Meta by Emily Luken

META

META META 1

THE TYPE DESIGNER

TYPOM I have been suffering from

MANIA all my life, a disease that is incurable, but not fatal. —Erik Speikermann

Erik Spiekermann, born in 1947, calls himself an information architect. He is exceptionally skilled and prolific as a writer and graphic designer, but his greatest interest and passion is in typeface design. Even as a child, Spiekermann was drawn to typography, and eager to work with type. “I had a little printing press and taught myself to set type when I was twelve,” he recalls. “Years later, when I went to university to study art history, I made a living as a letterpress printer and hot metal typesetter.” In 1979, Speikermann founded MetaDesign, Germany’s largest design firm. In 1988, he started FontShop, a digital typeface foundry and distributor of fonts. His book, Stop Stealing Sheep, first published in 1993, has sold over 150,000 copies and is currently in its second edition. In 2007, he became the first designer to be elected into the Hall of Fame by the European 1

Design Awards for Communication Design. The German Design Council gave Speikermann their 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest award in Germany. Speikermann is currently a professor at the Academy of Arts in Bremen, the vice president of the German Design council, the president of the International Institute of Information Design, the president of the International Society of Typographic Designers, and a board member of ATypI. He also runs Edenspiekermann, a branding firm with offices in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Stuttgart & San Francisco. Speikermann has designed FF Meta and ITC Officina, among other typefaces. When it comes to typeface design, Spiekermann sees himself as more of a problem solver than an artist. His process for beginning a new typeface is simple and straightforward. “Identify a problem — like space saving, bad paper, low resolution, on– screen use — then find typefaces that almost work but could be improved,” he explains. “Study them. Note the approaches and failings. Sleep on it, then start sketching without looking at anything else.”

This alphabet is set in FF Meta Roman. Meta is one of the most innovative and popular typefaces designed by Erik Speikermann.

A I Q Y c m

ABCDEFGH IJKLMNOPQ QRSTUVWX YZWXYZab cdefghijklm mnopqrstu 3

HISTORY OF THE TYPEFACE

UBIQU Most people who use Helvetica, use it because it’s

In 1984, the German State Post Office, the Budespost, was persuaded by Erik Spiekermann of MetaDesign to commission a new, exclusive font for use on all of the Budespost’s printed material. The aim of the project, which began in 1985, 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. The face was to be neutral, space – saving, legible when printed very small on a postage stamp, but also appropriate for use on mailboxes and trucks. Although the font was digitized, tested, and aproved in the summer of 1985, the project was canceled. The Bundespost returned to using one of its many previous typefaces, Helvetica, assuming that digital type would not catch on.

UITOUS MOST PEOPLE WHO USE HELVETICA, USE IT BECAUSE IT’S

It’s like going to Mcdonald’s instead of thinking about food. Because it’s there, it’s on the street corner, so let’s eat crap because it’s on the corner. —Erik Speikermann

In 1989, after design software made creating new fonts more efficient, MetaDesign refined the Bundespost typeface for its own exclusive use, renaming it Meta. Initially, Meta was just used for in – house projects, but soon MetaDesign began to use it in mail – order catalogs for FontShop, a digital type foundry, cofounded by Erik Spiekermann. FontShop encouraged the parent company to license the face. Released as FF Meta, it has become one of the most successful typefaces available from FonFont, a subsidiary of FontShop. According to Speikermann, FF Meta was intended to be a “complete antithesis” of Helvetica (the quintessential modern typeface, which he finds to be “boring and bland”). After it was realeased, Meta became hugely popular and is often referred to as the Helvetica of the 1990s. 5

E Cv R Q M b CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPARISONS

Angled finials on the top strokes of the E, F, and G

Angled finials at both ends of the C and S

Finials of the v, w, and y are slightly bent at the top

Stems of the m, n, p, and q are slightly bent at the top

Apices are flat

Ascenders of the b, k, h, and l are slightly bent at the top

K R

The K has one junction

W Q z Leg of the R is slightly curved

Junction and base of the W are flat

Spur of the u is slightly bent

Top finial of the z is upright and bottom finial is angled

Tail of the Q is wavy

M y y

ll Slightly curved tail

META FUTURA

META

FUTURA

Horizontal finial

A real typeface needs rhythm, needs contrast, it comes from handwriting, and that’s why I can read your handwriting, you can read mine. And I’m sure our handwriting is miles away from Helvetica or anything that would be considered legible, but we can read it, because there’s a

RHYTHM to it, there’s a contrast to it. Helvetica hasn’t got any of that. —Erik Speikermann

This book about FF Meta was designed by Emily Luken, a sophomore in Communication Design at Washington University in St. Louis. It was created for a typogrpahy course. It was completed on April 29, 2013, and printed on an HP Color Laser Jet CP6015x printer. Emily used the typefaces Baskerville MT and FF Meta in the design of this book. She prefers Meta to Helvetica in most typogrpahic situations, but recognizes that Helvetica has its uses, too.

KICKS

I just get a total kick out of it: they are my friends. Other people look at bottles of wine or whatever, or, you know, girls’ bottoms. I get

out of looking at type. It’s a little worrying, I admit, but it’s a very nerdish thing to do. —Erik Speikermann

—Erik Speikermann

References 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. Bibliography “Erik Spiekermann.” Observer Media. The Design Observer Group, 2 Mar. 12. Web. 10 Apr. 13. “Erik Spiekermann.” MoMA.org. The Museum of Modern Art, 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. 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) Spiekermann, Erik and Ginger, E.M. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find out how Type Works. USA: Hayden, 1993. (Vault) Spiekermann, Erik. “SpiekerBlog.” Spiekerblog RSS. WordPress, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Sweet, Fay. MetaDesign: Design from the Word up. New York: Watson– Guptil Publications, 1999. (A&A: VNC999.6.G4 M48 1999 and Vault) http://www.linotype.com http://www.fonts.com http://www.fontfont.com http://www.typography.com