Preferred Fonts
We recommend the use of the following fonts for Fermilab communications:
- Helvetica (sans serif font)
- Palatino (serif font) for body text of communications and other applications requiring serif fonts
Helvetica and Palatino are always preferred, especially for public communication. However, Verdana may be preferable to Helvetica as a sans serif font for readability in some web applications. In addition, some applications may require a broader font family than Palatino offers. Serif fonts Galliard, Garamond and Times may be substituted in such cases.
These recommendations are based on the following criteria:
- Selected fonts need to be readily available and/or easily attainable for a variety of computer systems.
- Selected fonts all demonstrate similar proportions such as: letter shapes, height/weight ratio, and visual presence. These characteristics help establish a uniformity and consistent visual presence on finished work.
- Each of the selected fonts provide an extensive "font family" (bold, italic, light & medium weights, condensed, etc., etc) which provides flexibility and choice.
Consider these font choices as guidelines and suggestions, rather than as restrictions. While our goal is to create consistency in communications, designers retain the ultimate responsibility to create clear, functional and attractive presentations.
Text samples
Last modified: 09/30/2013 | email Fermilab