The Difference Between a Typeface & a Font

A font is a typeface of a specific style and size.

The difference between a typeface and font is subtle but distinct. The word "font" is commonly misused to mean typeface, and font is actually a more specific form of a typeface.

Typeface

Typeface is the design of a set of characters, including letters, numbers, symbols and punctuation marks. Typefaces are vector-based, so they can be scaled very large and retain their sharp features.

Font

Font is a specific form of typeface and is a typeface of one size and style.

Examples

Examples of typefaces include Arial, Times New Roman and Helvetica, and an example of a font is Arial 12 pt. bold.

Font Family

In web development, font family is a term used to define the "font" but actually defines the typeface of a webpage. For example, when defining the style of a paragraph in a webpage, you could write <p style="font-family:arial">Paragraph in a webpage<p>. Font family can, however, also be used interchangeably with the term font.

Considerations

In some circles, font and typeface are used interchangeably. It is important to know the difference, but it is also important to know that most people don't know the difference.

References

• Tech Terms: Typeface
• Tech Terms: Font
• W3Schools: CSS Font Family Property