In typography, grotesque (or grotesk) is roughly synonymous with “sans serif.” Serif typefaces feature short, decorative lines that extend from a character’s body, like Times New Roman, Palatino, or Garamond. In use since the 1460s, serif fonts were the publishing norm until the 1800s. By contrast, grotesques do not have these decorative lines, hence “sans serif” or “without serif.”

The first sans serif font is attributed William Caslon IV in 1748. In 1816, a fourth-generation Caslon, William Caslon IV, developed the first sans serif printing type, an uppercase design named “Egyptian. It isn’t clear whether Caslon IV cut the sans serif for a client or for art’s sake. Caslon IV was naturally innovative: he developed a method of casting wedge-shaped letters for cylinder printing, and he crafted two-part matrices for casting large letters. Perhaps it was pure creativity that led him to cut a sans serif typeface.

Caslon’s innovative uppercase sans serif did not catch on. Three years later, Caslon IV sold the foundry his great-grandfather had begun 90 years earlier for just over two-thousand pounds.

Nonetheless, Caslon IV’s failed sans serif left its mark on typography despite its “radical” appearance. Hence the name grotesque: compared to the fashionable and familiar serif fonts, sans serifs were considered crude, plain, and artless. 

While contemporary sans serifs have a sleek, polished architecture, the initial sans serif grotesque fonts were more eccentric. They flaunted their unorthodox styling, purposely contrasting simplicity against their elaborate and sophisticated predecessors.

Grotesque typefaces typically feature uncomplicated, geometric letterforms. They also appear somewhat informal, at least compared to roman and modern serifs.

The German spelling “grotesk” is used interchangeably to describe grotesques. By the late 1800s, sans serif typefaces had become popular in Germany. Berthold Type Foundry’s Akzidenz Grotesk is a family of sans serif typefaces released in Berlin in 1898. Designed for trade printing, its name translates to “Commercial Grotesque.” Azkidenz Grotesk influenced countless iterations and generations of grotesque fonts, including the neo-grotesque Swiss-style fonts of the 1950s, like Helvetica.

Relevant for over a century, grotesque fonts have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with the advent of electronic type. Their simplicity makes them highly legible on mobile devices and websites. Grotesque fonts are modern and typically neutral in their architecture, making them a great choice for corporate projects, web design, mobile apps, infographics, digital publishing, advertising, text, and more.  

YouWorkForThem offers countless grotesque sans serifs, and we’re excited to share some of our favorites with you.