Skip to content
  • Register

    • Is only one font can be called a family?

    Posts: 6
    in Technique and Theory
    Hi everyone, I'm new here. I design and create fonts at my free time and I would like to know this; is only one font can be called a family?

    Thanks a lot.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Comments

    • Posts: 1,747
      Normally, the term "family" is used to refer to a set of related fonts. So, probably not.
    • Posts: 6
      Alright, thanks a lot for your answer :)
    • Posts: 2,959
      When I have a library of fonts, I can count the number of fonts, or the number of families. In such a case, yes, I do refer to those lone styles as each being a family. So does just about every font vendor and font management app, I think.
    • Posts: 3
      At root, this is a set theory question. If there's only one thing in a set, is it still a set? Yes.
    • Posts: 263
      I believe Mark is correct. Each font file has an internal Family Name, but marketing a single font as a “family” is a bit odd.
    • Posts: 652
      edited September 2018
      It's pretty simple. Like people, one doesn't refer to a single person as a family. And again like people, a type family begins life as a single font.
    • Posts: 220
      In the Glorious Variable Future, a family might reside in a single font file, though.
    • Posts: 1,747
      True!
    • Posts: 1,458
      family might reside in a single font file
      Like a family may reside in a single house.
    • Posts: 1,747
      edited September 2018
      More like a shape-shifter that can take on the appearance of any possible relative. A virtual family rather than an actual family.
    • Posts: 2,959
      I am now waiting for the new foundry, Lycanthrope Fonts, to make themselves known.
    • Posts: 652
      @Mark is on the right track, except it is a virtual family made up of at least two members of a real family. Sort of like imaginary friends they find comfort in talking too, perhaps?
    • Posts: 161
      Even apart from a variable font, a single font file can contain multiple fonts — when the file is a font collection file (.ttc, .otc).
    • Posts: 6
      edited September 2018
      Well, a family is a set, and a set is something containing two or more different things, right? So, only one font, even with its various formats, can not be a family, or am I wrong?

      Also, I think saying that one font is a family may confuse customers, they may think "If it's a family where are the other styles?", and then they go away...
    • Posts: 1,458
      What if an orphan were to walk in your house alone to introduce you to his family?
    • Posts: 2,256
      A typeface can be represented by a single font, or a family of them.
      Also, talking about typefaces is a bit classier and more professional than saying “fonts”, because in lay talk, they say things like “The Helvetica font”.
    • Posts: 6
      Thanks for the tips.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories