Digital Tools — Concept Resource

An evolving resource on terms and concepts related to digital tools, design, and art.

Section 6 · Typography

Typeface

Definition

A complete set of letterforms, numerals, and symbols designed to share a consistent visual style — for example, Helvetica, Garamond, or Futura.

Why it matters

The typeface is the voice of the text before a single word is read; its personality shapes tone, legibility, and how seriously or playfully a message lands.

Example
An image of type set in Space Grotesk detailing the difference between and typeface and a font.
© Salvador Orara, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Not to be confused with

A font — the typeface is the whole design family; a font is one specific style and weight within it. See Font.