Assignment 1

Georgia vs. Courier New

The first thing that I notice when comparing these 2 fonts is the difference in the stroke weight. Courier new has thinner strokes than Georgia and they are consistent throughout the entire typeface. where as Georgia's strokes vary in thickness within each letter. Courier New seems to have more space in between each letter and very straight serifs with no bracketing. They both seem to have about the same lowercase x-height. The Terminals on Georgia make it more legible than Courier New. Both have large bowls.

Georgia vs. Times New Roman

Georgia is much more legible for screen than Times New Roman. Georgia has more space in between the letters whereas Times New Roman's letters nearly touch in some place. The descenders on Times New Roman do not extend very far from the baseline of the text. Also the counters and bowls are much smaller in Times New Roman than in Georgia. The lowercase x-height is also shorter in comparison. Times New Roman's letters also have smaller apertures than Georgia's making them harder to read in smaller sizes.

Impact vs. Arial

Impact is a very bold, condensed typeface. For screen, this would only be legible at large sizes and in short phrases such as a title. It has a large lowercase x-height as does Arial. Arial is much more legible for body copy than impact. both are san-serif typefaces. Arial's stroke thickness stays consistent throughout the letterforms. It also has large bowls and counters which lends to its legibility. 

Arial vs. Verdana

Arial and Verdana are very similar looking typefaces. Arial seems to be a bit more elegant and legible than verdana. Verdana's letters are spaces further apart than Arial and also has a thicker stroke than Arial. The descenders do not descent as far from the baseline in Verdana as they do in Arial. The counters and bowls in both typefaces are very large as are the x-heights. 

Optima vs. Verdana

Optima has much thinner stroke widths than Verdana. Its strokes also vary within each letterform whereas Verdana's stay consistent. There is not as much space in between the letters of Optima as there is in Verdana. Optima has a large lowercase x-height thought not as large as Verdana still. Optima seems to have larger bowls and counters than Verdana, or possible they are just more elegant because the stroke width varies. Both are sans-serif fonts. Optima's descenders extend further than Verdana's. 

Baskerville vs. Georgia

Baskerville has a much shorter x-height than Georgia. The letters in Baskerville are also much more condensed than they are in Georgia. Baskerville's terminals are more subtle than Georgia's. Both are serif typefaces. Baskervilles descenders extend further than Georgia's. Both have large bowls and apertures. Georgia has thicker strokes and larger serifs than Baskerville. Georgia is definitely more legible for screen than Baskerville.