FF Meta Book

ME 1

The junction of the M rests on the baseline

Only one side of the t has an angled finial

FF Meta The e has a wide counter opening

The a has a curved ending terminal

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CON T E N T Creator & Origins Characteristics Comparisons

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz . : ; ? ! \ < >

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C RE ATOR & O R I G I N S

Even as a child, Erik Spiekermann was drawn to the typographic arts. In 1988, Spiekermann started FontShop.

He currently holds a professorship at the Academy of Arts in Bremen, is vice president of the German Design council, president of the International Institute of Information Design, president of the International Society of Typographic Designers and a board member of ATypI. His book, “Stop Stealing Sheep” has sold over 150,000 copies.

When it comes to the design of typefaces, Spiekermann sees himself as more of a problem solver.

“I had a little printing press and taught myself to set type.”

—Erik Spiekermann

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In 1984, Erik Spiekermann was commissioned to creat an exclusive font for use on all of the Budespostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s printed material. The aim of the project was to develop a face that was easy to read in small sizes, available in several weights, unmistakable as an identity, and technologically up-to-date. In 1989, MetaDesign refined the Bundespost typeface for its own exclusive use, renaming it Meta.

Soon MetaDesign began to use it in mail-order catalogs for FontShop. Released as FF Meta, it has become one of the most successful typefaces available from FonFont.

Image taken of wooden type used with printing presses.

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C H A R AC T E R I ST I C S: C A P I TA LS

ME The grey sections represent areas where the letterforms are unique and specific to Meta.

The junction of the M rests on the baseline

The E has an extended base

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Meta has capitals similar to those of well-known Helvetica. Meta is an unadorned san-serif font. All of Metaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capitals have flat apieces, or tops, to them. Many the capitals also have angled finials, or endings. Angled finials occur in the top strokes of the E, F, G, T (as seen below). Angled finials also occur on both ends of the S and Z. The base of the G has no spur and the J, no loop. The K has one junction. The tail of the Q is wavy and the leg of the R is slightly curved. The junction and base of the W are both flat.

TA Only one side of the T has an angled finial

The A has a dropped horizontal crossbar

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LOWERCASE

mnpqu The stems of the m, n, p, q, and the spur of the u are slightly bent

yg The y has an offset junction and the double-storied g has a highly unusual open bowl.

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Several of Meta lowercase have particular traits that distinguish the face from other sans serifs. The finials of the v, w, and y are slightly angled, unlike Meta’s capital letters.

In Meta and its offsprings, strokes have slightly varying width, and in compensation for the missing serifs, vigorously bent-off tips of vertical strokes in letters. Eric Spiekermann made Meta “humanizing” by borrowing serif-specific features, while remaining within the sans serif paradigm.

The ascenders of the b, k, h, and l are also slightly bent

“A real typeface needs rythm, It comes from handwriting.”

—Erik Spiekermann

M M ...

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COM PARI SONS

Both Meta and Helvetica have thin shoulders. While the dots of Meta letterforms and punctuation are rounded, Helvetica has square dots. The nuanced construction of the Meta typefaces sets it apart from Helvetica’s regularized structure, creating the face’s appealing personality.

Typeface periods

Univers’ periods are smaller than those of Meta and rounder than those of Helvetica.

M M Meta—black

Helvetica—medium grey Univers—light grey

Helvetica and Univers are substancially less condensed than Meta as evident in the comparisons above.

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10

O O O Round

Meta

Rounder

Univers

Roundest

Helvetica

The outer counter form of Meta is an oval, while the counter forms of Helvetica and Univers are circles.

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Meta was composed based on a contrast between outer and inner counter shapes. Its inner countershapes are rounded off rectangles while the outer shapes are ovals. This difference, carried through the entire alphabet helps the cohesiveness of Meta. A comparison between the counterforms of Meta, Univers, and Helvetica is shown in the O’s on page 10. Meta has only a slightly lower x-height than Helvetica and Univers. It is an explicit typeface, making it easy to to read up close, like on a stamp or phone book and far away, like on a billboard. In this way, it is also versatile.

Meta

Versatile

Univers

Versatile

Helvetica

Versatile

“They, [letters] are my friends. I get kicks out of looking at type.”

—Erik Spiekermann

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R E F ER E NC E S 1 Fonts.com, Available at http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/DesignerProfiles/ErikSpiekermann.htm Accessed November 1, 2005 2 Leland M. Hill. Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces (New York: RC Publications), 142-143.

3 Ibid., 143, 144.

4 Ibid., 145.

BI B L IOG RAP H Y Sweet, Fay. MetaDesign: Design from the Word up. New York: Watson-Guptil Publications, 1999.

(A&A: VNC999.6.G4 M48 1999 and Vault) Spiekermann, Erik and Ginger, E.M. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find out how Type Works. USA: Hayden, 1993.

(Vault) Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces/essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, c2000.

(A&A: Z250 .R45 2000) http://www.linotype.com http://www.fonts.com http://www.fontfont.com http://www.typography.com

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This book was created

by Abby Pribble Typography Studio Fall 2011 Typefaces used include Clarendon 7/8, 11/12, Meta Book Roman 54, 7/8, 18/25, 20/24, 30, Helvetica, 30, Univers 55 Roman, 30

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