typés

Typés is a term encountered in design and typography discourse to describe a typological approach to classifying typefaces (fonts) by shared structural features and intended usage. Although not a formal standard in typography, typés appears in various French-language and design writings as a way to think about how fonts relate to tone, readability, and branding.

A typé refers to a family or class of typefaces that exhibit a defined set of characteristics, such as stroke contrast, serif style, x-height, or overall proportion. Common typés include serif, sans-serif, display, script, and monospace, with further subdivisions like humanist versus geometric sans or old-style versus transitional serifs. The concept emphasizes grouping fonts by perceptible traits rather than by individual name alone, aiding analysis and communication among designers.

In practice, typés are used to guide font selection that matches a project’s voice and readability goals. A typé-based approach helps establish visual coherence across digital interfaces, printed materials, and branding systems, by ensuring chosen fonts share compatible tonal and legibility properties.

Critics of rigid typés argue that many contemporary fonts blend traits from multiple categories, making strict classifications less descriptive of real-world type behavior. Nevertheless, the idea of typés remains a useful heuristic for discussing typography, especially in early design briefs, style guides, and educational contexts.

See also: Typeface, Typography, Font taxonomy.