Š 2015 Written and designed by Jennifer Evans & Kristina Bowman Art 430 - Typography III University of Maryland, Baltimore County
MASTER OF T H E D I G I TA L A G E
SUM NER
STO NE
CONTENTS 07 INTRODUCTION
09 BIOGRAPHY
15 ITC BODONI
29 SILICA
47 ITC STONE SANS
55 CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
INSIDE THIS BOOK Master of the Digital Age is an in-depth exploration of the life and work of esteemed type designer, Sumner Stone. Stone’s career in typography began during the dawn of digital media, and his contributions to type greatly impacted the way we use letterforms today. This book touches on his early days of learning calligraphy in college, to the creation of his first superfamily, and finally culminating at the launch of his namesake, Stone Type Foundry. This book showcases three key type families from his collection: ITC Bodoni – a hairline serif, ITC Stone Sans II – a sans serif, and Silica – a slab serif.
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BIOGRAPHY
UMNER STONE From his early days of learning calligraphy at Reed College, to the launch of his namesake type foundry, Sumner Stone bore witness to the digital revolution, carving his name into countless typefaces along the way.
Sumner Stone was born on June 9, 1945 in Venice, Florida. When he was 18 years old, he began attending Reed College, in Portland, Oregon. Stone’s interest in letterforms began during his undergrad years at Reed, where there was a tradition of students creating calligraphic banners for events across campus. Having never seen calligraphy before, Stone was enamored by the intricacies of these banners. Instantly, he wanted to know more about it. In 1967, Stone received his Bachelor’s Degree in sociology, though his true passion would quickly become lettering.
The summer after
graduation, he went on to take summer classes on calligraphy with the master of line work,
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Pages of Hermann Zapf ’s calligraphy for Hallmark Cards
Professor Lloyd Reynolds teaching calligraphy at Reed College
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Professor Lloyd Reynolds. At the end of
coast during that time. Hallmark had recently
the summer term, Stone saw a video about
acquired a phototypesetting machine, and
Hermann Zapf’s career at Hallmark Cards.
Stone began to learn the ins and outs of
Zapf was responsible for hand letter-
printed type. Quickly, Stone learned that
ing Hallmark’s greeting cards and books.
typography was simply not yet a feasible field
Stone was so inspired by Zapf’s skill that he
to pursue at that time, so he made the deci-
spent three months putting together a
sion to return to school to study a subject he
portfolio full of formal calligraphic pieces
could actually pursue, mathematics. Stone
to present to Hallmark in hopes of following
ended up going back to school part time and
in Zapf’s footsteps and landing a job for
in 1977 earned his Master’s from Sonoma State
himself. Impressed with Stone’s portfo-
University. During his years at Sonoma State,
lio, Hallmark hired him right away. Stone’s
he learned how to program computers and
time at Hallmark was when he truly became
used that skill to create computer graphics as
acquainted with typography, an entirely new
well as a program capable of designing high
concept that was not yet popular on the west
quality typefaces.
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The introduction of PostScript meant big things for font design. Letterforms could now be scaled infinitely without the loss of quality that typically occured with Bitmap fonts.
Stone’s handpicked design team at Adobe. Together, they created all the Adobe Originals fonts. L to R: Fred Brady, Robert Slimbach, Carol Twombly, and Jim Wasco.
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During the 1980’s, Stone bore witness to the
by innovation, steering away from the typical
digital revolution as typography began to
regurgitation of old fonts. This key position
gain ground across the country. In the early
put Stone’s name on the map and to this
1980s, Stone managed the type develop-
day is what he is best known for. Dur-
ment program at the company, Autologic
ing the era of Adobe, typography was
Information International, the first company
expanding and the need for high-quality
to manufacture a successful digital typeset-
digital fonts was on the rise. At this point,
ting machine. After leaving his job at Auto-
fonts were no longer solely for the design
logic, Stone began working for Camex, a
professional, but for the average computer
startup company in Boston that was respon-
user as well. As the focus at Adobe shifted
sible for the hardware and software for
away from creating typefaces and more onto
the type foundry, Bitstream. During his year
the commercial software end of the spec-
long stint at Camex, John Warnock, one of
trum, Stone felt it necessary to leave his
the co-founders of Adobe Systems contacted
position as Type Director and start his own
Stone regarding a job position working with
company. In 1990, Stone Type Foundry was
type. Adobe PostScript had just come out
formed. Over the years, Stone Type Foundry
and they needed someone to design
has created over 180 typefaces and count-
new fonts.
After contemplating it for a
less custom designs for a wide range of
day, Stone accepted the position. From
clientele. In addition to commissions, Stone
1984-1989, Stone served as the Director of
also spends his time creating custom type
Typography at Adobe Systems where he
faces for his own personal enrichment.
and his handpicked team of design-
Today, Stone continues to explore the defi-
ers created fonts for the Adobe Originals
nition of legibility and the manner in which
program. The Adobe Originals were fueled
typography reflects human culture.
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CHAPTER 1
ITC BODONI ITC Bodoni is a beautiful award-winning reinterpretation of Giambattista Bodoni’s renowned namesake typeface originally created during the eighteenth century. A member of the modern Didone Vox-ATypI classification, ITC Bodoni features a bold contrast of thick and thin strokes, complemented by a completely vertical stress. The x-height is tall and letterforms are slightly condensed. Hairline serifs and ball terminals add sophistication to the typeface, while tall ascenders and descenders provide balance. This typeface is known for its modern grandeur and many variations have been created that make it suitable for display or body text in both web and print applications. The entire ITC Bodoni family consists three optical sizes—“6” for captions and small reference text, “12” for large body text, and “72” for display and headlines. All three sizes come in book and bold weights, with italic counterparts, in addition to a swash version for 72.
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THE IDEA ITC Bodoni was an in-depth collaboration between Sumner Stone and his team, including Holly Goldsmith, Janice Prescott-Fishman, and Jim Parkinson in the early 1990’s. At this time, Bodoni revivals were nothing short of common, but Stone and his team
size in which it was intended to be displayed.
sought out to redesign Bodoni in ways no one
However, with the advancement of technol-
had done before, to actually bring this type-
ogy, the ability to present a typeface at any
face into the 21st century. Most of the Bodoni
size the user want was of utmost importance,
revivals of the 20th century were based on
so Stone and his team wanted to solve that
the type designs of Morris Fuller Benton of
problem. As a result, ITC Bodoni 6, 12, and 72
American Type Founders, but Stone felt that
were created -- three distinct size-specific ver-
despite their popularity, none of the previous
sions of the same font. Bodoni 72 possesses
Bodoni revivals truly captured the elegance
the bold stroke contrast and hairline serifs we
and variety of Giambattista Bodoni’s original
have come to know and love, while Bodoni 6
designs. The main problem with the existing
was designed with less contrast between the
typeface was its lack of versatility in sizing.
strokes and thicker, more solid serifs. The
He stressed the importance for a typeface to
optical sizing of ITC Bodoni made it possible
be highly legible both on-screen and in print.
for the user to present text at any point size
Unfortunately for the original Bodoni, each
without compromising the legibility. Though
character was cast in metal at the exact point
each optical size looks vastly different when compared side by side, they appear fundamentally the same when presented in their specified size range.
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THE CREATION The creation of ITC Bodoni began with a trip to Parma, Italy, where the team researched Bodoni’s original steel punches as inspiration for their own design. They started with ITC Bodoni six, and began sketching all the letterforms using Bodoni’s Filosofia as their inspiration. The real challenge was finding a perfect balance between creating something new while still maintaining an authentic antique style. They wanted to keep some of the irregularities of the hand-carved type without it feeling too manufactured and fake. Next, they designed Bodoni 72, the display face. They based their sketches for this size off of Bodoni’s Papale, while also consulting Bodoni’s Manuale Tipografico along the way. Stone had always placed an emphasis on beginning type development by sketching out all of his typefaces by hand. The traditional method of sketching has always been an important part of his design process, however, Bodoni 12 broke the mold. This size was not meticulously sketched and transferred to screen, but instead, was the result of the digital interpolation of Bodoni 6 and 72. After some tweaking, they were able to find a perfect middle ground between the two extremes, and at last Bodoni 12 was born.
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A few of Giambattista Bodoni’s original steel punches for Bodoni swash
A selection showing filosofia 3 from the Manuale Tipografico. It was the inspiration for ITC Bodoni 6.
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THE RESULT After years of labor, the magnificent, awardwinning ITC Bodoni was complete. Stone has stated that the usage of any particular typeface relies heavily on how it is marketed, and ITC Bodoni was no different. It gained significant exposure through his book, On Stone, as well as through advertisement of the typeface online. Over the years, ITC Bodoni has been used all over the web as well as in print. However, most Bodoni revivals are quite similar, so it is not always obvious which Bodoni revival you are looking at. Regardless, one thing is for sure, it sure is a beauty.
ITC Bodoni in an advertisement for Albers in Command
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BO DO NI
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
A COMPARISON Bodoni is the epitome of a modern typeface and many differences can be noted when compared to an old style typeface, such as Garamond. Garamond is a Classic Garald typeface created during the sixteenth century by French type designer, Claude Garamond. The Garamond typeface is known for its elegance and readability through the use of medium contrast and short x-height. The subtle variations in stroke width lend an organic appearance resembling that of human handwriting. Due to its remarklable legibility, it is a great typeface for setting body text. ITC Bodoni offers a much more clean and modern appearance, and looks great as a display face.
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u v s t w
K
L
l
m n o p
r
F G H I J
aramond
f g h i j
R
d
E
x
e
U V T S W
g y
k
X
Z A B C Y z a b c D
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q
M N O P
Q
OO ITC Bodoni
ITC Bodoni
Garamond
xx ITC Bodoni
HH
Garamond
Garamond
qb qb ITC Bodoni
Garamond
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow. ITC Bodoni
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow. Garamond
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THE DIFFERENCES Like ITC Bodoni, Garamond also features ball terminals, however, Garamond is much more conservative with their use. Ball terminals appear on twice as many characters of ITC Bodoni as Garamond, and are much more pronounced and rounded, whereas the ball terminals of Garamond are small and modest. ITC Bodoni’s ascenders are longer while the descenders are similar in length. ITC Bodoni also comes in twice as many styles as Garamond, which is only available in regular, bold, and italic. This is due to the multitude of fonts within the optical sizes of ITC Bodoni, it is like having three different typefaces in one. Garamond, on the other hand, has just this one typeface that is suitable for any point size. Legibility is Garamond’s strong suit, with thick serifs and a medium weight, it can survive even the smallest of sizes. Despite their stylistic differences, ITC Bodoni and Garamond have one grand thing in common; they are both revered in their class and have been that way for many years.
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THE FINAL VERDICT ITC Bodoni is a beautiful Bodoni revival born from a rich history and a desire for innovation. The three optical sizes of ITC Bodoni make it extremely versatile for any project and its sophisticated style assures the final result will look sharp. Sumner Stone and his team spent years on this typeface and the effort truly shows. From webpages to magazine editorials, ITC Bodoni reigns supreme in both web and print.
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CHAPTER 3
SILICA especially in the heavy serifs with no bracketing. Silica currently has 6 weights, ranging from “svelte extra light” to “commanding
OVERVIEW
black” although there is not an italic version at
Sumner Stone designed the typeface Silica in
this point in time.
1993, after he was inspired to create a typeface
According to one of Sumner Stone’s students,
that was “broad-shouldered and straight for-
James Minior of the MyFonts help desk team,
ward”. The Vox-ATypI classification system
“The lighter weights are useful for short pas-
successfully groups typefaces together based
sages of text. The heavier weights are a versa-
on their similar characteristics. This system
tile tool for setting headlines.” Silica was also
was created in 1954 and has eleven different
the first, and only, typeface that Sumner Stone
typeface categories todays. According to this
had created completely on the computer, from
system, a mechanistic typeface has principal
start to finish.
characteristics that consist of low contrast and rectangular slab serifs. This group may contain typefaces with bracketed serifs, such as clarendons or ionics, and typefaces with square or unbracketed serifs, such as Egyptians”. Based upon this description, Silica is most definitely an Egyptian mechanical typeface. These typefaces are also widely referred to as “Slab-Serif”. Silica’s mechanistic characteris-
“Sumner Stone’s Silica typeface family is an important – and particularly handsome – addition to the lineage of slab serif typefaces. It also perpetuates the Egyptian typestyle tradition of versatility and candor.”
tics can be seen in its old style proportions,
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STONE’S FIRST SLAB SERIF Since opening up his type foundry, Stone has only designed a few personal typefaces. In 1993, Sumner Stone completed his first ever Slab Serif typeface design, known as Silica. He was highly intrigued by this typeface because it was the only typeface that he designed completely via the computer. Silica is also his only Mechanical Slab Serif font to date. He took particular pride in
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this font because it was both challenging
Throughout his career, Sumner Stone has
and rewarding on a level that he had never
taught many classes on typography and is
experienced before, especially because he
currently teaching type design courses and
drew the entire font on screen. This font
workshops at Cooper Union. He also works
took him 2 years to design. For this typeface,
as an author and writes books and articles on
“Stone went overboard on the process known
typography when he isn’t working, teaching
as kerning. Stone says he kerned 6,000
or designing typefaces of his own. To date,
different character combinations before
he has designed over 180 typefaces under a
releasing it to the public.”
handful of different circumstances.
“Stone was highly intrigued by this typeface because it was the only typeface that he designed completely via the computer.
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SILICA VS HELVETICA When comparing the slab-serif font of Silica with Helvetica, a sans serif font, there are many similarities and differences visible. The ending terminals of these two typefaces differ greatly, mainly due to the concept that Helvetica does not have serifs, whereas Silica does. Other attributes to consider are that Helvetica’s letters are very linear in characteristic, whereas Silica’s are more rounded and fluid. Helvetica has a much taller x-height than Silica, although the letter width is very similar between the two font faces. Let’s delve deeper into the letterforms in order to disect the differences and similarites between the two.
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bb SILICA
HELVETICA
LET’S CONTRAST
Specifically, lets examine the lowercase letter
out from the top left at a slant, whereas the
“b”. This letterform in the Helvetica typeface
letterform in Helvetica is complete sans-serif
has a taller x-height and consequently a taller
and contains no serifs whatsoever. Overall,
counter. Because of this, the counter is more
Silica’s counters are much shorter and the
oval, where as the counter of this letterform
leterforms contain sharper edges and serifs,
in the Silica typeface is more evenly rounded
whereas Helvetica has much smoother and
into a circle and much smaller overall. The
clean cut lines that create a rounder look and
ascender of the “b” of Silica has a rectangular
the overall x-height of each individual letters
slab serif that comes
is much taller and clean cut.
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SILICA VS. GARAMOND There are many things to discuss when comparing and contrasting Silica with the serif typeface known as Garamond. These two typefaces have similar x-height and similar construction of each letterform. However, the ending terminals of Silica tend to be rectangular and sharp, where as Garamond is freer flowing with a variation of more roundedness in certain areas. Overall, the letter width of Silica is wider than that of Garamond, especially in the uppercase letters.
LET’S COMPARE Let’s compare and contrast the uppercase letterform “M”. With the Garamond letter form, the stems of the M tend to curve slightly upwards on the serifs at the top of the letterforms, whereas the serifs of the stems at the top of the “M” are completely straight and horizontal with Silica. Likewise, the bottom of the mainstroke in the center of the M is flattened to a straight line with Silica, whereas it is rounded to a point with Garamond. Finally, the overall width of the “M” is wider in Silica than it is in Garamond
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M M SILICA
GARAMOND
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WHY SILICA? Sumner Stone has had an ever-blossoming passion for typography and calligraphy since his college days. He is constantly making new typefaces for clients or for purely out of his love of designing type. In an article written in 2014, Stone’s interest in type design was summarized through the statement, “Stones pure passion for designing type is one of the biggest reasons, or ‘needs’ so to speak in which these letters were made in response to. There was never a challenge in which he was faced that caused him to design Silica, it was more of a determination.” His determination to make his very first typeface that falls into the mechanical slab-serif section as well as his determination to make his first typeface that was designed 100% digitally. The entire two-year process of designing Silica proved to be a monumental struggle for Stone, but it also proved to be a great reward when he finally succeeded in doing so.
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S I
FC D T Q R B YA S JZ L EM O K XG W E ON P A M HU SX CS MJ U B S E KS T Q Q V G U W I O AP L F ZX
I
T
V
Y
O
Y
K
H
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A poster from the Stone Type Foundry showing the varying weighsts of Silica.
A demonstration of the variety that Silica has to offer.
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VERSATILITY One could also argue that Silica was designed by Stone in response to societies ever-growing desire and interest in new font faces that can be appropriately used in all areas of design, ranging from book design to headlines. Silica is based off of the “proportions and ductus of a renaissance book”.
Silica was designed as a general-
purpose font containing six weights that are all up right. The heavier weights of Silica are useful “for short passages of text” whereas the heavier weights are “a versatile took for setting headlines”. Silica was also designed so that the overall letterforms would not be negatively affected by vertical scaling. This means that the typeface was designed in a way that would allow for the designers using this typeface to shrink or expand the width of the type without negatively affect the overall proportions and appearance of the letterforms. These letterforms would still be able to stay true to their characteristics. All of these factors make Silica a very versatile typeface that can be used for many things.
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FACING THE CHALLENGES To this day, Silica is used all over the world for a variety of design projects. Silica can be seen acting as the font of choice in printed letterpress posters, catalogues, business cards, magazine covers and much more. The rectangular slab serifs make the individual letterforms very easy to read and also allow for maximum user readability when they are put together to form words and sentences. This specific typeface can successfully help any designer of today’s age who has faced the challenge of finding a modern typeface that is both beautiful and user-friendly all in one package. Likewise, it eases the readability of paragraph text and can be very eye catching and attractive when blown up at larger portions and used as display fonts.
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Silica as the display face for Money Magazine.
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Examples of Silica being used in print media, including the license voucher for this typeface, as well as the different font weights and other designs.
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TECHNOLOGY The tehnology used to make the letterforms of this typeface influenced their design immensely. Silica font face was designed completely on screen. This was Stone’s first time ever designing a typeface digitally. He did not construct any drawings or sketches throughout the entire process, yet he relied solely on his designs on the computer. Slab serif typefaces were widely popular in the early 1900’s and didn’t become popular again until the 1990’s, when Stone took it upon himself to add this typeface design to his collection in 1993. Consequently, this was one of the first mechanical slab serif font faces that was designed completely for web, keeping up with the advancements of today’s digital age. Designing this font face on the computer allows for Silica to be used in many formats, whether it’s for the web or for print, and whether it is at small point size for magazines or large point size for Billboards. Today, there are licenses to use the font for many different mediums, including desktop fonts, web font subscriptions, mobile apps, electronic publications, and server licenses.
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SILICA’S CONCLUSION Sumner Stone is very experienced and versatile in his range of letter making abilities. He started out studying calligraphy in college and has since then adapted his type designs to comply with the changes in areas such as technology, politics and aesthetics. The Stone Type Foundry has designed over a hundred typefaces, all of them relating to a specific aesthetic. Examples include some of his most popular typefaces, Stone Stans, Bodoni ITC, Arepo and Magma. An individual typeface may be designed to specifically withstand the changes in today’s digital word, especially Silica. The fact that Silica was designed on a computer allows for it to be formatted in many ways. This font can be used on all technological devices and pleases the aesthetic preferences of many.
In conclusion, the letterforms that make up the Silica typeface are still widely used today. They can be seen almost anywhere you can think of, ranging from smaller sizes in book and magazine design, to larger sizes in billboard and posters design. This does not differ from what the type designer, Sumner Stone, had intended. Instead, the outcome is actually exactly what Sumner Stone had hoped for: A type design that could prosper in today’s digital age. To this day, Silica is still Sumner Stone’s only mechanical slab-serif typeface and it was the first typeface that he designed on the computer.
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“
{
“
The outcome is actually exactly what Sumner Stone had hoped for: A type design that could prosper in today’s digital age.
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CHAPTER 3
ITC STONE SANS II ITC Stone Sans II is a lineal humanist sans
Delving deeper into the Stone superfamily,
serif that was designed by Sumner Stone
ITC Stone Sans II is an upgrade to the origi-
during his time as Director of Typography at
nal Stone Sans family, released in 2005 and
Adobe Systems. ITC Stone Sans II is part of
reformulated with a larger variety of weights
the ITC Stone superfamily of typefaces, which
and styles, including condensed, for a broader
consists of four subfamilies— ITC Stone Serif,
range of applications. The Stone superfam-
ITC Stone Sans, ITC Stone Humanist and
ily had been greatly popular over the years,
ITC Stone Informal. The ITC Stone superfam-
but left users wanting more. After twenty
ily, released in 1987, was the very first super-
years, Sumner Stone gave the users what they
family designed for Adobe PostScript. The
wanted, 24 new styles of Stone Sans II, includ-
Stone superfamily was created to work just as
ing six different weights, from light to extra
well on low-resolutions printers as it would on
bold, with complementary italic and con-
high-resolution imagesetters. In the midst of
densed styles for each weight.
the explosion of desktop publishing, the Stone superfamily was exactly what users needed. The ITC Stone superfamily was created using the same planning process that Adrian Frutiger used while creating Univers—thinking of the design as a whole to ensure cohesion throughout.
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THE REDESIGN ITC Stone Sans II was designed by Sumner Stone in 2010 as a redesign of the first version of this typeface. These letters were made in response to the need for the first version to be tweaked and edited to create a cleaner and sharper appearance. ITC Stone Sans I was designed by Stone in 1987 “for legibility when printed on low-resolution output devices, such as laser-printers.” Stone wanted to update this typeface that bears his name. His original plan was to go in and edit a few elements of the typeface, but then quickly decided that this twenty-year-old font would benefit from a complete makeover, ranging from the alteration of letter widths to “refinements of character shapes.” Once the redesign of his ITC Stone Sans was complete, Stone was happy with the outcome. “ITC Stone Sans II builds on the earlier ITC Stone Sans design to provide a highly attractive and even more versatile typeface family.” In 2010, it was uploaded to the web and is now available for purchasing and licensing to use at the hands of any one with a computer and access to the font.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES The technology used to make these letters influenced their design in that it allowed for new alterations to be made. Because this font had been around for 20 years, Stone was able to go in and alter the font and use prior records to completely remake and renew this font. Today’s technology and access to a variety of advanced programs on the computer definitely helped make this process so successful for Stone. Today, ITC Stone Sans II is available for every popular technological device there is, and is most commonly accessed via the Internet. “Over time, Stone Sans has emerged as the godfather of the family, a powerful design used for everything from fine books, annual reports and corporate identity programs, to restaurant menus, movie credits and advertising campaigns.”
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A COMPARISON When compared with the sans serif typeface, Helvetica, created by Max Miedinger in 1957, quite a number of differences can be noted. Helvetica is a lineal neo-grotesque sans serif typeface, known for its perfect proportions and uniform stroke weight. Stone Sans II, on the other hand, is a lineal humanist sans serif, with slight contrast in stroke weight, and a style reminiscent of the human hand. While Stone Sans and Helvetica have similar x-heights, Stone Sans tends to have longer ascenders and descenders, making certain letterforms like lowercase b, d, h, l, appear taller. Stone Sans and Helvetica both use a repetition of shapes and forms to create consistency throughout the entire alphabet. This repetition can be seen in rounded forms, such as lowercase b, c, d, e, g, o, and q. While the letter O is almost identical in both typefaces, the rounded forms of Helvetica appear slightly tighter and more condensed, while Stone Sans appears wider. Stone Sans also displays a wider aperture on forms such as a, e, g, and s. Stone Sans also applies Humanist characteristics to its strokes, as compared to Helvetica’s strict horizontal and vertical stroke termination. This aspect can be seen on letters K, V, W, X, and Y. The ending strokes do not lay flush with the baseline, but instead, are cut on a 45º angle.
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helvetica
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdef ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ax ax ITC Stone Sans
Helvetica
dpqb dpqb ITC Stone Sans
Helvetica
How quickly daft jumping zebras vex. ITC Stone Sans
How quickly daft jumping zebras vex. Helvetica
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ITC Stone Sans has gained global popularity, from the National Geographic channel logo to signage in German airports
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THE QUIRKS Though many consider Helvetica the perfect sans serif, there are no characters in particular that stand out as being very specifically true only to Helvetica. Stone Sans on the other
G
hand, has a few letters that break the mold in terms of consistency, but in turn make it more identifiable. Inconsistencies can be seen in forms such as uppercase G and P. The G lacks a spur or cross stroke, making it easy to identify when compared to other sans serif typefaces. The capital P also has its quirks as well, in the form of an open counter, which is inconsistent with any other letterform in the Stone Sans alphabet. This idiosyncrasy with the letter G has earned it fame as the typeface
P
used for the National Geographic channel logo. ITC Stone Sans, and the entire Stone superfamily are a beautiful, groundbreaking type family that has been used in a wide range of designs, from books, to corporate identity, and menus to advertisements. It is fantastically versatile and will remain popular for many years to come.
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“If you really want letter forms to
last forever, you have to carve them in stone
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CONCLUSION
FINAL WORDS Since the late 1960s, Sumner Stone has created countless typefaces that have profoundly influenced the world of type design today. ITC Bodoni, Silica, and ITC Stone Sans II were just a few of our favorites, but his list of typefaces is ever-expanding. In the early 2000s, Stone escaped the clenching grips of suburbia and moved to the California countryside to surround himself with nature. Today, Stone continues to run Stone Type Foundry from rural Guinda, California where he is able care for his walnut orchard and community garden in addition to running his freelance business. He has even brought some of his design work right into his own backyard, creating signs for local organic farmers and musicians. Stone may have finally settled down into a more quiet lifestyle, but his typefaces will continue to speak volumes about his talent for many years to come.
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Bibliography “About Sumner Stone.” Stone Type Foundry. http://www.stonetypefoundry.com/. Berry, John. “Dot-font: Type Tradition in a Digital Age.” CreativePro.com. July 20, 2001. Accessed March 23, 2015. http://www.creativepro.com/article/dot-font-type-tradition-a-digital-age. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “Giambattista Bodoni”, accessed March 25, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/71084/GiambattistaBodoni. Evans, Karin. “A New Type of Challenge.” Reed Magazine - Alumni Profiles. Winter 2007. Accessed March 14, 2015. http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/winter2007/columns/ alumni_profiles/new_type.html. “Font Designer – Sumner Stone.” Linotype. Accessed February 27, 2015. http://www.linotype.com/562-34210/interview.html. “Helvetica History.” Fonts.com. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/helvetica. “ITC Bodoni Twelve History.” Fonts.com. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://www.fonts.com/font/itc/itc-bodoni-twelve#product_top. “ITC Stone Sans Std Typeface Notes.” Adobe. Accessed March 3, 2015. https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/html/index.cfm?event=displayFont Package&code=1085. “ITC Stone Sans.” Identifont. Accessed March 26, 2015. “ITC Stone Sans II.” Linotype Font News. Accessed March 1, 2015. http://www.linotype.com/6229/itcstonesansii.html. “Just What Makes a “Garamond” a Garamond?” Linotype. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://www.linotype.com/en/3474/garamondfontfeature.html. Minior, James, and Jan Middendorp, eds. “Sumner Stone.” Creative Characters, August 1, 2014.
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“Monotype Introduces Sumner Stone’s Newest Addition to His Magma Superfamily: Magma II.” Monotype. September 4, 2014. Accessed March 23, 2015. http://ir.monotype.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-releasedetails/2014/Monotype-Introduces-Sumner-Stones-Newest-Addition-to-hisMagma-Superfamily-Magma-II/default.aspx. Norton, Danielle. “Monotype Imaging Adds the New ITC Stone Sans II Family to Its ITC Typeface Collection.” Typophile. February 3, 2010. Accessed March 1, 2015. http://typophile.com/node/66963. Riggs, Tamye. “The Adobe Originals Silver Anniversary Story: Sumner Stone Paves the Way for a Renaissance in Type Design.” Adobe Typekit Blog. May 30, 2014. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://blog.typekit.com/2014/05/30/the-adobe-originalssilver-anniversary-story-sumner-stone-paves-the-way-for-a-renaissance-in-typedesign/. Sherman, Nick. “Sumner Stone.” Type Legends. Type Directors Club. 2013. Video. https://vimeo.com/50347948 “Silica.” Fonts. January 1, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2015. Sine, Richard. “Type Minds.” Metroactive News & Issues. August 1, 1996. Accessed March 20, 2015. Stone, Sumner. “About Sumner Stone.” Stone Type Foundry. Accessed March 5, 2015. http://www.stonetypefoundry.com Strizver, Ilene. “Type Families.” Fonts. Accessed February 27, 2015. http://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fyti/typefaces/families.
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