Why choose a serif font for typography? Many consider it easier to read, specifically in a longer document text. This font also conveys a sense of elegance, especially if you apply the combination of regular and italic styles in this family font.
As we all know, a serif font is a typeface with small strokes or embellished extensions at the ends of its longer strokes. Rooted in the ancient square capitals of Rome, some popular serif fonts are Times New Roman, Garamond, Bodoni, etc.
We generally see them in books, magazines, or other publications. The italic version is common for titles, headlines, emphasis, or quotations.
This article will take you on a journey to learn more about the serif font family’s regular and italic styles, including some unique recommendations and the role of italic style.
Technically, a regular style in font means the regular weight, commonly given to font-weight that values 400 in CSS. You may also find other terms like upright, Roman, normal, or non-italic.
Italic style – or an italic font – is angled letters or characters, inclined or slanted to the right side. It is a complementary style to the regular counterparts with somewhat dissimilar characteristics in width and a more elegant, calligraphic appearance.
In the serif font family, italic styles usually have certain characters that anatomically can be completely unlike their matching regulars. For example, the specific tail detail on the letter “f” or the single-story of letters “a” and “g.”
We can date back to the emergence of the italic style or italic font in the year 1500 in Venice when its first use was by Aldus Manutius. He sought to replicate the style of manuscripts from that time.
In the 1700s, people used italic styles to highlight specific parts of a book due to their different shapes than the Roman style. In the beginning, italic styles were more like calligraphy.
Its Role
Nowadays, italic styles of typefaces are commonly used to add emphasis, create contrast, and provide visual appeal to text. They help distinguish particular phrases or words and make them stand out from the surrounding text.
Moreover, depending on certain contexts, italic style generates a sense of elegance and sophistication.
Standard Guidelines
Although there are no strict rules regarding employing italic style in typography, you must pay attention to several common guidelines. Italic style ideally applies to emphasis, titles, headlines, or quotations. For example, you can point to foreign words, scientific names, phrases, technical terms, and the like.
If you are looking for a great combination of typeface styles in your designs, then you need to consider regular and italic family serif font collections. Here are some preeminent recommendations for you.
Inspired by rich Italian history and ancestry, Cityhall’s History shows boldness and bravery details. It belongs to modern serifs, and this font has three prominent characteristics – significant contrast between thin and thick strokes, highly thin hair-line serifs, and vertical pressure.
Another distinguished uniqueness of Cityhall History is its reversed diagonal axis style. These characteristics and uniqueness offer enthusiasm, expressiveness, and stylishness.
Sebastian Moreta is a new, modern, elegant family serif font that perfectly blends regular (upright) and italic styles. The regular letterforms evoke elegance, while the italic style generates a classic ambiance.
Some characteristics you can spot on Sebastian Moreta are pointed and sharp small tails, eye-catching smooth curves, and different line thicknesses. This font works well for books, magazines, journals, etc.
Rumelaz Gekinsa is a new modern family serif font text with a delicate yet highly readable design. Small but very sharp in detail, this font is highly suitable for text with long paragraphs. The italic style elegantly and artistically completes the classy and modern look.
An elegant and modern combination, The Macker Gallery is a serif font with regular and italic features. Each is perfect for defining your creative works or products, including web fonts, logos, and branding. This font is also easy to read, making it ideal for creating articles.
Byford Sanchez is another great choice for an elegant and modern family serif text that blends regular and italic font styles and generates an outstanding look. This font has highly visible counterstrokes on each stylish letterform, flawless, smooth curves, and line thickness that screams elegance.
This font is highly legible and conveys the desired message well, making it ideal for more formal design applications.
As the name implies, Positive Thinking will bring positive style and elegance to any text. This modern and elegant family serif font provides a collection of exquisite regular and italic font styles, in which each character differs between its thickness and thinness.
What makes Back Bone Melavita more unique? It is a new, elegant, modern serif font family with high-level readability, regular and italic styles, and appealing ligatures. You can apply this font to eye-catching headlines or titles and in the body text of longer paragraphs.
If you want to pursue a feminine touch for branding, Journey Slovanika is one of the right choices. You will immediately fall in love with this unique, lovely serif font family, which has a graceful touch and unique, beautiful strokes. Likewise, Journey Slovanika is perfect for weddings, invitations, quotes, etc.
Two words for Things: simplicity yet versatility. This family serif font has regular and italic styles seamlessly crafted in refined strokes. The balanced proportions give it an impressive and sophisticated look. Ideal for any graphic design application, this font helps draw attention.
As mentioned earlier, the italic style in the serif font family can have a particular effect on the text’s readability, depending on how you use it. When used sparingly with the regular counterparts for short-form text, it instantly boosts readability and grabs attention.
