The Anatomy of Letters

Assignment One:

The Anatomy of Letters GDES 1015-009 Jercy David Oct 1, 2015

Part one:

Letter Anatomy

Rockwell Regular characteristics: • Slab Serif typeface • stroke width consistent throughout letter; no stroke variation; weight of serif is the same weight as the rest of the letter • no vertical stress • bracket connecting serif to stem is a sharp angle; abrupt bracket

Malaga Regular Italic characteristics: • Old Style Serif font • typeface is italicized, as shown by the counters’ vertical stresses • both counters in lowercase “g” are closed • some variation between stroke width throughout letter

Whitney Bold characteristics: • Geometric Sans Serif font • no vertical stress • stroke width consistent throughout letter; no stroke variation • bowl of uppercase “Q” is almost a perfect circle

Mrs. Eaves Italic characteristics: • Transitional Serif font • typeface is italicized • stroke variation; arm and leg of uppcase “K” have thinner stroke widths than the stem • brackets connecting serif to stem are curved; gradual brackets

Buttermilk Regular characteristics: • Script font • typeface is italicized, as shown by the counter’s vertical stress • stroke variation throughout letter • looks similar to cursive handwriting

Gotham Bold characteristics: • Grotesque Sans Serif font • stroke width consistent throughout letter; little/no stroke variation • terminals are all horizontally cut

Buttermilk Regular characteristics: • Script font • stroke variation throughout letter • typeface is on an angle, similar to how a hand holds a pen • looks similar to cursive handwriting

Trajan Pro Bold characteristics: • Old Style Serif font • stroke variation; stems, crossbar, and serifs are in different stroke widths • brackets connecting serif to stems are curved; gradual brackets

Malaga Regular Italic characteristics: • Old Style Serif font • typeface is italicized • some variation between stroke width throughout letter • brackets connecting serif to stems are sharp angles; abrupt brackets

Part two:

Letter comparison

Original tracing paper scans

Close Ups — Ear of lowercase “g”

Adobe Jenson Bold • Old Style Serif typeface • ear of the “g” is rectangular in shape • gradual bracket connecting to the bowl of the “g”

Mrs. Eaves Italic • Transitional Serif typeface • ear of the “g” is very round; similar to finials of other letters • abrupt brackets connecting to the bowl of the “g” Similarities bewteen all letters: • vertical stress found in lowercase “g” of all typefaces • stroke weights vary between all tyefaces • Mrs. Eaves Italic and Adobe Caslon Regular both have rounded/circular ears

Adobe Caslon Regular • Old Style Serif typeface • ear of the “g” is very round; similar to finials of other letters • abrupt brackets connecting to the bowl of the “g”

Differences between all letters: • Adobe Jenson Bold doesn’t share a circular ear like Mrs. Eaves Italic and Adobe Caslon Regular • Adobe Jenson Bold has a gradual bracket, unlikes Mrs. Eaves Italic’s and Adobe Caslon Regular’s abrupt brackets

Close Ups (cont.) — Spine of uppcase “S”

Memorian Pro • Script typeface • spine is very heavy in stroke weight • spine weight is the thickest compared to the rest of the letter’s stroke weight

Rockwell Regular • Slab Serif typeface • spine is same weight as the rest of the letter • serif is the same weight as the spine Similarities bewteen all letters: • Memorian Pro and Buttermilk Regular vary in stroke weight throughout the letter • Memorian Pro and Buttermilk Regular have finials at the end of the “S”

Buttermilk Regular • Script typeface • spine is heavy in stroke weight • spine weight is the thickest compared to the rest of the letter’s stroke weight

Differences between all letters: • Rockwell Regular has the same stroke weight throughout the letter, unlike Memorian Pro and Buttermilk Regular • Rockwell Regular ends in serifs, while Memorian Pro and Buttermilk Regular end in finials

Close Ups (cont.) — Tail of uppercase “Q”

Mrs. Eaves Italic • Transitional Serif typeface • tail of the “Q” is very elaborate and script-like • tail is very elongated, reaching beyonce the letter width

Rockwell Regular • Slab Serif typeface • stroke weight in tail is not constant; weight of left side of tail is thinner than the right side Similarities bewteen all letters: • stroke weights found in tails vary between all tyefaces • tails of “Q” found in all feature a [slight] curve • Rockwell Regular and Adobe Caslon Regular don’t have vertical stress • Mrs. Eaves and Adobe Caslon Regular vary in stroke width throughout the letter

Adobe Caslon Regular • Old Style Serif typeface • tail is a single, elongated stroke, reaching beyond the letter width • ends in a thin stroke

Differences between all letters: • Rockwell has a near constant stroke weight throughout letter, while Mrs. Eaves and Adobe Caslon vary • Mrs. Eaves Italic has vertical stress, while Rockwell Regular and Adobe Caslon Regular don’t