• Introduction
• Main University web site
• Global navigation elements
• University graphics
• Typography
• Color
• Templates and examples
• Interface technology
• Content and maintenance

Minimum standards

The official font of Georgetown University is Caslon (see Adobe Caslon). Caslon is not a freely available font and its use is not required on University web pages. However, if you are preparing web graphics and wish to use the official University font, the following guidelines apply:

• If you have Caslon, use it.
• In the absence of Caslon, use Garamond.
• In the absence of Garamond, use Times New Roman.
• Do not substitute a font with serifs that differs substantially from these fonts.

Caslon is not especially legible on computer screens and is not recommended for large amounts of text on a web page. However, if you wish to use the official University font in the text of a web page -- for example, in a heading -- specify the following list of alternate fonts:

font-family: "Caslon", "Garamond", "Times New Roman", "Times", "serif"

Core recommendations

A combination of traditional and modern typefaces is recommended for University web pages. Traditional type reflects the University's long history, which predates 20th century typefaces. More contemporary sans serif type reflects the University's modern and international identity. 

1. A serifed font resembling Caslon is recommended for page titles and section headings within documents.
2. A sans serif font resembling Helvetica is recommended for short sections of text to contrast with headings.
3. For longer blocks of text or documents that users are expected to read in detail, no typeface should be specified so that the user may use his or her default font or select a font. Browser default font are generally a serifed font on Windows computers and a sans serif font on Apple computers.

In addition, the following core recommendations reflect best practices in web typography:

1. The use of relative font sizes (which can be adjusted by the user) is strongly recommended. Relative font sizes allow users -- particularly those with impaired vision -- to resize the text on a page themselves.
2. Keep most text close to the default size. Avoid setting entire web pages in tiny type or enormous type.
3. Make sure that all text has appropriate contrast for easy legibility. Avoid using background images and colors that make text hard to read.
4. Use boldface and italics sparingly. Both are harder to read than normal text and lose their value if they are not in contrast with regular text.
5. Avoid changing the default formatting of links (contrasting color and underlined). If you choose to change it, do so consistently.
6. Avoid underlining text that is not a link. Users naturally assume that any underlined text on a web page is a link.
7. Different typefaces and font colors can add interest to a page, but consider whether they are appropriate in tone. To avoid clutter, don't use more than two or three different fonts on a page.
8. Text columns that are very wide are more difficult to read. The ideal average width of a text column is no more than 60-70 characters.
9. Print out web pages that users are likely to print and consider their appearance and effectiveness as print documents.