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Maryam Muhammad
2,284 PointsTypeface vs. Font
What is the difference between a typeface and a font?
4 Answers
Ricardo Hill-Henry
38,442 PointsHere's a simple example:
My font would be: Arial My typeface would include: Arial Regular, Arial Bold, Arial Thin, and so on...
Relating it to HTML and CSS: The font is your HTML (general structure), while your typeface is your CSS ( how it will look).
Daksh Shah
3,534 PointsThe words Typeface and Font are often used interchangeably. Although, there is a distinction between the two that is often ignored by non-designers.
A font is a collection of characters and letters.
Whereas, a typeface or font family describes the overall look of the characters contained within the font.
Here's a simple and fun example:
Here, you see a family of three twins: John Smith, Jack Smith, and Tom Smith. Each brother shares the same face, but their weights vary – read: one is slim, the other is rather rotund.
Together, the brothers make up the Smith family.
Typographically, John, Jack, and Tom are each fonts and together they make up the Smith typeface.
In short: The physical embodiment of a collection of letters, numbers, symbols, etc. is a font. When referring to the design of the collection (the way it looks) you call it a typeface.
Source: mindgruve.com
Maryam Muhammad
2,284 PointsThank you very much for taking the time to share this example, Daksh.
Daksh Shah
3,534 PointsYou're most welcome. :)
David Tonge
Courses Plus Student 45,640 PointsI often relate the difference to music. A typeface is like the actual song the artists create(the creative work) and font is the delivery mechanism like mp3s, cassettes, CDs, etc.,
Maryam Muhammad
2,284 PointsThank you very much for this analogy, David.
Maryam Muhammad
2,284 PointsMaryam Muhammad
2,284 PointsThank you very much, Ricardo. This really helps!