What are the font families and why every serious web/graphic designer should own at least several font families for virtually any type of project, from corporate identity or product branding, to text and display use? Font families are collections of closely related typeface designs that can include hundreds of styles. A font family is typically a group of related fonts which vary only in weight, orientation, width, etc., but not design. Font families include typefaces with significant structural differences, but some design relationship, under the same general family name. While most fonts gives you three of four styles, font families includes dozens of styles. Each of these font families gives you unprecedented typography variety and uniformity at the same time.

Ocean Sans Font Family
The most distinctive feature of Ocean Sans family is the high contrast between thick and thin strokes. The subtly condensed proportions make this sans serif font unique. Cursive italic also sets the Ocean Sans font apart from other sans serif typefaces.

Rotis Font Family
The Rotis font was one of the first typeface families to employ matching subfamilies: Sans Serif, Semisans, Semi Serif, and Serif. Proportionally, all the Rotis faces are somewhat condensed. Counters and serifs were constructed open and full. The result is a design that is economical with space and still remarkably legible.

Soho Font Family
The Soho font proves that a slab-serif typeface can be immensely charming and extremely versatile. Also in the font package is the Soho Gothic font – an understated sans-serif version of the Soho typeface.

ITC Humana Font Family
The ITC Humana typeface family features 12 weights and styles, including light, medium, and bold weights of serif, sans serif and script designs. The serif and sans serif designs each have matching italics that extend the typeface’s range and flexibility.

Nueva Font Family
Key to the Nueva font’s distinct design is its high stroke contrast, and rounded character shapes. Arched characters, such as b, d, m, n, r, p and q, feature low connectors and tapering stems. The Nueva family includes condensed and extended versions in addition to the basic weights.

Scout Font Family
The 24-weight, sans serif, Scout™ typeface family was drawn for 2006 redesign of Entertainment Weekly® magazine. Exceptionally clean and unencumbered by bells and whistles, it can be called on for any purpose – from body text to the largest of headlines.

Farnham Font Family
Unique characteristics, such as bracketed serifs and thick stems and spines, set Farnham apart from other classically-designed typefaces. Included among the 31 weights, ranging from light to black and spread across both Display and Text families, the Farnham font family also includes swash, OSF and small cap versions.

Mundo Sans Font Family
Spanning seven weights and a suite of cursive italics, the Mundo Sans typeface serves a wide variety of purposes for designers. The clean and distinctive design of the heavier weights is ideal for display use, while the medium and lighter weights maintain those same characteristics as highly legible text fonts.

Slate Font Family
The Slate family of typefaces has an ‘engineered’ look by forgoing any noticeable design gimmicks or devices, the Slate font is reminiscent of early American sans, like News Gothic. The medium weight has the feel of Akzidenz Grotesk, and the black functions much like the bold weights of Futura or Franklin.

ITC Stone Font Family
The ITC Stone Serif font was conceived as a typeface with a blend of written and sculptural forms, slightly condensed, with a large x-height, while the ITC Stone Sans font combines sans serif letterforms with the proportions of the Stone Serif font and has a moderate, but obvious, contrast in stroke weight.

Myriad Font Family
The Myriad font family includes condensed, normal, and extended widths in a full range of weights. Subtle but purposeful treatment of letter proportions, along with clean, open shapes and extensive kerning pairs ensure that the Myriad Pro font retains a comfortable level of readability across all of its variants.

Rocky Font Family
The Rocky font consist of 40 weights, ranging from light to black with accompanying italics, it also includes compressed and condensed versions. The Rocky typeface’s contrasting thick and thin strokes are reminiscent of all renditions of the Bodoni typeface and provide a clear-cut effect due to its simplicity.

Minion Font Family
The Minion font is based on classical old style types from the late Renaissance period, but was created with current technology in mind. Rigidly straight lines and sturdy strokes give the Minion font design a gracefulness that transcends the ages.

ITC Century Font Family
The ITC Century family which design dates back to 1894 with tightened letter spacing and increased x-height. It consists of four weights with matching italics, and eight corresponding condensed faces, supplying a useful range of typefaces for magazine and newspaper work.

Antenna Font Family
Antenna Font Family places a new emphasis on the repeat and variation of counter shapes with the spaces between characters. It spans seven weights in four widths including compressed and condensed versions and matching italics.

Stainless Font Family
The Stainless font family is comprised of 35 designs. Weights range from a precise Ultra Thin to a full-bodied Black. Italics, condensed, compressed and even a suite of extended designs complete the family. Square shoulders and clipped terminals give the Stainless unique look.

Penumbra Font Family
The Penumbra font’s uniqueness stems from its emphasis on two design axes: weight and style. The style axis progresses from a sans serif display design to a full serif design, including flare serifs and half serifs. Consistent design characteristics hold the family together they ensure that serif and sans fonts work well together.

ITC Franklin Gothic Font Family
Along with the standard book, medium, semi and heavy weights and their corresponding italics, ITC Franklin Gothic includes a suite of condensed and compressed weights. Best used as a display face, ITC Franklin Gothic is considered a standard in the newspaper and advertising fields.

Benton Sans Font Family
Benton Sans is well suited for use in newspapers and magazines for headlines and in advertisements. Spread over 128 individual fonts, Benton Sans includes a full battery of weights from extra light through black with corresponding italic designs, small caps and small cap italics.

Freight Font Family
The clean, highly legible Freight Sans font family has its roots firmly planted in a humanist design aesthetic. It’s suitable for text or display use and features an extensive character set, comprised of roman, italic, small caps, italic small caps, and old style and tabular figures, spread across five precisely tuned weights.

Kepler Font Family
Kepler Font Family was designed with an eye to optical purity as well as design and includes four optical size variations that have been optimized for use at specific point sizes. Intended sizes vary by family, but the general size ranges include Caption (6-8 pt), Regular (9-13 pt), Subhead (14-14) and Display (25-72pt).

Briem Akademi Font Family
Many of the Briem Akademi characters share common traits. Most characters that require a curve share the same one, and diagonals, wherever possible, share the same slant. Unique feature of this font is use of a notched design in its horizontal elements, where crossbars and shoulders join their vertical counterparts.

Lucida Font Family
The Lucida suite of fonts is one of the largest. It was developed to work on bitmapped display screens and within laser printers. The strong shapes and generous proportions are based on traditional Roman letterforms, making them clear and easy to read in the fine print of directories and parts lists, as well as in business correspondence and newsletters.

Escrow Font Family
The Escrow was commissioned for use by the Wall Street Journal, giving this text font an almost unprecedented amount of visibility. Escrow retains the necessary copyfit by adjusting counter width and serif length throughout the weights. Complementing the text designs are 28 display designs intended for headlines and subheads.