Type Specimen
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 Baskerville
Victor Jimenez Typography 2
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 Caslon
Featuring:
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 Bodoni
AaBbGg J j MmQq 1234567890 Akzidenz Grotesk
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 Century Schoolbook
Index
Type Specimen
Type Specimen
Akzidenz Grotesk Baskerville Bodoni Caslon Century Schoolbook Courier Franklin Gothic Futura Garamond Gill Sans Helvetica Neuzeit
Times
3 7 10 13 16
19 23 26 29 32 36 39 41
3
Akzidenz Grotesk
Akzidenz Grotesk is a realist sans serif typeface created in 1898 by the Berlin based Berthold Foundry.
Type Specimen
During the 19th century realist painters were reluctant to conform to the academy’s notions of appropriate poses and themes. They wanted to capture ordinary people performing ordinary tasks. Realist type designers of that time were inspired by similar ideals and designed simple, blunt, and straight forward letter forms. Realist letters often carry out a similar basic shape as neoclassical and romantic letters, but most of them have either heavy slab serifs or no serifs at all. The stroke is usually equal in weight and the aperture (the negative space inside of the characters) is very small. Sans serif literally means “without serif.” These typefaces originated in the late nineteenth century in response to the industrial revolution. As a result, sans serif typefaces project a more contemporary
aesthetic. They usually have monocline stroke weights which means that there is little to no variation in line width. Serif typefaces are characterized by short strokes or serifs at their ends. They tend to convey a traditional look. Sans serif typefaces are a bit more industrial and sophisticated looking. Another name given to sans serif faces during that time in Germany was grotesque. A term that seemed to stuck and explains the name “Akzidenz Grotesk.” Akzidenz’s heavy monotonous line and small aperture creates an image of strength, force, persistence, and very little refinement. That coarseness contributes to the typeface’s effectiveness when it comes to headline use but takes away from its readability and usability when it comes to large amounts of text.
(Counter Clockwise) Akzidenz Grotesk in various weights. Type comparison: Akzidenz Grotesk, Folio, Helvetica, and Universe 55. Akzidenz Grotesk type sample.
4 Type Specimen
Akzidenz Grotesk
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
AaBbGg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
Aa Bb Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \ 36 pt
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Berthold Foundry released Akzidenz Grotesk in OpenType format in both Pro and Standard versions and have recently celebrated 150 years in the field of type. In 2007 Tobias Battenberg from Germany made a very interesting experiment with video projections in
5 Type Specimen
Akzidenz Grotesk was actually the model for many known sans serif typefaces which followed such as Helvetica, Universe, Folio, Franklin Gothic and many others. At first glance, Akzidenz Grotesk and Helvetica could be mistaken for the same typeface. The similarities of Helvetica and Akzidenz are obvious, but the differences are very subtle and include the uppercase and lowercase C, and the uppercase G J, R, and Q. Max Miedinger, the Swiss designer and creator of the famous Helvetica typeface modeled it after Akzidenz with minor changes meant to refine the German type’s coarseness. Akzidenz-Grotesk is known as the original sans and most influential grotesque. The design originated from Royal Grotesk Light by Ferdinand Theinhardt who also supplied the regular, medium and bold weights. Throughout the years, Berthold has expanded this versatile family. AG ExtraBold (1966) and AG Super (1968) were developed by Günter Gerhard Lange who added more weights in 2001 such as Super Italic and ExtraBold italic. In 2006,
several urban settings using “akzidenz grotesk”. He was quoted saying: “Akzidenz grotesk is known as a font that tolerates a lot, that holds out a lot - My plan was to get a proof by the font itself. The font demonstrated its character at its best.” By employing such a dynamic medium Battenberg really managed to bring out the aesthetic qualities and simple beauty of this typeface. There is something about the roughness of urban landscapes that corresponded naturally to the roughness of Akzidenz
6 Type Specimen
Karl Gerstner, a well known Swiss graphic designer said of Akzidenz Grotesk, “It is the work of anonymous type cutters: craftsmen, specialists, whose professional background and experience meant they were familiar with the finest subtleties and principles, and not just those of Grotesque. They gave Akzidenz Grotesk the ultimate accolade a typeface can have: a functional, formal rightness, transcending the whims of fashion.”
Pgs. 5-6 Tobias Battenberg’s Akzidenz Grotesk project.
7
Baskerville
In 1757, John Baskerville developed the transitional typeface Baskerville based on Caslon.
Type Specimen
His passion for type was more like a hobby than a profession. John Baskerville was a small businessman who strove for a perfect typeface that as he said was, “‘ … conceived to be their true proportion’” (43). Even though the typeface was a great achievement of during his time it was rejected in England because it lacked humanistic characteristics. However it was welcomed in France, Italy, and the United States, because of it’s revolutionized vertical upright roman style. The typeface is considered to be a transitional because of the fine contrast between thick and thin lines, making it more legible. Some of the attribution that stands out of this type are the stress in the vertical lines and the calligraphic features are different in various characters.
The subtle characteristics of this typeface include: the swash-like tail of the capital Q, the C has serif on both top and bottom ends, and the capital E has a long lower arm. John Baskerville used hot-pressing printing that added a gloss to the paper and made the distinctive features of the typeface more prominent, which was not well received during his lifetime. There have been many variations of Baskerville throughout history some of them going away from the original version such as Fry Baskerville, which was designed by Isaac Moore on 1768. During the early 20th century there were two versions of Baskerville that were not based on the original. But in 1923 the first version of Baskerville in the 20th century was designed based from the original 1757
(Counter Clockwise) Baskerville’s type usage Project. John Baskerville Portrait. “Gulliper’s Travel” Printed using Baskerville.
8 Type Specimen
Baskerville
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
A a B b Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
A a B b Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \ 36 pt
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AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 12 pt
world. Baskerville innovainspiration to always achieve tions in the printing world simple and purposeful at the made him a pioneer with his same time. contributions, besides his typeface or hot-press printing method but the concepts behind them served as
Type Specimen
(Clockwise) Geogicon by P Virgilii Maronis, Printed by Baskerville. The Works of William Congreve, Printed by Baskerville. Rochester Institute of Technology Web Header. Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Logo. Baskerville Type Specimen. EEEE_Peter Martin Typeface Project.
9
This typeface was more prominently used as a body text because of its characteristics especially during the early 20th century. As shown in the Georgicon image Baskerville was used as a full body text. However digitized versions made it more accessible for experimentation and the breaking of traditional usage of this type. In 1995 Peter Martin’s “EEEE”, explored a different approach to the typeface, using “visual agility by contrasting texture, rhythm, structure, kinetics, and tonality”(48). Today designers opt to use Baskerville not only for body text but also for logos of governmental institutions, colleges and even presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign logo used Baskerville as their type choice, and colleges such as The Rochester Institute of Technology. Like most painting, novels and other great art works this typeface was recognized as a breakthrough in the art of printing. After John Baskerville’s death, it became one of the most widely used fonts in the
10
Bodoni
Type Specimen
Giambattista Bodoni made Bodoni typeface in the modern era in the eighteen century. The modern era had typefaces that were
much more improve from the previous era. For instance, perhaps the name came about when typographers realized that the original name for this style of type, classical, was neither particularly fitting nor accurate, and at the time, modern might have seemed the perfect classification for the most recent style of type. Like many modern type faces, Bodoni was like development over a previously designed type face and that particular typeface was Baskerville. Giambattista Bodoni was influenced by a fellow typographer John Baskerville, and wants to meet and do similar designs of typeface with him. For an example, the story is told that in 1776 Bodoni left Rome to visit England, presumably to meet John Baskerville, a man whose work Bodoni greatly admired, but Bodoni
never crossed the English Channels. In addition, the year of Baskerville’s death, 1775, saw the entry of a new influence into typography in the appearance of the true modern typeface designed by Giambattista Bodoni of Parma, Italy. Baskerville death was like a starting point for Bodoni to take over as a great typographer and launched into a new era of modern type. Giambattista Bodoni brought different styles together to make the neater and clear-cut design that is known as Bodoni today. For instance, the old style faces had their origin in an imitation of the hand lettering of the manuscript writers, the new design was an undisguised imitation of the technique of the steel engravers–sharp, clean cut, and precise. Also, French designers, notably Philip
(Counter Clockwise) Air Travel Card Application. USAir. “An Epoch of Typographic Genius”.
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \ 36 pt
Aa Bb Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 48 pt
A a B b Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 24 pt
A a B b Gg JjMmQq 1234567890 12 pt
Type Specimen
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
11
Bodoni
12 Type Specimen
Grandjean, had produced other types still more modern in tendency, featured by great neatness in cutting, exact alignment, and the modern sharp, flat serif; but it remained for Bodoni to gather the loose strands together and weave them into a consistent, finished type face. Bodoni combined the two styles and made a much more improved typeface for printing in books and newspapers. The Bodoni typeface is made to be easily read books and for headlines for newspaper because of it’s thin, thick and light strokes of the letters. For instance, the newspaper worker will be principal interested in Bodoni, Bodoni Italic, Bodoni Bold, and Bodoni Bold Italic–a lighter Bodoni is also useful in booklets or circulars. The use of thin and thick stroke of the letter has a combine of heavy and light weight to each letter. In addition, In Bauer Bodoni the extreme stroke contrast and perfect vertical stress is easily seen–the Bauer Bodoni G faithfully retains Bodoni extravert lower serif; the W also maintains the double
center crossing strokes and the slight separation the occurs between the first and the joined center serif. In addition, the capital N has two hair-line down strokes with a very broad diagonal in between, and single hair-line down strokes are also found in capitals A, M, U, V, W, and X. The Bodoni type face is sharp, quick, vivacious, vigorous, dignified, polite and refined and that made the type face one of the top type faces in the modern era. Which made the typeface popular of its time and today’s media. (Counter Clockwise) Bodoni History article. Bodoni Type Specimen Samples. Bodoni samples, the used of different sizes and leadings.
13
Caslon
When William Caslon I (1692-1766) designed his eponymous typefaces in the mid 1700’s,
Type Specimen
English type founding was almost non-existent; most print blocks were imported from the Netherlands. Having started his own company in London in 1716 as an engraver of gun locks and barrels, Caslon also had contact with printers as a tool-cutter for bookbinders. This would eventually induce Caslon to begin to carve his own wood print blocks around 1725. Caslon types soon became a commonly used typeface among British printers, who took a liking to its distinction, warmth and legibility. As the British Empire spread around the world, Caslon types soon became popular all around Europe and eventually America, where it was used for the first prints of the Declaration of Independence.After William Caslon’s death in 1766, the font’s
popularity quickly diminished. It had (its first of many) revival during the British Arts & Craft Movement, who under the slogan “Art for the People” opposed the over-the-top designs of the Industrialization. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (which 11th edition uses Caslon Old Face for its page headers), Sir Henry Cole specifically asked for Caslon for the novel The Diary of Lady Willoughby. Over the years, many variations of Caslon types have been introduced, some attempted to replicate William Caslon’s work, others deliberately departed from the original. Today, digital interpretations of Caslon types can be divided into three families; Adobe Caslon (designed by Carol Twombly in 1990), Big Caslon CC (Matthew
(Counter Clockwise) Big Caslon From identifont.com. Caslon’s roman and italic alphabets with a selection of his decorative swash italics capitals. A type specimen; 5-line titling by William Caslon, 1734.
14 Type Specimen
Caslon
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
Aa Bb Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
A a B b Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \
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dissatisfied with earlier digitized versions that he used metal Caslon typesets, and then scanned and digitized the typeface that way.
(Clockwise) The Holy Bible printed 1788 using Caslon typeface. A lock of a musket engraved by William Caslon in 1718. Selection of Caslon steel punches (48 point size). Only sixteen of these remain. ITC Caslon From identifont.com Portrait of William Calson I painted by Francis Kyte, 1740. The Declaration of Independence, printed using Caslon typeface
15 Type Specimen
Carter 1994), and ITC Founder’s Caslon (Justin Howles 1998). Among these digitized typefaces, Adobe Caslon is favored by many designers since it mimics William Caslon’s type text types quite well, even though some of the inconsistencies of the original have been regularized. This is especially visible in larger sizes, and Adobe Caslon is therefore not recommended for display sizes. Many Caslon revivals base their work on William Caslon’s smaller fonts, that are quite different from his larger fonts, and that is the reason why Big Caslon is considered an important addition to the digital type library. Big Caslon works best in display sizes, since its serifs and thin strokes appear weak in sizes below 24 point. The most true to the original among these three digitized Caslon typefaces is the ITC Founder’s Caslon. Howles went through great lengths to imitate William Caslon’s types as accurately as modern technology will allow. Howles were in fact so
Many, many other typefaces based on William Caslon’s types exists today, among them Caslon 471, Caslon 540, Caslon 3, LTC Caslon etc. “When in doubt, use Caslon” has long been the rule of thumb among printers, and the more than two century old typeface is still relevant today. Magazines like Rolling Stone are still using the typeface in their publications.
16
Century Schoolbook
Type Specimen
Century Schoolbook is a modern or didone classification serif typeface designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1919 for the American Type Founders (ATF).
It is classified as old style, but the Schoolbook variation has elements similar to the Didone classification. Century Schoolbook is based on the earlier Century Expanded typefaces begun by Linn Boyd Benton (Morris Fuller Bentonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father) as a text and display face for The Century Magazine in 1890. Century Schoolbook is familiar to many in North America as being the typeface many first learned to read with. Morris Fuller Benton utilized research that showed young readers more quickly identified letterforms with contrasting weight, but with the lighter strokes maintaining presence. Tests also showed the importance of maintaining counter-form (the white space around the black letterform) in recognizing the face at smaller sizes. In designing Cetury Schoolbook, Morris Fuller Benton increased the
x-height, the stroke width, and overall letterspacing. The original ATF Century Schoolbook was designed without italics. Later revivals by Linotype and the International Typeface Corporation (ITC) added italics. Use of the typeface remains strong, for periodicals, textbooks, and literature. An infant variety also exists, which features singlestory versions of the letters A and G. Although this version is not for sale to the general public, it can be seen in the Spot books by Eric Hill.
(Counter Clockwise) Century Schoolbook Type Specimen emphasis in Q and a. Alphabet schoolbook caps. Dr. Atl/ Gerald Murillo body text. Book cover using Schoolbook. A Delightful Typeface Poster.
17
Century Schoolbook
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
A a B b Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \
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Type Specimen
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
18 Type Specimen
(Clockwise) Goudy Typeface description. William Blake Poem. Raging Bull Movie Poster. Century Schoolbook Type Specimen.
19
Courier
We live in a world surrounded by fonts. They are thereto deliver information.
Type Specimen
We use and abuse them; we accept or reject them; we ignore, but we need them. Why not let its users know why they are there, how and by whom they were designed. ‘Courier’, a font that we have seen in almost all official documents, is the protagonist of this work. Originally designed by Howard Kettler for IBM, in the 1950s, Courier became the most popular typeface used on typewriters for 30 years. During that period, versions of Courier were available for almost every typewriter on the market. Kettler, himself, named the typeface and wrote a promo ad which said: “a letter can be just an ordinary messenger, or it can be the courier which radiates dignity, prestige, and stability.” Being a fixed pitch font, which means that every character has the same width and therefore requires no kerning, Courier
did not require much memory and was desirable to be included on the first personal computers. Its inclusion also ensured that the new generation of typesetters would be able to replicate “Typewriter-looking” documents in order to allow for a smooth transition into the new technology. As it has now become a standard “system font” on most computers and printers, many typesetters of today sadly associate Courier with missing fonts and postscript errors. Perhaps these new versions of Courier with ragged edges will encourage designers to continue using Kettler’s marvelous design to help communicate ideas. SAGAR 2 Courier Ragged is an attempt both to serve as a typeface which can recreate that “rough” typewriter feel of the past and also be used as a favorable contemporary face.
(Counter Clockwise) Newspaper cartoon. IBM typewriter. News article done with courier. Courier cut out in metal object.
20 Type Specimen
Courier
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*() _ +=,.;’:”? < >[ ] {}\
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The raggedness gives the characters a new flavor, which is suitable today in a market seeking grunge and version faces. Aside from the ragged edges, Howard Kettler’s original design has been respected. Our versions of Courier ragged, however, are not fixed pitch, and have kerning pairs in order to improve the appearance of certain letter combinations. Kettler could not introduce these aspects into his own design because he was hired to create a typeface, which would work on a typewriter, whose mechanisms could not accommodate kerned pairs. Courier is a mono spaced slab serif typeface designed to resemble the output from a strike-on typewriter. IBM commissioned the design of the original Courier typeface in the 1950s for use in typewriters, but they did not secure legal exclusivity to the typeface and it soon became a standard font used throughout the typewriter industry. As a mono spaced font, it has recently found renewed use in the electronic world in situations where columns of characters must be consistently aligned. It has also become an industry standard for all
screenplays to be written in 12 point Courier or a close variant. The official first version was completed in November of 1995. Courier New is a version of Courier introduced with
Windows 3.1, which also included raster Courier fonts. The font family comprises Courier New, Courier New Bold, SAGAR 3 Courier New Italic, Courier New Bold Italic. Courier New features higher line space than Courier. Punctuation marks are reworked to make the dots and commas heavier. 12 point Courier New was also the U.S. State Department’s standard typeface until January 2004, when it was replaced with 14 point Times New Roman. Reasons for the change included the desire for a more “modern” and “legible” font. Courier New is used extensively in programming. For example, online forums, such as phpBB, SMF, and vBulletin.
(Clockwise) On mailing envelope. Newsletter heading. XML coding using courier. PHP coding using courier. On IBM objects.
22
Franklin Gothic
Type Specimen
The original Franklin Gothic was designed by Morris Fuller Benton (1872-1948) in 1902, the in-house designer at American Typefounders (ATF), then was first released in 1905.
It is one of the 200 typefaces designed by Benton. ATF was formed in 1892, eventually containing most of the American typefounding industry. The foundry is largely directed and created by Morris Fuller Benton. Franklin Gothic is an extra-bold sans-serif which closely resembles the first Grotesques of the early 19th century and was influenced by Akzidenz Grotesk, issued by the Berthold Foundry of Berlin in 1898. It is a realist sans-serif typeface. There is an assumption that this typeface was named after Benjamin Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gothicâ&#x20AC;? is an increasingly archaic term meaning sans-serif, which is found primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Franklin Gothic was originally designed as a typeface with a single weight and only two variations in width.
Franklin Gothic has been used in many advertisements and headlines in newspapers. The typeface continues to maintain a high profile appearing in a variety of media from books to billboards. At first only Roman was released, but additional variants were added as Franklin Gothic became popular. A condensed design was drawn in 1905, and an extra condensed in 1906. Five years later Benton added an italic set to the family, and two years after that a shaded font was offered. In addition to Franklin Gothic, Morris Fuller Benton also designed the font in a condensed width with lighter weight, as News Gothic and Lightline Gothic. Extra-condensed version became Alternate Gothic. Morris Fuller Bentonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal version of the heavy san-serifs first made popular by Vincent Figgins,
23
Franklin Gothic
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
Aa B b G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \ 36 pt
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Type Specimen
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
24 Type Specimen
a trend-setting British punchcutter and typefounder, known for his craftsmanship. Franklin Gothic remains its popularity after a hundred years of use. Characteristic Franklin Gothic can be distinguished from other sans serif typefaces, as it has a more traditional double-story g. Other main distinguishing characteristics are the tail of the Q and the ear of the g. The tail of the Q curls down from the bottom center of the letterform in the book weight and shifts slightly to the right in the bolder fonts. Franklin Gothic has an extra bold weight with a combination of subtle irregularities, tapering of strokes near junctions, in its roman form. Franklin Gothic has several widths and weights including Franklin Gothic book, medium, demi, heavy, condensed, and extra condensed. Usage New York University lists Franklin Gothic as an official font. The Franklin Gothic font was the resident typeface of the PBS series The Electric Company. -Franklin Gothic is the official
typeface of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. -Franklin Gothic is the official typeface of the UK’s Labour Party. -The film Rocky’s title is Franklin Gothic Heavy. -Franklin Gothic Condensed was the typeface used in the opening title credit roll of the Star Wars films. -Many of Lawrence Weiner’s art works are set in Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed.
-The latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, uses Franklin Gothic in its advertising material.
(Clockwise.) MoMA Logotype. Batman The Dark Knight Movie Poster. & T-shirt. Rocky Balboa Movie Poster. Franklin Gothic Type Specimen. New York University Logo. Choke Movie Poster.
25
Futura
The world of typography is vast, dynamic and constantly changing.
Type Specimen
The history behind typography is also a rich and complex reflection of the social, economical, industrial and religious that have come to shape the work we life in today. Among the thousands of different typefaces, each of which having its own unique variations, there are a few typeface that have become part of the fabric of our culture and as a result have endured the test of time. Futura is on of those typefaces that falls under this category. It represents a time in American and world history that can be looked at as pivotal point as far as design and advertisement. Since its conception Futura has been used to represent a forward thinking minimalist mentality and at the same time it has an edge to it that makes it work perfect as bold in your face display font. To get a better understanding of the
power and potential of the typeface Futura, it is worth looking at its history and the man who created it. Paul Renner (August 9, 1878April 25, 1956) designed Futura between 1924 and 1926 in Germany. His design approach to Futura was a direct digression from the more classical Serif type face that had up to that point in history been the dominant example of what a typeface should be, functional yet humanistic. What Renner created in Futura is a Geometric SansSerif typeface that built off the principles of modernity and simplicity; two very contemporary and prominent ideals that helped to create a typeface that encompassed these strong points. The basic forms of the Futura typeface are the circle, square and triangle, no longer was the look of a human hand relevant in creating this
(Clockwise) Vampiere Weekend. US Post Office State Of Washington. Ecological Awareness Label. Concrete Hermit Gallery Poster
26 Type Specimen
Fututa
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
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album cover to billboards and even on television, Futura has become embedded into visual vocabulary of our culture. The creation of Futura is like a milestone in art & design history. It represents
(Clockwise) Sparkle and Spin Book Cover. Field Notes Ad. Type Specimen Making Emphasis Q, a. Futura Type Specimen. Top Acres Farm Book Cover.
27 Type Specimen
The strokes in all letter forms of Futura are almost at an even weight and the near perfect geometric forms can be especially seen in the uppercase letter forms of o, a, and m. It is these details that separate all typefaces from each other and give them their own personality. Futura was widely embraced and spawned a multiple array of different variations, many of with were also used extensively. First and foremost Futura is a display font. Meaning itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most effective and visually pleasing when used in a heading of a book or in a large poster setting. This is not to say that it couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be used as a typeface for book layouts but for the most part itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more legible and easier to digest as a display font. Something about its sharp even strokes that gives it a natural affinity for refined messaging. It encourages intelligent thinking and still maintains a sense of modesty. With these qualities Futura has become one of the most widely used SanSerif types in the twenty-first century. Almost daily one can be sure to see Futura in use. From magazines to
a kind of a tipping point in the styles, ideas and philosophy of the modern forward thinking designer. The unstoppable force of the industrial revolution helped to set the stage for a rapidly diverse cultural revolution. Typefaces like Futura and later on Helvetica, can be looked at as a culmination of these changes and a leaning toward a more graphic and modern mentality.
28
Garamond
Type Specimen
In the early 15th century, A French young man, whose name is Claude Garamond was interested in searching and studying typography and prints production.
After many years, Claude Garamond made his first of design and typography, which made casting fonts, became independent production and he manufacture and sell printers manufactured dial fonts. Claude was renowned for cutting a roman type based on a font produced for Aldus by Griffo. Garamond came to prominence in the 1540s, first for a Greek typeface he was commissioned to create for the French king Francis I, to be used in a series of books by Robert Estienne. The French court later adopted Garamond’s Roman types for their printing and the typeface influenced type across France and Western Europe. Claude lived a good, full life, and his works as a important trail for the later Garamond types, but a wonderful day arrived in 1561 when the world mourned his death. Many of
his punches survive today and are kept at the PlantinMoretus Museum in Antwerp and at the Imprimerie Nationale in Paris. Most of today’s Garamonds, however, are actually based on the work of the French printer, Jean Jannon of Sedan. Jannon and his types were first used in Richelieu’s own work Principaux Points de la Foi, printed in 1640. Those types did not resurface for quite a long time. In 1900, the types were used yet again in a history of the Office. The types inspired future typographers such as Morris Benton and T. M. Cleland to revive them for American Type Founders Company in 1917. Morris’s copy enjoyed instant success and adoration, and it prompted a barrelful of other adaptations of both the Jannon type and the earlier ones that Claude Garamond had made.
(Counter Clockwise) Metal Type Ligature. Claude Garamond. Garamond Type Specimen.
29
Garamond
Aa Bb Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
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Type Specimen
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
30 Type Specimen
There are various cuttings available today that need to be mentioned so as not understate the importance of Claude’s contributions. Adaptations of Jannon are American Type Founders Garamond, Linotype Garamond No. 3, Monotype American Garamond, Monotype Garamond, Intertype Garamond, and Cherry-Flavored Garamond. Jan Tschichold in 1960 cut a variation of the Garamond style and dubbed it Sabon. He indeed owes much to master Claude. Claude will always be remembered for his font, Garamond. His roman and italic types were innovative in being designed as metal types, not as imitations of handwriting. Claude was a chief influence in establishing the roman letter as standard. Garamond is a typical old style face, form France, having very little contrast between the thicks and thins strokes, heavily bracketed serifs, and oblique stress. The distinguishing features of Garamond types are wide concave serifs, particularly
in the capital font. The capitals of several of the Garamond fonts have highly individualized features; they are shorter than the ascenders of lowercase letters. The lowercase, though, is more
like the original, as in the astoundingly small counter space in “a” and “e,” a noticeable feature in almost all of the adaptations. The Letter forms of Garamond are open and round, making the face extremely readable.
(Clockwise) Claude Garamond Book Cover. Type_Portrait Using Garamond. Book Cover. Garamond papercut. Engraved Garamond Capitals. Garamond Metal models.
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Gill Sans
G ill Sans is a “sans serif” typeface and designed by Eric Gill.
Type Specimen
It is also humanist sansserif typeface designed by Eric Gill in 1927 and first released in 1928. In typography, a sans serif is one that does not have the small features called “serifs” at the end of strokes. Eric Gill was commissioned by Cecil Dandridge (London and Northern Eastern Railway) to create a unique typeface for all the LNER’s posters and public material. Gill was a renowned sculptor, graphic artist and type designer; the Gill Sans type takes inspiration from Edward Johnston’s Johnston typeface for “London Underground”, which Gil had his apprenticeship with. Gill received instant notoriety when he received that commission to create that typeface for the LNER railway system. Soon it appeared on every facet of the company identity, from locomotive nameplates and station signage to restaurant
car menus, printed timetables and advertising posters. Edward Johnston & Rudolf Koch is referred to as the “Father of modern calligraphy”. He is most famous for the sans serif Johnston typeface. Eric Gill wanted to make the ultimate legible sans-serif text face, which became a design to function equally well as a text face and for display. You can find this typeface in system font in Mac OS X & in certain versions of Microsoft products as well as right now, the typeface I am using. Sans-serif fonts have become the de facto standard for body text onscreen, especially online. This is because interlaced displays may show twittering on the fine details of the horizontal serifs. Twittering can mean when the subject is shot (computer screen) contains vertical detail that approaches the horizontal
(Counter Clockwise) Font Marketplace Gill Sans. Gill Sans Metal Type. History of Gill Sans.
32 Type Specimen
Gill San
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
Aa B b G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890
36 pt
48 pt
24 pt
12 pt
mechanical feel than geometric sans serif like Futura because its proportions stemmed from Roman tradition; unlike the realist sans serif like Futura because its proportions stemmed from Roman tradition. There are many variant Gills Sans, for example; Gill sans (ALT Fig 1), Gill sans Infant/schoolbook,
favorite typeface, but Gill Sans is easy to read and a convenient typeface in the world.
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(Clockwise) Gill Sans Ad. Gill Sans Weights Different Weights and Sizes. Underground Logo.
Type Specimen
resolution of the video format or easily described as a constant vibrating screen. Before the Sans-serif became standard in English typography, many others were used which were referred to as Gothic, which is still used in east Asian typography and also recognized as Century Gothic in computer font selections. The Gill Sans typeface contains fourteen styles and has less of a mechanical feel than geometric sans serif like Futura, because its proportions stemmed from Roman tradition. Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed between 1924 and 1926 by Paul Renner; it is based on geometric shapes that became representative visual elements of the Bauhaus design style of 1919-1933. The upper case of Gill Sans is modeled on the monumental Roman capitals like those found on the Coolum of Trajan, and Caslon and Baskerville typefaces. The capital M from Gill Sans is based on the proportions of a square with the middle strokes meeting at the centre of that square. The Gill Sans typeface family contains fourteen styles and has less of a
Gill Outline, Gill Kayo Condensed, Gill Sans WGL and many more, there are even Arabic versions of the Gill sans. Gill Sans became Monotype’s (a typesetting and typeface design company, responsible for many developments in printing technology) fifth best selling typeface of the twentieth century. This typeface is widely used by prominent corporations (BBC, Nintendo, Philips, TNT, etc.) today; which are often being held to bring an artistic or cultural sensibility to corporate style. Just to name a few companies who still use the Gill Sans typeface for their company identity, Nintendo, Philips and TNT. Since 2006, there has been a shift away in the usage of the Gill Sans, for other fonts are used on-screen identities, mine being “verbena”. For myself, Gill Sans is not my
34 Type Specimen
G ill Sans is a “sans serif” typeface and designed by Eric Gill. It is also humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill in 1927 and first released in 1928. In typography, a
(Counter Clockwise) Gill Sans Type Specimen. Edward Johnston, London Underground a a a.
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Helvetica
Helvetica is among the most widely used sans-serif typefaces.
Type Specimen
In 1898, Berhold’s Akzidens Grotesk refined the sans serif pattern and created what became the popular twentieth century form. In general, sans serif types are sub-classified into three groups: geometric, calligraphic, and nineteenth century grotesques. Helvetica is categorized as one of the nineteenth-century grotesques along with other faces like Universe and ITC Franklin Gothic. In 1957, a Swiss typeface designer, Max Miedingerm, and Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas Typefoundry in Switzerland released New Haas Grotesk. New Haas Grotesk was made based on Akzidenz Grotesk, which was first released by the Berthold foundry. It synthesized the bland flavor yet exceptional legibility for a sans serif of Akzidenz Grotezk with a slightly more regular structure that
referenced the Purist geometric sans faces. In 1961, Stempel, the parent company of Haas in Frankfurt, redrew New Haas Grotesk and sold it for their customers in Germany with a new name, Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland. Soon, Helvetica become an icon of the International Style as its functional legibility and widespread availability- as well as the cachet of its “Swiss” name- combined to make it the sans serif choice of generation of typographers and graphic designers. The promotional text in a specimen sheet from Stempl says, “conceived in the Swiss typographic idiom, the new Helvetica offers an excitingly different tool to the American graphic designer and typographers. Here is not simply another sans serif type but carefully and judiciously considered refinement of the
(Counter Clockwise) Book Cover. Helvetica Type Specimen. Immigration to Canada Poster. Helvetica Poster.
36 Type Specimen
Helvetica
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz 1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \
36 pt
Aa Bb Gg Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 48 pt
Aa B b G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 24 pt
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 12 pt
also includes thin, light, heavy, black, extra black condensed, bold outline, and contour, among others. However, because they are developed by several designers, the family does
37 Type Specimen
letter form.” Following its introduction, Helvetica was distributed over Europe and then the United States. Helvetica came out as the typeface for business throughout the world. It is available everywhere, in every imaginable form. The most significant characteristics of Helvetica are the large x-height and the strong vertical stress. Similar style like Stanford, Folio, Venus, and even the ATF version of Franklin Gothic have shorter lowercase letters. Helvetica capitals are slightly more expanded than those found in faces like Folio or Univers. The two-tried “a” with curves of bowl and of stem is an easy identifier for Helvetica as well as narrow “t” and “f”, bracketed top serif of 1, rounded off square tailed “R”, slightly square-looking “s”, oblique tail of “Q”, and no spurred bottom of G. Helvetica is an easy to use well, and works with just about any other typestyle. Haas released only roman designs of Helvetica and it was four years after the first italics came out. Now, in addition to roman, medium, and bold face, the family
not have unity and order like Univers does. In 1983, Linotype released Neue Helvetica a new, more extensive version in 51 weights. Differences in alignment were corrected, subtle features were made consistent from one face to another, numbering system was organized, and all the weights and widths were designed to work together as one family.
(Clockwise) NYC Taffic Sings. New Haas Grotesk Copy. Directional Sings. Helvetica Specimen by Max Miedinger. Helvetica Type Specimen.
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Neuzeit
Type Specimen
One of the most important aspects of design is also the most frequently taken as an afterthought among designers.
Typography is widely taken for granted among those that don’t understand its importance, but the introduction of various type designers and type foundries throughout the world sought to change how we all view and use type. This takes us to the D. Stempel AG type foundry in the late 1920’s where Wilhel Pischner was called upon to create a sans serif typeface. DIN Neuzeit (German), which in English means “new times” became a staple amongst sans-serif typefaces and was later recreated by linotype in the 60’s. The beauty behind the success of Neuzeit is it’s no nonsense approach to its letter forms. With its pure lines and the shapes it creates within words it conveys the designers message with no additives. Having no distinguishable elements may seem like a drawback but
keeping in mind the times when it was created it was a refreshing take on typography that still holds its weight amongst sans-serif faces of this day and age. Because Neuzeits practicality and ease of use it was later graced with a version called DIN Neuzeit Grotesk. DIN (German) in English stands for The German Institute for Industrial Standards, this basically means it was used as a standard for various official prints such as newspapers and traffic signals.
(Clockwise) Neuzeit Type Specimen Samples. Form is Function. Neuzeit Type Weights.
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”?< >[ ]{ } \ 36 pt
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 48 pt
Aa B b G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 24 pt
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 12 pt
Type Specimen
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
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Neuzeit
40
Times
Type Specimen
Times New Roman was designed in 1932 by Stanley Morrison and Victor Lardent for a London newspaper called the Times.
The Times New Roman typeface is an original Linotype Corp. font. Stanley Morrison was born on May 6, 1889 in Wanstead, Essex, England. He was appointed the typographic advisor for Monotype Corporation in 1923. In that same year Morrison was also appointed typographic advisor to the Cambridge University Press. He also worked at the Pelican Press and the Cloister Press. Morrison suggested that a new font was need at the Times. Before Times New Roman the paper used fonts like Perpetua, Baskerville, and Plantin. Starting in 1931, based on sketches by Morrison, Victor Lardent designed the new typeface. This design was influenced by one of the rejected fonts above. Like Plantin, Times New Roman had a large x- height and short descenders. Plantin was a not as
narrow as Times. Times New Roman provides its users and readers with a lot of contrast. Its medium and even weight as well as its short ascenders and descenders characterize this typeface. It also has sharp small serifs. It’s legible and versatile and masculine face. It’s simple design and compact letter makes it a good typeface for offset work. Times New Roman is used in Bibles, fiction Children’s Books, Newspapers and Magazines, as well as in corporate communications. Since its first use in 1932 Times New Roman’s popularity has grown immensely. Today it is the most available and widely used typefaces. It is the automatic font for Microsoft word on many PC’s
(Clockwise) Times New Roman, English Monotype. Type Specimen Book Sample.
ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ
1234567890 !@#$%^&*()_+-= ,.;’:”? < >[ ] { } \ 36 pt
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 48 pt
Aa B b G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890 24 pt
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 12 pt
Type Specimen
abcdefg hijklmn opqrstu vwxyz
41
Times
42 Type Specimen (Clockwise) Times Weights. Time Magazine Cover. Stanley Morrison. Jon Tangerine Site.
Credit
Essays Type Specimen
Akzidenz Grotesk Hagar Vander
Gill Sans Mariko Kurobe
Baskerville Victor JImenez
Helvetica Nahomi Takada
Bodoni Sherese Cole
Neuzeit Castro Desroches
Caslon Kenneth Jansson
Times Ganiat Balogun
Century Schoolbook Shara Courier Alminar Sagar Franklin Gothic Eric Chang Futura David Vega Garamond Sheng Yu
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Courier
AaBbGg Jj MmQq 1234567890 Gill Sans
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890 Franklin Gothic
Aa Bb G g Jj Mm Q q 1234567890
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890
AaBbGg JjMmQq 1234567890
Futura
Garamond
Helvetica
Neuzeit
Times