Title

Typography

Freight Front Family

Overview

Based on its clean lines, rounded figures and friendly appearance, the Freight Font Family has been chosen as Rockhurst University’s typeface. This singular font family contains Sans, Text and Sans Compressed, which gives versatility to our typography without compromising consistency.

 

The round, circular shapes of the Freight family characters echo the round icon and lettering in the University logo, and the approachability of the typeface represents Rockhurst’s warm and welcoming vibe. Each style includes six weights, small capitals, fractions, standard ligature, lining and oldstyle figures and more, and supports over 90 languages.

 

NOTE: Freight font family is available for free download through Adobe Fonts via Creative Cloud.

 

Sans vs. Compressed vs. Serif

Sans-serif fonts are more modern and more easily read than serif fonts. In almost all instances, Freight Sans should be used for body copy. Freight Text should be used sparingly for more formal communications.

 

To determine which font should be used, consider your tone and audience. If it is a more casual tone and audience (for example: current and prospective students, alumni, community members) use Freight Sans. If the audience and tone is more formal (for example: large donors, University statements, letters from the president) use Freight Text.

 

Freight Sans Compressed may be used when space dictates the need for a condensed font, or when variety is needed for a graphic element. It is also used in our University unit logos.

Differing Weights

Freight Sans, Freight Sans Compressed and Freight Text each contain six weights that help increase variety, add emphasis and enhance clarity of text.

 

Body copy should almost always be set in Book or Medium, using semi-bold or bold to emphasize important information. Light may be used for body copy in certain scenarios, but the delicate nature of it can make it difficult on the eyes, so it should be used sparingly and in high contrast without background texture or noise.

 

Headers should be set in semi-bold, bold or black, with bold being the preferred weight for headers. Headers will often be set in all-caps, but certain designs may work better without all-caps headers.

Leading and Tracking

The proper spacing of text between lines (leading) and between letters (tracking) ensures that text is legible, approachable and comfortably read.

 

Leading and tracking that is too loose can slow down the pace, while tighter leading and tracking can speed it up. In most cases, tracking and leading of body copy will usually be about two points higher than the point size of the text. However, certain designs may use looser or tighter tracking in headers or other graphic elements to give an airy, dramatic or exciting feel.

Line Length and Breaks

Try to keep each line of a communication no longer than one alphabet-width. This helps with readability, as too long of lines can cause reader fatigue.

 

Do not use hyphenation in body copy.

 

Ensure that you do not leave “widows” (a lone word that appears at the bottom of a paragraph) or “orphans” (a singular line or word that appears at the top of a page or column).

Display or Script Fonts

In almost all cases, typography should be limited to the official brand font family. This will produce communications that are easily recognizable and will strengthen the Rockhurst brand.

 

In some cases, an additional display or script font may be chosen in addition to the brand font. This is typically reserved for our youngest audiences – current and prospective students – as it helps position Rockhurst as a modern and approachable University.

Default Fonts

When Freight is not available, Arial and Georgia are the default fonts for sans-serif and serif usage, respectively. These fonts are available on both Mac and PC.

Web Font

For greater clarity and ease of reading, we have selected Source Sans and Noto Sans to be our web fonts. Both fonts are complimentary of the Freight font family.

Web Body Copy

The Google sans serif font Source Sans Pro is used for body copy throughout the website. Source Sans Pro is a versatile typeface designed particularly for user interfaces. Its letterforms are slightly condensed allowing them to fit into tight spaces within a UI, while remaining well-defined even at small sizes.

 

Inspired by twentieth-century American gothic typeface design, its slender but open letters offer a clean and friendly simplicity. Advanced hinting allows Source Sans Pro to render well across browsers and devices.

 

Web Headlines and Buttons

The Google sans serif font Noto Sans is our choice for all headlines and buttons, Noto helps to make the web more beautiful across platforms for all languages. With a heavy weight in the bold, extra bold and black weights, web headlines in Noto pop off the screen and demand attention.