Bodoni
g j s A BEGINNER’S INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASSIC TYPEFACE
Bodoni’s designs were radical enough to be considered new and different, but not so different they became fad designs.
BODONI | ORGINS
ORIGINS OF BODONI In harmony with his “aristocratic” typefaces, Giambattista Bodoni lived a virtually aristocratic lifestyle. History has given him the title “the king of typographers and the typographer of kings.” After a relatively short apprenticeship, Bodoni became almost immediately the director of the royalty press belonging to the Duke of Parma. And a few years later, when Napoleon drove the Austrian governors out of northern Italy, he continued his work under Imperial patronage. A twenty-eight-year-old 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 Bodoni. 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 and offer of expanded facility and a privilege of printing for other clients. Bodoni elected to remain in Parma.1 4
1
BIGGER
IS BETTER WITH BODONI
Due to the high contrast of the thick and thin strokes of each letter, Bodoni is difficult to read at small point sizes. Try it below with 28 and 9 point size text.
The letters don’t get their true delight, when done in haste and discomfort, but first when they are created with love and passion. The letters don’t get their true delight, when done in haste and discomfort, nor merely done with diligence and pain, but first when they are created with love and passion.
5
FEATURES OF THE TYPEFACE 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. Had he known this fact, however, Bodoni would probably not have been very upset. His 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. Beatrice Warde, an eminent typographic historian, in a famous essay, likened the perfect type to a crystal goblet. Her perfect type is transparent, or invisible, to the reader and allows the content to be enjoyed without coloration or distraction. 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. If used carefully, Bodoni type can create typography that is exceptionally beautiful, even elegant, but not particularly easy to read. If used poorly, 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.2
BODONI | FEATURES
Ma stroke weight equation thick + thin
=
high contrast
thick strokes
thin strokes
Parts of the letterforms and characeristics which together create the unqiue typeface Bodoni
vertical axis
ball terminal
small aperature
hairline serifs
Bodoni is no quiet servant to the commuication process; it is a design that demands attention
6
M M M MM MM M WAIT, WHAT?
ABOUT TYPE Designers provide ways into—and out of—the flood of words by breaking up text into pieces and offering shortcuts and alternate routes through masses of information. Although many books define the purpose of typography as enhancing the readability of the written word, one of design’s most humane functions is, in actuality, to help readers avoid reading.
Serif: A stroke added as a stop to the beginning and end of the main strokes of a character.
Slab Serif (Bodoni)
a
Counter: The partially enclosed, somewhat rounded negative space
Hairline Serif
Bracketed Serif
7
Ball Terminal: A circular form at the end of the arm in letters.
BODONI IS AN IDEA The typefaces that we use today that are called Bodoni were not designed by Bodoni himself. Rather, our modern Bodoni typefaces are digital interpretations of Bodoni’s type designs.
TYPEFACE: BODONI
a particular design of type FONT: BODONI MT a set of type of one particular style (face), point size (size) and weight
WEIGHTS
thickness of lines that make up letters
Bodoni MT Regular Bodoni MT Book Italic Bodoni MT Italic Bodoni MT Bold Bodoni MT Bold Italic Bodoni MT Ultra Bold Bodoni MT Ultra Bold Italic BodoniMT Condesnsed Bold BodoniMT Condesnsed Bold Italic BodoniMT Condesnsed Book BodoniMT Condesnsed Black BodoniMT Condesnsed Black Italic
BODONI | ORGINS BODONI | TYPOGRAPHY
Type kk kk
BODONI | ORIGINS
Cap Line: A line marking the height of uppercase letters within a font.
X Height: The height of lowercase letters reach based on height of lowercase x; does not include ascenders or descenders.
Mean Line: Imaginary line running along the top of non-ascending, lowercase letters
Baseline: The invisible line where all characters sit. Descender Line: The invisible line marking the lowest point of the descenders within a font.
In a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles.
Axis: An imaginary line drawn from top to bottom of a glyph bisecting the upper and lower strokes is the axis.
Vertical Axis: Bodoni
Upright Stressed Axis: Garamond
Robert Bringhurst The Elements of Typographic Style
24
9
ggg xxxx ggg g aaaa COMPARISONS
Bodoni was no revolutionary. The modern roman style, which is attributed to him, did not, as many would believe, spring forth as if by magic. While the letters he cut andthe books he printed were more refined and of exceptionally higher quality than most of the work originating before or during his lifetime, it would be difficult to classify any of Bodoni’s efforts as fundamentally new. When he was young, the work of John Baskerville served as his ideal. In later years, the work of his great Parisian competitor, Francois Didot, influenced him dramatically. Bodoni was always, in some manner, dependent on the work of other, bolder contemporaries. Bodoni
Didot
Baskerville
Bodoni
Didot
Garamond
X-HEIGHT
Compared to Didot, Bodoni and Baskerville have short x-heights. However, Garamond’s is x-height is the shortest.
Bodoni
Didot
Baskerville
Garamond
Baskerville
Garamond
COUNTER
EAR
Bodoni has more roundand circular counter compared to Didot’s large curved counter, and Baskerville and Garamond’s counters which each have a straight side
Compared to Bodoni, Didot’s ear has a thinner base and Garamond’s ear is straigh with no round ball end. Baskerville’s ear is simmilar to Bodoni, however its curve is less steep and the end is less circular.
BODONI | COMPARISONS
Yet despite these influences, he was not a copyist. A comparison of Bodoni’s type to Didot’s two designs that on the surface may appear virtually identical is a perfect example. There are distinct similarities in their work, and Bodoni surely studied Didot’s designs very carefully, but a close examination reveals that Bodoni’s weight transitions are more gradual and his serifs still maintain a slight degree of bracketing. There is even hint of “old style” in Bodoni’s work. He 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.
Bodoni
Baskerville
Garamond
RRR LEG
Bodoni has a vertical leg with an extreme curve. Baskerville has a vertical straight leg with a slight curve and Garamond has a vertical straight leg.
BALL TERMINAL Bodoni’s terminal is almost a circle while comparitively Didot’s is less round and Baskerville and Garamond’s terminals both have ovular shapes. Bodoni
Didot
Baskerville
Garamond
TAIL Bodoni’s tail is more curved and less decorative than Didot and Baskerville
QQQ Bodoni
Didot
Baskerville
WWWW WWWW APEX
Bodoni’s apex is crossed and touching while Baskerville’s does not cross and Garamond’s crosses but does not touch
SERIF Bodoni’s serifs are slab serifs compared to Didot’s serifs which are hairline and Baskerville’s which are bracketed
Bodoni
Baskerville
Garamond
MMM MMM MMM Bodoni
Didot
Bodoni
Baskerville
12
CONCLUSION The typography Bodoni produced is still regarded as being among the most refined and structured printing ever produced. The typography Bodoni produced is still regarded as being among the most refined and structured printing ever produced. But then, he had the luxury of virtually limitless time, money, and effort to spend on any given project. Bodoni once confided to a friend that he agonized more than six months and produced thousands of trial proofs in the process of choosing just the right type for the title page of one of his books! Bodoni described the ‘beauties of type’ as ‘conformity without ambiguity, variety without dissonance, and equality and symmetry without confusion. A second and not minor value is to be gained from sharpness and definition, neatness and finish.’ [3] Bodoni’s prescription would be equally at home in a classical treatise on type, or in a 1950s book on proper grooming for debutantes. Because of its association to style and affluence, Bodoni is popular in high fashion. For example, Bodoni is the signature type for VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, and ELLE magazines. 13
Bodoni was one of the most prolific type designers and considered an arch-romantic. His hundreds of faces embrace considerable variety, and more than 25,000 of his punches are in the Bodoni Museum in Parma. The revivals issued in his name reflect only a tiny part of this legacy, and many are simply parodies of his ideas. The typical features of Bodoni revivals are abrupt hairline serifs, ball terminal, vertical axis, small aperture, high contrast and exaggerated modulation. The ITC Bodoni, digitized in 1994-95 under the direction of Sumner Stone, are the closest of all the revivals to Bodoni’s mature style. (There are three versions, based on 6, 12 and 72 pt originals.) Other favorites are the Bodoni cut by Louis Hoell for the Bauer Foundry, Frankfurt, in 1924,and the Berthold Foundry version, produced in 1930. Both have been issued in digital form. Small caps and text figures are essential to all of these designs.4
Januuary 1950 Vogue cover featuring iconic Vogue masthead typeset in Bodoni
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES
Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992.
1 Philip B. Meggs, A History of Graphic Design (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), 124.
Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990.
2 Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 48.
Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks,1997.
3 Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 49, 50.
Jaspert, W. Pincus. The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press; New York: Distributed in the U.S. by Sterling, 1983.
4 Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1992), 217, 218.
Cleland, T. M. Giambattista Bodoni of Parma. Boston: Society of Printers, 1916. 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. Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipografico, 1788. Facsimile a cura de Giovanni Mardersteig, Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1968. Bodoni, Giambattista. Preface to the Manuale Tipografico of 1818, translated by H. V. Marrot, London: Lion & Unicorn Press, 1953. www.linotype.com www.fonts.com Note: See the list at special collections for this designer
15
This book was designed by Audrey Taylor Palmer at Washington University in St. Louis Spring 2017 for Type I. Fonts used are Neutraface Text and Bodoni MT.
SELECT FONTS OF BODONI BODONI MT BOOK BODONI MT REGULAR BODONI MT BOLD BODONI MT CONDENSED BOLD BODONI MT ULTRA BOLD
Plenty of white space and generous line spacing, and don’t make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit for a king. Giambattista Bodoni