lettertype

Lettertype refers to the design of a set of characters used to render text. In typography, the term is closely related to 'typeface' and 'font': the typeface is the design of the letters, while a font historically denotes a concrete collection of glyphs in a specific size and style. In digital typography, a font package can contain multiple weights and styles within a single type family.

Lettertypes are categorized into families such as serif, sans-serif, display, script, and monospace. Beyond style, they are described by attributes including weight, width, posture (upright or italic), and optical size. Designers consider legibility, tone, and the context of use when pairing lettertypes.

Historically, movable type emerged in the 15th century with Gutenberg’s press, enabling the mass production of printed books. The 19th and 20th centuries saw a rise of sans-serif and display type. In the digital era, fonts are stored as scalable outlines in formats such as TrueType and OpenType, which support advanced typographic features.

Usage involves licensing for print or web, embedding permissions, and technical considerations like hinting for screen clarity and embedding rights. Web typography often uses web-safe fonts or web fonts delivered via @font-face, allowing designers to maintain a consistent look across devices.

Lettertype thus encompasses both the creative design of letterforms and the practical implementation of text rendering across media.