes prescribed in the corporate identity guidelines. Often this is a well-known typeface, but sometimes a lesser-known typeface is chosen or even an own typeface is developed.
For formatting text on Web sites, it is important to know that not just any font can be used. The font must be installed on the visitor's computer, or the site's source code must indicate where the font can be downloaded. The technology that makes the latter possible and the fonts that are added to the Web designer's arsenal as a result are known as Web fonts.
Not all fonts are free to use. A license may be required. Organizations are increasingly choosing open source fonts, for example, because they can also be more easily deployed on the Internet.