Ever noticed the weird little flourishes that some fonts are decorated with at the ends? Helvetica and fonts like it will always have a place in our hearts, but what if you need something just a little bit more?

There is no controversy between serif vs. sans-serif fonts—both are wildly useful for totally different tasks, styles, and projects. Which will you choose?

Font Terminology: What Does Serif Mean?

A serif on a capital letter.

What is a serif, exactly? And what is the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts?

If you thought that graphic design was all fun and games, you would be mistaken; there's a lot of lingo to learn. Sticking strictly to the realm of serifing, however, you'll be glad to hear that only a few key phrases are required.

The lines making up the letter itself are called strokes. The serifs are the ornamental additions adorning the ends of each stroke in the character, also known as terminals or termination points.

The weight of each line that you lay down can either be totally uniform or express some amount of contrast in thickness when compared to other parts of the glyph. A glyph is simply the character itself.

Aside from these basic concepts, there is an entire world of ascenders, stems, joints, and ligatures to dip your toes into. These other concepts can wait—right now, we've only got eyes for serifs.

The Different Types of Serif Fonts

A bunch of serifed glyphs.

Over the years, the evolution of serif fonts has left a legacy in its wake, giving us a diverse range of styles to look back upon and utilize. These movements took place in the Western world, but other languages of the East such as Cyrillic or Chinese can be enhanced with serifing, as well.

Old-Style Serifs

A product of the invention of the printing press, the first serifed fonts sought to unify the beauty of calligraphy with the utility of Roman numerals, which were simpler and easier to read. A far cry from the Gothic, black letter fonts that came before them, old-style fonts are designed to be readable enough to serve as the body of a large block of text.

Many old-style fonts embody an "italicized" vibe on the vertical axis, sporting diagonal elements that add a little bit of interest to some typefaces that may otherwise feel too clinical or straightforward.

Transitional Serif Fonts

This family of fonts represents the period of time separating old-style and modern serif fonts. It is at this point in time where we begin to see these typefaces take on more weight in their vertical strokes, evolving beyond the more uniform and regular foundation that old-style fonts had already established.

Didone Fonts

Didone serif fonts can be considered something like the little black dress of typography. Known for their delicate restraint and subtlety, these fonts tend to favor vertical stroke weight made bolder through the use of hairline serifs.

Didone fonts can evoke a range of feelings, from the cryptic and the archaic vibe of an old, hand-drafted map to the traditional omnipotence of an aged book on legal jurisprudence.

Slab Serifs

As commercial print media first caught fire in a modernizing world, the graphic designers of the day needed to find some way to distinguish their layouts from the rest of the crowd. Slab serif fonts were their way of giving hungry consumers something fresh and new to look at.

These retro little font families were designed to make a more eye-catching print advertisement or newspaper headline.

Related: Free Font Websites That We Love

The Beginning of Sans-Serif Fonts

The Caslon Egyptian typeface.

The typefounder responsible for bringing sans-serif fonts to the world was an English man by the name of William Caslon the Elder. His seminal sans-serif typeface, Two Lines Egyptian, made its first public, printed appearance in 1816 and inspired many others to follow.

Vincent Figgins' Specimen of Printing Types.

His ongoing legacy includes William Thorowgood's heavyweight-style Seven Lines Grotesque and Vincent Figgins' Specimen of Printing Types, created in 1834.

Bauhaus die-hard Herbert Bayer was one of the most vocal and influential advocates of sans-serif typefaces in a contemporary sense. His sans-serif Proposal for a Universal Typeface was so well-received that he never even had to have his design cast into production officially.

Last, but certainly not least, the invention of Helvetica; Max Miedinger, pride of Switzerland, made history in 1957. These so-called neo-grotesques are fonts that many will recognize as some of the most important staple fonts of today.

Related: The Best Photoshop Fonts and Typefaces in Creative Cloud

Serif vs. Sans-Serif Fonts: The Pros and Cons

As with all creative choices, there are no right or wrong answers in graphic design; there are only unattractive layouts and the eyes that wish desperately to avert them.

Is serif or sans-serif better? We contend that you may very well want to incorporate both into your projects. Some of the benefits of using serifed fonts:

  • Clarity: In the case of ambiguous-looking counterparts like an uppercase "I" and a lowercase "l", choosing a serifed font may make your text easier to read. This is especially the case if you're only using a few characters, as opposed to entire words that provide context for any uncertainties.
  • Formality: There can be something so arresting and stoic about the perfect serif font. The look recalls a sort of dignified, special occasion vibe, giving your work a little bowtie. Think fancy wedding invitations and the like.

Some stay away from serif typefaces because they look "old-fashioned"; many graphic designers prefer a slightly sleeker look for their work. It all depends on what you like and what you're trying to go for.

If you happen to be somebody who prefers something with a little less fanfare, there are countless sans-serif fonts to choose from. A few of our favorite reasons to love sans-serif fonts for graphic design:

  • Cleanness: Sans-serif fonts are perfect when you're trying to keep your layout minimal, giving the viewer plenty of room to breathe as they take in your design. There is peace to be found in simplicity.
  • Casualness: If you would like your garage sale flyer to look more like a simple sign to post and less like you're nailing Martin Luther's 95 Theses onto every telephone pole in your neighborhood, a sans-serif font is probably the appropriate choice.
  • Legibility: As mentioned previously, serifed type styles were designed mainly with readability and accessibility in mind. Some studies, however, suggest that readers actually prefer san-serif font when reading at length.

Sans-serif fonts are valued for their quiet and cerebral demeanor, but some will certainly make the argument that they've jumped the shark and have become the "pretentious" choice. Some brands may wish to leave a different sort of impression, depending on the target demographic that they're after.

It's also worth remembering that not all fonts are created equal. We can name dozens of tasteful sans-serif fonts; Comic Sans is not usually going to be one of them unless we're making some sort of spoof.

Choose the Right Font for Your Project

Some say that it's like taking a trip to your local animal shelter—you can't really pick out the right one. Instead, the right one chooses you.

One of the least mentally taxing stages of graphic design is that blessed afternoon you get to spend scrolling through a list of every font on the internet. When you hit the right one, trust us when we say that you'll know that you've arrived at your stop.