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Design Web Typography Introduction to Typography Different Types of Type

Posted by Johnny Garces
Johnny Garces
Courses Plus Student 8,551 Points

surprised there was no mention of monospace typefaces

I see monospace in many websites today. Is monospace serif/sans-serif or a typeface genre on its own?

2 Answers

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points

The generic font family names include "monospace" as a unique setting like "serif" and "sans-serif".

If you want both monospace and serif, or monospace and sans, you'd need to set a specific font instead of the generic.

For more details, see the MDN page on font-family.

Johnny Garces
Johnny Garces
Courses Plus Student 8,551 Points

so is monospace a typeface, just like serif, sans-serif, and script are? I'm not concerned about how to access it in CSS, just wanted to know if Monospace is a font, a typeface, or a subgenre. I see how prevalent Monospace is in websites. I believe it is, given the many sub-genres that fall under it. thank you!

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points

There could be a specific font named "monospace", but it's generally a generic type just like "serif" and "sans-serif".

Johnny Garces
PLUS
Johnny Garces
Courses Plus Student 8,551 Points
Johnny Garces
Johnny Garces
Courses Plus Student 8,551 Points

thanks, Steven- that sounds right. I've also just stumbled upon the analogy that fonts are like mp3 files whereas typefaces are like the song in itself. So you'd say "I like this song" rather than "I like this mp3 file" (the mp3 file being the font)...

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points

Johnny Garces — Good example. And you can mark a question solved by choosing a "best answer".
And happy coding!