Mrs Eaves Type Specimen by Emma Comtois

E mrs eaves a type specimen

mrs

eaves a cheeky, yet charming type specimen

ther eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s m e! r o

contents table of

1 3-4

Who is Mrs Eaves? History: The Typeface & The Designer

Weights

Numbers & Symbols

9-10

Variations

11-12

Anatomy

13-14

Selected Ligatures

Foundry & Purchase

Colophon

who is mrs eaves?

rs Eaves is the charming younger cousin of Baskerville. She could be compared to Violet Crowley of Downton Abbey, proper with several flaws, but always charming. While he is known to be “snobby” and “very perfect,” Mrs Eaves is characterized by her “homely charm.” Baskerville is the ultimate transitional type; he was “pivotal” between the old style and modern type. While he remains respected among professionals, the tastes and habits of regular folk changed. After repeated exposure to different typographic features, even “more so than by any measurable physical characteristics,” people grew tired of extreme variation in stroke widths. Mrs Eaves was designed to combat these negative feelings toward Baskerville and pay homage to the type’s best characteristics including his “openness” and “lightness.” She is reminiscent of the past, while bringing a modern flair.

however, she retains her sass.

“I’m a

woman. I can be as contrary as I choose.”

mrs eaves italic

the history the typeface

rs Eaves is a transitional serif typeface designed by Zuzana Licko in 1996 for Emigre Fonts. It was designed as a revival of the beloved type, Baskerville. Mrs Eaves is named after Sarah Eaves, John Baskerville’s mistress and eventual second wife. She began as his live-in maid. But just as Baskerville’s typefaces were controversial, his personal life was no different. After Mrs. Eaves’ husband abandoned her and her five children, she became Baskerville’s mistress until they later married. She is one of the “most forgotten women in the history of typography.” Licko reimagined Baskerville for a modern user by remedying some of the controversies with the original. He was known for his “sterile” type, which was highly criticized by his fellow typographers. His glyphs were perfect, but lacked any charm, said D.B. Updike, a typography historian.

Critics claimed Baskerville was trying to “blind his readers” with his use of intense stroke variation. However, designers began to see the value in this approach to typography. This is seen as the true break point between old style and modern type. Licko addressed the major criticism, extreme stroke variation, with Mrs Eaves. In order to maintain “openness and lightness,” the lowercase letters have wider proportions, while the x-height is reduced. This means the text appears about one point size smaller than an average typeface. Mrs Eaves is not the perfect revival. She has her flaws, just as any typeface does. The kerning and word spacing is very loose, which makes it difficult to work with at longer lengths. However, her legibility is improved with her extensive portfolio of ligatures (213 to be exact). Mrs Eaves is a bit cheeky, but always charming.

she’s refined and beautiful, yet easy to read. 3

of … the designer

uzana Licko thinks “much of the criticism Baskerville received for his work was fueled by type snobbery and professional jealousy.” This type designer was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1961 before moving to the United States in 1968. She graduated with a degree in graphic communications from the University of California at Berkeley. She founded Emigre Magazine in 1984 alongside her husband, fellow designer Rudy VanderLans, in the San Francisco area. The magazine received critical acclaim as Licko began to incorporate digital typefaces she designed with her first edition Macintosh computer. She was one of the first graphic designers to begin experimenting with digital type design. She had found her calling. In fact, she claims, “I thoroughly enjoyed the limitations of the early technology.”

This success caused her and her husband to expand their business and open the type foundry, Emigre Fonts. It now licenses typefaces of graphic designers from all over the world. She has assumed the role of a typographic curator in order to protect the name of Emigre Fonts. In 2011, five digital typefaces from the Emigre Type Library were acquired by MoMA New York for their design and architecture collection. Licko and her husband have won the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design and the Charles Nypels Award for excellence in typography. The duo has also won the American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal Award. In 2010, the Emigre team was inducted as Honorary members of the Society of Typographic Arts, Chicago. In 2013, Licko won the Annual Typography Award from the Society of Typographic Aficionados.

zuzana lives in california & continues to reimagine type. 4

“It’s true I think a

woman’s place is eventually in the home, but there isn’t much harm in her having

a little fun before she gets there.”

mrs eaves roman

the weights In Roman she is lovely Mrs Eaves Roman

In Italic she is breathtaking Mrs Eaves Roman Italic

In Bold she is proper Mrs Eaves Bold

In Bold Italic she is beautiful Mrs Eaves Bold Italic

In Roman Lining she is fetching Mrs Eaves Roman Lining

in roman petite caps she is refined mrs eaves roman petite caps

in small caps she is delightful mrs eaves roman small caps

the numbers & symbols Mrs Eaves would never have…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pieces of cake

but she may consider…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cups of tea

Could you even imagine…

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“I’m not a romantic, but even I concede

the heart does not exist solely for the purpose to pump blood.”

mrs eaves bold italic

the variations

In Mrs Eaves XL she is often witty Mrs Eaves XL Serif Regular

Other times she is even-tempered Mrs Eaves XL Serif Regular Italic

But sometimes she is blunt Mrs Eaves XL Serif Bold

She is always a bit sassy Mrs Eaves XL Serif Bold Italic

And consistently cheeky Mrs Eaves XL Serif Heavy

But endearing nonetheless Mrs Eaves XL Serif Heavy Italic

In Mrs Eaves XL Narrow she will surprise Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Regular

But constantly entertain Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Regular Italic

As she captivates Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Bold

And enchants her audience Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Bold Italic

Someone is always enamored Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Heavy

When first meeting Mrs Eaves Mrs Eaves XL Serif Narrow Heavy Italic

the anatomy Rounded tittle

Consistent stroke width

Vulgarity is no su Average cap height

Loop on lowercase two-story g does not close

Loose spacing

other identifying features Swash-like tail on uppercase Q

High crossbar on uppercase A

Q ae A T Small eye on italic lowercase e compared to italic closed counter on lowercase a

Wide arms on uppercase T

Small closed eye

No middle serif on w

ubstitute for wit. Thick spine

Rounded ball terminal

Short x-height

baskerville vs. mrs eaves Intense stroke width variation

Taller x-height

Larger eye on lowercase e

Baskerville Baskerville Smaller counter on lowercase a

Rounder brackets on serif

baskerville regular, 65 pts.

mrs eaves roman, 65 pts. 12

ae ct fiAA ip cky it 13

ctipgify ee st

ff OO selected ligatures 14

the foundry & pricing

migre, Inc. is a foundry based in Berkeley, California. Husband and wife duo, Rudy VanderLans and Zuzana Licko were early adopters of the Macintosh and used it to create digital type, Emigre Fontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specialty. The studio published Emigre Magazine, which was devoted to visual communication. However, the magazine stopped producing new issues in 2005 and Emigre devoted itself completely to growing the curated Emigre Fonts Library, which now is home to over 600 typefaces. The studio can be reached at 1700 Shattuck Ave., #307, on the phone at 530.756.2900 or over email at info@emigre.com. Mrs Eaves can be purchased on emigre.com, myfonts.com, fontshop.com and fontspring.com. Prices start at $39 per weight for desktop and web fonts. The Mrs Eaves family can be purchased for $299. The small caps and petite small caps family can be purchased as add-ons at $39 apiece. This typeface is also available for Central European users. The other Mrs Eaves families including Mrs Eaves Sans, Mrs Eaves XL Serif and Mrs Eaves XL Sans, are available as families or single weights.

she is worth it. 15

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are a woman

with a brain

reasonable ability.

Stop whining and find something to do.â&#x20AC;? mrs eaves bold

s r M e v a E

ses

the colophon Created with the help of: Mac OS Sierra 10.12.3 Adobe InDesign CC Inspiration: Behance • Pinterest • Typewolf Sources: Emigre • PBS Masterpiece Newhouse labs and printers Approximately 6 cups of coffee One new Netflix series playing in the background and John Mayer’s “The Search for Everything”

ou bidsdyieu! a

Acknowledgments GRA 437 Typographic Design Professor Claudia Strong S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications