Any font that is sloping forward – like this – is called Italic. It is easy to find on your smartphone or computer as all you to do is highlight the word and press the italic symbol.
It is called “Italic” on all fonts. But I had no idea where this name came from.
Italic is a variation of the word “Italian”.
One of the very earliest bookmakers was based in Venice. In a period when most books were extremely large and heavy and were not readily available to the less wealthy Aldus Manutius decided to develop smaller lightweight books.
His printing business was called the Aldine Press and all books were made by hand. In order to keep the books as small and carry-able as possible he took the unusual step of sloping the letters to the right which took up less space. As he was Italian this type of font has been called Italic.
Why use an italic font?
Making the font italic has the effect of giving the word emphasis and keeping it easy to read. In print you might underline the word, but on screen that will give the effect of making it look like a link to another page.
Quotes from you or a well known authority
Italic can be useful to break up the page and is often used for Pull Out Quotes. Highlight the phrase and click the quotes icon. Then click on the italic icon as before.
The easiest way to improve your marketing is to focus on your customers’ needs
Testimonials from happy customers
You want the lovely things that your customers say to be easy to read. By giving them space and making the font italic you make the comments stand out on the screen.
“Jean Wolfe is a natural born motivator” Alison Sellers Astus Finance
Phrases that are benefits to the customer which you put in bullet points
Bullet points indent the phrase which brings emphasis. If you additionally italicise the words they will stand out to your reader even more clearly.
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I had heard of the Aldine Press but had no idea it originated in the 1490s. Before Gutenberg and his printing press. The latest update from WordPress is called “Gutenberg” and maybe the next one should be some kind of homage to Aldus Manutius.
Read more here you want to learn more about the history of the italic font.