BODONI
Here is the full Bodoni alphabet, in Regular and Italic. It is labeled with some basic typographic terms. An example of each term is highlighted in the alphabet.
x-height baseline
serif
serif
AaBbCcDd
cap height
serif
Giambattista Bodoni was born in 1740 into a family of Italian printmakers, in whose tradition he proudly continued. At 28, Bodoni was asked to take charge of the Stamperia Reale, the official press of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. Bodoni accepted and became the private printer to the court. He printed official documents and publications desired by the Duke, in addition to projects conceived and initiated by himself. His initial design influence was Fournier le Jeune, whose foundry supplied type and ornaments to the Stamperia Reale after Bodoni took charge.
The quality of Bodoni’s design and printing, even though scholarship and proofreading were sometimes lacking, created a growing international reputation. In 1790, the Vatican invited Bodoni to Rome to establish a press for printing the classics there, but the Duke countered with an offer of expanded facility and the privilege of printing for other clients. This satisfied Bodoni, and he elected to remain in Parma.
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terminal
x
EeFfGgHhI finial
crossbar
Bodoni
Bodoni’s innovations were not w Bodoni’s innovations were not w Baskerville
Bodoni is credited with the inception of the modern Roman style, but his innovations were not without historical precedence. When he was young, the work of John Baskerville served as his ideal. Baskerville’s work in the mid18th century was representative of the Transitional typographic style. His eponymous typeface made the first significant break from the influence of handdrawn letterforms on typography. The forms are more regular, geometric, and reflect a greater contrast between thick and thin strokes. 40 years later, Bodoni took these innovations a step further, increasing the contrast between stroke weights and abolishing many of the vestiges of the handdrawn form still found in Baskerville.
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Nn Nn Nn
Caslon Old Style
Baskerville Transitional
Bodoni Modern
x ascender
iJjKkLlMm stem
without historical precedence. without historical precedence.
ted ted Bodoni
Baskerville
Baskerville bracketed serifs reference the handdrawn form
the contrast between thick and thin strokes in Baskerville is not as exaggerated as in Bodoni
Bodoni unbracketed serifs break from traditional techniques
3
NnOoPpQqR bowl
descender
counter
Bodoni
Bodoni surely studied Didot’s
Bodoni surely studied Didot’s Didot
In his later years, the work of Bodoni’s great Parisian competitor, Firmin Didot, influenced him dramatically. Didot’s innovations came around the same time period as Bodoni’s, engendering a bitter rivalry between the two designers. From a cursory comparison of the two typefaces, it may appear that they are virtually identical. There are certainly some distinct similarities in their work, and Bodoni surely studied Didot’s designs very carefully, but a close examination uncovers many subtle differences.
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Bodoni followed Didot’s lead, carefully evaluating the designs of his great competitor, consciously remaining, however, always just slightly behind the radical modernism of his contemporary. Perhaps this explains to some degree the longevity of Bodoni’s type designs. They were radical enough to be considered new and different, to establish for Bodoni an important and influential place in current typographic circles, but not so different that they became 18th-century versions of fad designs.
RrSsTtUuVv
r
spine
spine
designs carefully.
s designs carefully. Bodoni
Didot
HH
contrast between thick and thin strokes in Bodoni is not as harsh as in Didot
Bodoni’s ball terminals are rounder and fuller than Didot’s Bodoni
Bodoni ascenders have a slight angle, an Old Style flair
Didot
Didot ascenders are flat-topped and severe
5
Q g WwXxYyZz
6
Baskerville
Bodoni
Didot
G K R W Q
G G K K R R WW Q Q
Q 1234567890 Baskerville
Bodoni
Didot
a f g i ?
a f g i ?
a f g i ?
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AaBbCcDdEeFfG Bodoni is no quiet servant to the communication process; it is a design that demands attention. Bodoni created typefaces and typography to impress the eye. His designs were studied efforts meant to be seen as well as read. Few would deny that Bodoni’s typefaces are beautiful; unfortunately, few would say they are also easy to read. By current standards, his designs are, in fact, the antithesis of what an easily readable typeface should be. Beatrice Warde, an eminent typographic historian, likened the perfect type to a crystal goblet. Her vision of perfect type is transparent, or invisible, to the reader and allows the content to be enjoyed without coloration or distraction.
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Bodoni’s type is anything but a “crystal goblet.” Its hairline serifs, strong thick-and-thin stroke contrast, and abrupt weight changes cloud the reading process. Bodoni is no quiet servant to the communication process; it is a design that demands attention.
gHhIiJjKkLlMm
The size of type is measured in points. Text has a point size that measures the distance between the ascenders and the descenders, known as the font size. It also has as a point size measuring the distance between the baselines of two adjacent lines of text, which is called leading. For example, this caption is set in Gill Sans 8/10 pt, meaning that the cap height is 8 pts, and the leading is 10 pts.
12/16 pt
At small point sizes, Bodoni’s extreme weight contrast and vertical stress can cause a typographic effect, “dazzling,” which is visually uninviting and exceptionally disruptive to the reading process.
10/13 pt
At small point sizes, Bodoni’s extreme weight contrast and vertical stress can cause a typographic effect, “dazzling,” which is visually uninviting and exceptionally disruptive to the reading process.
8/10 pt
At small point sizes, Bodoni’s extreme weight contrast and vertical stress can cause a typographic effect, “dazzling,” which is visually uninviting and exceptionally disruptive to the reading process.
9
z
NnOoPpQqRrSsTt
10
z
tUuVvWwXxYyZz Bodoni’s goal was not to create typography to be appreciated by the masses. His books and other printing exercises were large regal efforts meant to be looked upon and appreciated as works of art, rather than as mere pieces of communication.
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1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 0 References & Bibliography
Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o) Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990. (SC: Z250 L34 1990) Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks,1997. (A&A: Z246 B745 1996 and Vault) Jaspert, W. Pincus. The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press; New York: Distributed in the U.S. by Sterling, 1983. (SC: Z250 J36 1983)
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, 2000. (A&A: Z250.R45 2000) Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipografico, 1788. Facsimile a cura de Giovanni Mardersteig, Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1968. (SC: Z232 B66 1788a 4o) Bodoni, Giambattista. Preface to the Manuale Tipografico of 1818, translated by H. V. Marrot, London: Lion & Unicorn Press, 1953. (SC: Z232 B66 1953) http://www.linotype.com
Cleland, T. M. Giambattista Bodoni of Parma. Boston: Society of Printers, 1916. (SC: Z232 B66 C5)
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http://www.fonts.com
This book was designed & printed in December 2010 by Audrey Westcott, a Communication Design major at Washington University in St. Louis. The typefaces used are Bodoni MT, Baskerville, Didot, Gilll Sans, & Adobe Caslon Pro.