What is the difference between a Serif and a Sans Serif?

Hey guys! I’m the newest member of the KBeckBooks team. My name is Chris. I graduated from college with a Psychology major and an Editing minor in August of last year. Books and book publishing have become an integral part of my life since graduation, a hobby turned career you might say. I currently intern in the Acquisitions department at Cedar Fort Publishing and am employed as a copyeditor an electronic publishing business.

I have picked up a few tricks of the trade that I think anyone interested in book layout or publication should know before jumping in. I want to start sharing these ideas with you via blog. I cannot reveal the specific, internal workings of either publishing company, as that would be infringement on intellectual property. I will, however, share the knowledge I have gained that is considered basic knowledge in the publishing community. We’ll start with layout design, more specifically typefaces and their uses.

If you’re anything like me, you heard the terms “serif” and “sans serif” once in your high school English class, but can hardly remember what they are, let alone the difference between them. The terms didn’t stick out because they were seemingly insignificant. I’m sorry to break it to you, but they are more significant than you now realize. You are influenced by them every day. They’re carefully chosen by professionals because they affect the readability of your text. Choose the wrong typeface, and you’ve lost your audience’s attention. So let’s go over what each is and their pros and cons.

Serifs

Serifs are unique because they always have extra markings—called serifs—on the letters. For example, instead of drawing two straight lines up and down for the capital letter “H,” you’ll notice horizontal lines extending off the ends of each vertical line, as shown in the picture provided. That’s the only thing that separates a serif from a sans serif.

Pros: These lines are more reminiscent of genuine human handwriting. They make the text easier to read for long periods of time. They are perfect for the body text of any book or blog (like this one. Notice I am using the common serif Times New Roman for this text).

Cons: Serifs are much less attractive when blown up to attract attention. The little lines stick out too much and detract from reading the message intended, and as a title, sign, or billboard is designed to attract attention, you don’t want to use them for these means.

Sans Serifs

Sans means “without,” and seeing that “serif” means extra markings, I’m guessing you can figure out that Sans Serifs means without those extra markings. You’ll notice the difference in this picture of an H.

Pros: Without the markings, these letters are easier to read and attract attention to the message, not the typeface. They’re great for titles, signs, and billboards.

Cons: Human eyes get weary of reading them for longer periods of time. They are unsettling to our eyes and we need to take a break. If you’re writing a book, a serif font will cause your readers to put it down, rather than continue on through the night.

Those are the essentials you need to know regarding serifs and sans serifs. There are endless amounts of fonts for both typefaces, the trick is finding the one that matches your needs. It becomes a matter of personal preference and I, unfortunately, can’t teach you that. A great resource to look for new fonts is dafont.com.

Please leave comments on other places you have found that offer good fonts. Feel free to also make requests regarding subject matter that you would like me to blog about. Look for my next blog on the topic of proximity in layout design.