What is the serif font?

In typography,  serif fonts has decorative lines or taper added to the beginning and/or end of a letter’s stem, which creates small horizontal and vertical planes within a word. This is different from another typeface which is equally as popular as the serif fonts: the sans-serif fonts. This font removes the decorative aspect of the serif font and creates a more minimalist appearance to the font.

The origin of the font is still obscure and unknown, some say that the Roman letter outlines were first painted onto stone, and the stone carvers followed the brush marks, which flared at stroke ends and corners, creating serifs. However other theories suggest other wises that serifs were devised to neaten the ends of lines as they were chiseled into stone. 

How the serif font make us feel?

The serif fonts have became one of the most prevalent for display of text on the print. After years of changing and perfecting this font, the Serif fonts settled to give the eye a curve to hug. The Serif Fonts is design to make reading in prints easier, making reading easier for humans to process and distinguish the letters apart with the serif attached to them. The main moods most associated with serif typefaces are stable, mature, practical, classic, elegant, formal, confident and established.

Serif fonts are a great choice for brands that wish to portray a trustworthy, established, and reliable appearance. This is because serif typefaces date back to the 18th century, companies that utilize serif fonts are often seen as more established, serious, and traditional. This font implies heritage and great loyalty of the brand.

Some may argue that this font only suits the print and not the web, however this style actually helps guide the flow of letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs because serifs can help “push” you from one letter to the next.

Examples of Serif fonts on web pages:

In conclusion, Serif fonts are more traditional while Sans-Serif fonts have a more modern feel which is why a lot more brands are changing their logos, eg. Google, HSBC, Yahoo etc. for that cleaner and more trending feels. From my research, I feel like Serif fonts are a great choice for more traditional businesses as there is already an attached mood and feeling on this font but brands do not have to limit themselves and push boundaries when it comes to using fonts.