Georgia (typeface)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgia is an old style serif typeface designed in 1993 by Matthew Carter for the Microsoft Corporation. It is designed specifically for clarity on a computer monitor even at small sizes, partially due to a relatively large x-height. The typeface is named for a tabloid test headline about alien heads being found in the U.S. state of Georgia.
The Georgia typeface shares many similarities with Times New Roman, though Georgia is noticeably larger than Times at the same point size. Times New Roman's characters are slightly narrower, having a more vertical axis. When one compensates for the size differences and disregards the differences in compression and spacing, the remaining differences are minimal. many letterforms on initial inspection are difficult for a novice to distinguish between Georgia and Times New Roman. Overall, Georgia's serifs are slightly wider and with blunter, flatter ends.
Along with Hoefler Text and FF Scala, it is one of the few typefaces in common use with ranging, or “old style," numerals (also called text figures), which are designed to complement lowercase text without disrupting the overall texture the way lining figures do. This can present some difficulties however in displaying numbers in columnar layout, as the figures are not monospaced.
Georgia is part of the Web core fonts package and is preinstalled by default on Apple Macintosh and Windows-based computers. It has found popular use as an alternative serif typeface to Times New Roman.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
↑ "Georgia & Verdana Typefaces designed for the screen (finally)", by Daniel Will-Harris, accessed 24 November 2005
- Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
[edit] External links
- Georgia font information (Microsoft typography)
- Downloadable version of Georgia (Core fonts for the Web)
