As a student of typography, you need to learn the difference between two different types of fonts that are often used by designers and publishers: The University Font and the School Font. Often, designers choose to use these terms interchangeably because both fonts can be used for printed and manuscript typeface design. A School Font, as its name suggests, is used by educational institutions while a University Font is more commonly used for commercial printing. However, despite their common names, these fonts have some specific differences that can help you differentiate between the two.
A School Font has a set of characteristics such as line space, stroke weight, and typeface family. Unlike a University Font which is based on the preset styles available in a computer program, a School Font must be created within the set of predetermined decisions made by a designer or a typist during the design process. The main features of a School Font include the usage of a flexible point size, standard or automatic italics, and an optional ragged line option. Though a school typeface may not be as aesthetically appealing as a university typeface, it creates a professional and elegant looking document.
A University Font, on the other hand, is usually created as a result of a specific project. For example, a University Font might be created for a thesis statement or a mission statement. This font is usually based on the typeface used for official business documents and press releases. The Open Sans typeface is the most commonly used typeface for web design; the reason for this is that it closely resembles the look and feel of Open Office, one of the most popular open source office applications.
The key thing to remember is that these types of font families are just that- fonts. They are used to set text apart from other content and convey a certain tone or mood. As such, it should be taken very seriously especially when used on a professional level. Some font providers are quite good at matching different styles and mixes but there is always room for experimentation.
There are many different font families out there and more coming out each day. What is important is to understand the purpose behind the creation of a font family before settling on one. Some font providers specialize in creating a few popular fonts while others offer a full selection of fonts suited for all kinds of needs. When it comes to fonts, you get what you pay for.
University College Fonts
1. University SB
Since the release of these fonts most typefaces in the Scangraphic Type Collection appear in two versions. One is designed specifically for headline typesetting (SH: Scangraphic Headline Types) and one specifically for text typesetting (SB Scangraphic Bodytypes). The most obvious differentiation can be found in the spacing. That of the Bodytypes is adjusted for readability. That of the Headline Types is decidedly more narrow in order to do justice to the requirements of headline typesetting. The kerning tables, as well, have been individualized for each of these type varieties. In addition to the adjustment of spacing, there are also adjustments in the design. For the Bodytypes, fine spaces were created which prevented the smear effect on acute angles in small typesizes. For a number of Bodytypes, hairlines and serifs were thickened or the whole typeface was adjusted to meet the optical requirements for setting type in small sizes. For the German lower-case diacritical marks, all Headline Types complements contain alternative integrated accents which allow the compact setting of lower-case headlines.
2. University Roman
University Roman was designed by Mike Daines, Philip Kelly and published by ITC. University Roman contains 3 styles and family package options.
3. University SH
Since the release of these fonts most typefaces in the Scangraphic Type Collection appear in two versions. One is designed specifically for headline typesetting (SH: Scangraphic Headline Types) and one specifically for text typesetting (SB Scangraphic Bodytypes). The most obvious differentiation can be found in the spacing. That of the Bodytypes is adjusted for readability. That of the Headline Types is decidedly more narrow in order to do justice to the requirements of headline typesetting. The kerning tables, as well, have been individualized for each of these type varieties. In addition to the adjustment of spacing, there are also adjustments in the design. For the Bodytypes, fine spaces were created which prevented the smear effect on acute angles in small typesizes. For a number of Bodytypes, hairlines and serifs were thickened or the whole typeface was adjusted to meet the optical requirements for setting type in small sizes. For the German lower-case diacritical marks, all Headline Types complements contain alternative integrated accents which allow the compact setting of lower-case headlines.
4. Display University
Display University is a display font not intended for text use.
It was designed specifically for display, headline, logotype, branding, and similar applications. The character set is in outline but the uppercase letters are the same shapes but solid.
5. Sinday College
Sinday College is classic calligraphy font. This is a classic thin font with a italic style. Here you will get a beautiful classic font. This font is available some modern swirl that can make your work look elegant, sweet and perfect.
6. Athletico Clean
Athletico Clean is a clean version of Athletico font, inspired by college and university sportswear lettering.
7. College Block 2.0
College Block has been revamped with many changes both to the glyphs themselves as well as language support. This blocky display font features only angled lines with stubby serifs and now features a 3D version. The characters are roughly 30% taller than the legacy version and a little thinner for better contrast. Several of them, along with European accents have been redesigned completely. Cyrillic makes its way into this font along with many other accents for many European languages. Use College Block 2.0 for a t-shirt, logo, or web graphics.
8. Undergrad
This font began its life as a project to design a T-shirt for a student group on a large midwestern university. It has now grown up into a unicode font, including Greek and Cyrillic. It has that look and feel of the T-shirts that are ubiquitous on the campuses of colleges and universities over the world. It would make an ideal tool for designing them, as well as posters and banners.
9. College Font Family
College is a family of fonts that like to hang out together! Combine them how you like and color them as you will. Give your designs some good old college cheer and have fun!
10. Athletico
Athletico is a layered type family inspired by college and university sportswear lettering. Language support includes Western, Central and Eastern European character sets, as well as Baltic and Turkish languages.
11. The Jersey – Quirky College Font
The Jersey took the shape from blocky and strong college font, and adding a bouncy baseline, irregular width,and round corner to add a quirkiness in it. It still got the seriousness, but with a bit of rebelious like a college student will do. All caps in shape. Support multilanguages as well. The Jersey is what you need to add some fun in the hectic college world.
12. Stanford
The strong, geometric letterforms of this typeface incorporate a heavy outline and were inspired by college and university sportswear, making Stanford an excellent choice for work associated with sports in general.
13. Behover College
Behover College is a bold with sans style font, comes with mix lowercase and uppercase to make your design easier and strong bold character. Suitable for logotype, esport logo, or anything about display and headline.
14. Alma Mater
As the Latin tag for one’s college or university, Alma Mater seemed to me to be an appropriate title for a font family reminiscent of the lettering commonly used on college sweaters and sports jerseys.
15. Collegium
The Collegium is a font family inspired by college and university sportswear lettering. Language support includes Western, Central and Eastern European character sets, as well as Baltic and Turkish languages.
16. Wayfinding Sans Pro
Ralf Herrmann, the designer of Wayfinding Sans, started this project with extensive field studies, driving tens of thousands of miles to explore the legibility of road signage typefaces in dozens of countries around the world.
17. Empera
Empera is a fearless athletic font family with six creative styles for added flexibility and variation. It’s perfect for sports logos, branding, posters, apparel design with it’s bold and confident appearance. The upper- and lowercase vintage characters come with different renders to add authenticity and a more natural worn look.
18. Univerza Sans
Univerza Sans was developed to mark the hundredth anniversery of University of Ljubljana. The style is influenced by the combination of Slovenian avantgarde with some recognizable forms that are known for Slovenian typography. Multifunctional use for identity system, formal communication, wayfinding, academic and scientific articles in order to share the institution’s spirit of knowledge, creativity, diversity and belonging. It speaks Central European languages, feels official but looks attractive and recognizable.
19. Redzone
“Redzone” is a versatile display family developed as the workhorse typeface for the “Ultimate Football League”, a fictional football league passion project. With a strong focus on the sports branding industry, “Redzone” has a voice that is competitive and sophisticated, its letterforms featuring angled terminals and sharp serifs across 5 weights and widths. Its generous x-height and overall build makes it especially capable for headlines, thought it serves well for shortened body type as well.
20. Magnetic Script
A bold stylized font family that is not only eye-catching and assertive, but highly legible at both display and text sizes. The heart of this font’s usefulness is the three-layer setup that allows you to quickly copy a text block twice, then reassign the main layer, the extruded shadow underlayer, and the top highlight layer to three different colors.
21. Patched
Patches is a multi-faceted, victorian-era serif typeface for when you need something more than plain text. Get that extra attention while adding a genuine, original appearance to your message.
Patches was designed from scratch to give a sense quality and depth. Its designer Mans Greback has created a typeface with a complex structure, yet one that will be easy to master. This work will suit every style, taste and skill level. It is a decorative and completely hand-drawn design in vintage lettering, with the perks and flexibility of present-day technology, which is exactly what you’d expect from a modern typeface.
22. Collegeblock 2
The Collegeblock family is reminiscent of straight lined letter forms found on collegiate sweaters and in the sports world. This blocky display font features only angled lines with stubby serifs and available in 3 styles including 3D Extrude. The characters are more vertical in nature with a low contrast for high legibility. Many different languages are covered including Cyrillic. Use Collegeblock 2 for a t-shirt, logo, or web graphics.
23. Vintage Varsity
Vintage Varsity was inspired by that classic iron-on letterman jacket your “cool” uncle wore in high school (and lets be real, probably still wears today)… Pair with some fuzzy felt textures and you got yourself a killer duo! Strike the fill, throw a stroke on it, and design a retro-slogan t-shirt. Is this starting to sound like a cheesy infomercial? Good, I’m rolling with it. Have fun!
24. Evanston Tavern
Evanston Tavern is a square typeface and the sans-serif version to Evanston Alehouse. Inspired by the years that prefaced the ratification of the American Prohibition, this typeface mimics the signage commonly seen outside of saloons, taverns and alehouses during that time.
25. UNY
UNY is a display slab serif font. UNY is a distinct all caps geometric typeface inspired by varsity, college and university sports as well as the military. The UNY name was derived as a new styled acronym from the word university. UNY is great for sports, sports teams, schools, fantasy, display work, invitations, writing, quotes, posters, acronyms and headings.
