[subego]

Futura. Duh.

[Shaddim]

Tahoma

[ajprice]

[Thorzdad]

A good typeface should be able to stand-up to use as both a headline face and a text face. Futura is a fantastic headline face. It's one of my many go-to faces, and I use it all the time, but it's a horror show as a general text face.

[andi*pandi]

I can name several favorites, but they are each best suited to different purposes. I can't call futura best font ever, because there are some instances, as Thorz says, where it doesn't work.

That said, Garamond, Trade Gothic, Bembo, Trajan. Still fondness for Trump Mediaeval.

[The Final Dakar]

I'm pretty sure I've used Futura to read books on my kindle.

[P]

If it has to work everywhere, Helvetica. Yes yes, terribly original, I know... Other than that, I like Bookman and Garamond. Not much into obscure fonts though.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by P 

If it has to work everywhere, Helvetica. Yes yes, terribly original, I know... Other than that, I like Bookman and Garamond. Not much into obscure fonts though.

Absolutely nothing wrong with Helvetica. It's workhorse of a font. It's another of my go-to fonts.

[osiris]

depends on the mood - Arial, Helvetica, even Bodini at times. There are so many good fonts out there.

[mattyb]

Bloody font geeks.

[Jawbone54]

For iBooks, I've been gravitating to Garamond.
For graphic work, I've found myself tinkering with Tw Cent MT.

Also, check out losttype.com.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

A good typeface should be able to stand-up to use as both a headline face and a text face. Futura is a fantastic headline face. It's one of my many go-to faces, and I use it all the time, but it's a horror show as a general text face.

The reason I like these types of questions is the judgement metric says more about you than the answer.

Why is your metric "maximum utility"?

[subego]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Bloody font geeks.

Typeface. You mean typeface.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

[boy8cookie]

Bitstream Vera Sans.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by subego 

Typeface. You mean typeface.

Bloody font family geeks.

[OreoCookie]

For science stuff: Bitstream Charter and Gentium
Serif: Feijoa, Garamond (what can I say, I love Garamond's 9)
Sans serif: Frutiger, Myriad, Futura, ITC Kabel
Fixed width: Source Code Pro

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by subego 

Typeface. You mean typeface.

YOU'RE the typeface, Mister!

Charcoal was good. German thinks Sabon is good.

[andi*pandi]

Sabon is good. Very classic.

[boy8cookie]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

For science stuff: Bitstream Charter and Gentium
Serif: Feijoa, Garamond (what can I say, I love Garamond's 9)
Sans serif: Frutiger, Myriad, Futura, ITC Kabel
Fixed width: Source Code Pro

You should try Bitstream Vera Sans Mono for your fixed width needs.

[beb]

Univers

[Ω]

As a non-font geek (or typeface) can you explain what makes a good font? And when used how many of the population actually recognises and appreciates it?

Given that Comic Sans is so widely accepted do you have any hope for us, the masses?

[subego]

That's a tough question to answer in such a general sense. It's akin to asking why blue paint is better than red paint. That I imply there is one best typeface in the OP is me trolling.

The problem with comic sans is it's generally the only choice muggles have for "handwritten", so it gets overused. Likewise, in the genus of "handwritten" typefaces, it's about as uninspired as you can get.

Papyrus has a similar problem, but at least it's a more interesting design.

[subego]

Also, in reality, people who insist on typeface over font are assholes. Same with magazine and clip for a gun.

For those who are curious, a font is a container for a typeface, like a CD is a container for music.

[andi*pandi]

The problem with comic sans, is that it's been used for things for which it's not appropriate. It's a childish, fun, crayon font. It doesn't have the right feel for fancy restaurant menus and serious literature. Similar for Papyrus, which somehow always ends up in futuristic movie posters... despite being based on ancient lettering.

These are free fonts not meant to be used for pro purposes. Ma and Pa's family newsletter? Go nuts. President Business's corporate newsletter? No. Just no.

[subego]

For post Gutenberg "old timey" my fave is Caslon Antique. Pre Gutenberg, nothing stands out. There's a sample in some Dover book on type I'm about halfway towards digitizing, but I doubt I'll finish.

[subego]

This:

[OreoCookie]

@Omega
It boils down to taste: even people with no background in design do recognize it in places, e. g. I have developed a taste in music without knowing much about it. Ditto for cars. Fonts are the same thing: subtle things that people don't notice make a subtle impression. For instance, the Renault Twingo has a smiling face in the front while BMW's look angry and somewhat like a body builder on steroids in a suit because of their taut lines.

The same happens when people miss a note: sometimes at least I can tell. It's the same with fonts: if there is a clear mismatch between the style of the type face and the message of the text, then it creates disharmony between the two. You would not want to publish a obituary in Comic Sans. There are neutral fonts whose goal in life is to vanish in the background. The most famous example is probably Helvetica. I feel the similar way about Bitstream Charter: it's a serious font optimized for readability so I use it for my scientific publications (in conjunction with Gentium).