Monotype Metro Nova The design dare
A History of
part two Monotype Imaging: A return to form in the 20th century In 2004, the majority of Agfa Monotype’s assets were acquired by TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm. The company was newly incorporated as Monotype Imaging and its business focus returned to Monotype’s long-time expertise in type design. In 2007, Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. began trading as “TYPE” on the NASDAQ Global Market Exchange. Monotype has been a leader in every typographic era, pushing the frontiers of innovation and upholding the standards of quality that users have come to expect from the Monotype name. This extends to the latest medium for type: the Web. In 2010, Monotype’s experts released Web fonts that are scalable, searchable and easy to edit. Today, Monotype has a new logo, a renewed focus on serving the needs of its diverse customers, and a powerful global organization with a proud history of quality and innovation.
Metro Nova
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Monotype offers one of the world’s largest and most highly regarded typeface libraries, as well as innovative solutions that bring the power of type to life. We help creative professionals distinguish their work by employing exceptional type and advanced technologies in service to their imaginations. Monotype’s fonts and technologies are found in printers, copiers, mobile phones, e-readers, tablets, automotive displays, digital cameras, navigation devices, TVs, set-top boxes, consumer appliances and a wide range of other products. We are also leaders in enterprise publishing environments and Web fonts. Monotype has been a global leader in typeface design for more than 125 years. Our history spans every major era of type. With more than 16,000 typefaces and growing, the company’s extensive libraries and ecommerce sites are home to many of the most admired and widely used typefaces in world – as well as the next generation of type designs, in both Latin and non-Latin languages. Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. TYPE trades on the NASDAQ exchange.
the revival of the “design dare” METRO NOVA
Metro Nova
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Metro Nova comprises seven weights, from ultra thin to extra black in regular proportions, and six weights as condensed designs. Each has an italic counterpart for a total of 26 fonts. The family offers 908 glyphs. The family is available as OpenType速 Pro fonts, which provide for the ability to easily insert typographic features such as ligatures, fractions and alternate characters. Pro fonts also offer an extended character set to support most Central European and many Eastern European languages. Designers: Toshi Omagari, William Addison Dwiggins Issue date: 2013 Foundry: Linotype
The development of the Metro typeface began as a “design dare.” First released in 1930, Metro was the wildly popular result of a challenge to create a new, versatile and distinctive sans serif typeface for Linotype typesetters. Over 80 years later, Toshi Omagari welcomed the opportunity to update this seminal design for digital imaging. The new typeface, Metro Nova, builds on the foundation of the original Metro, preparing it perfectly for today’s taste and technology. One day in the late 1920s, C. H. Griffiths, who was responsible for typographic development at Mergenthaler Linotype at the time, read a magazine article bemoaning the lack of worthy sans serif typefaces available for Linotype composition. The article was written by William Addison Dwiggins, an eminent calligrapher, illustrator, writer and graphic designer of the day. Rather than ignoring Dwiggins’ rant, Griffiths sent him a letter that, in essence, offered, “If you think you know so much, let’s see the sans serif you can draw.” Dwiggins rose to the challenge – and it wasn’t long before “typeface designer” became the newest of his accomplishments. Metro quickly became a mainstay of graphic design in North America. Its widespread prominence lasted until the early 1950s, when faces from Europe began to find their way across the Atlantic. Metro also proved to be the first of 17 typeface families Dwiggins would draw for Linotype.
Dwiggins rose to the challenge
Metro Nova
monotype.com
Fast forward 80-some years, and the Metro Nova story begins with the making of a movie. Doug Wilson, producer and director of the documentary “Linotype: The Film,” did some of his research for the project at the Printing Museum in North Andover, Mass. The museum’s director told Wilson about the original Mergenthaler Linotype typeface drawings stored in the museum. Eagerly sifting through these artifacts, Wilson happened across the original production drawings for Metro – and it was love at first sight. Wilson was determined to have Metro for his film’s credits. Several e-mails, a spate of phone calls and an in-person meeting or two later, it was agreed that Toshi Omagari, a Monotype type designer, would develop a custom font for the movie.
acute An accent used on vowels - á é í ó ú - in Czech, French, Gaelic, Hungerian, Icelandic, Italian, Navajo, Spanish, and other languages.
pŕoportion
revivål
caron A inverted circumflex. It is used on consonats and vowels - č ě ň ř š - in Croatian, Czech, Lithuanian, Northern Saami, Slovak, Slovene, Sorbian and other scripts. In romanized Thai, the caron indicated a rising tone.
esseňce
söft mainstaỳ
diaeresis / umlaut A diacritic used with vowels - ä ë ï ö ü in many languages, including Albanian, Dinka, Estonian, Finnish, German, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh, and frequently less also in English, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
Metro Nova
monotype.com
cħallenge grave An accent used with vowels - à è ì ò ù - in French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Veitnamese and many other languages.
breve An accent used on vowels and consonants - ă ĭ ŏ ŭ in Malay, Romanian, Turkish, Veitnamese, and in some forms of romanized Korean. In English, it is used in informal phonetic transcription to mark lax (or so-called 'short') vowels.
charmiñg
tilde A diacritic used on vowels - ã õ in many languages Estonian, Kikuyu, Portuguese, Twi, Veitnamese and many other languages.
verŝatile
rŏbust distinçtive
ƒluid macron A diacritic used to mark long vowels - ā ē ī ō ū in many languages; Fijian, Hausa, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Maori, among others. In Mandarin it marks the level of tones.
mōdęrn
ogonek A diacritic used with vowels - ą ę į ų - in Lithu-anian, Navajo, Polish and other languages. Also called a nasal hook. Ogonek is a Polish diminutive, meaning 'little tail', and the usual Polish name for the stem of an apple.
AABCD EFGGH IJJKLM MNNOP QRSTUV WWXYZ aabcde efgghi jklmno pqrstu vwxyz Dwiggins’ drawings for Metro were subtle where the others were sterile, graceful where the others were gaunt. The slanted apex of his capital ‘A’ and the old-style forms of his letters such as ‘a,’ ‘e’ and ‘g’ lent a calligraphic air to his design.
Metro Nova
monotype.com
01234 56789 01234 56789 !$£¢% &*<=> ?{|}~¤ ¥§¼½¾ Æ挜 Ωμπ∞≈≠ Ω ∂ fi ∑ ≤ ≥ sort A single peice of metal type; thus a character in one particular face and size. In the world of digital type, where letters have no physical existence until printed, the word sort has been largely displaced by the word glyph. A glyph is a version - a conceptual, not material incarnation of the abstract symbol called a character.
Toshi Omagari's Metro Nova,
builds on the foundation of the original
Metro,
preparing it perfectly for today's taste
and technology Metro Nova
monotype.com
61 point Condensed
61 point Medium Italic
57 point ExtraBlack
41 point Condensed Light Italic
114 point Medium
51 point Condensed Thin Italic
51 point Regular
54 point Light Italic
Dwiggins’ drawings for Metro were subtle where the others were sterile, graceful where the others were gaunt. The slanted apex of his capital ‘A’ and the old-style forms of his letters such as ‘a,’ ‘e’ and ‘g’ lent a calligraphic air to his design. The public, however, though intrigued by the more humanist touch, still had its heart set on the sparse designs of the modernist European sans. Dwiggins relented, making adjustments here and there, and so it was that the everpopular Metro No. 2 was born. Metro No. 1, with all its quirks and old-style charm, was left to gather dust as a prop of history. And there it would have remained had it not been for the discovery, by film director Douglas Wilson, of Dwiggins’ original Metro No. 1 production draw-ings, stored at the Museum of Printing in Nort Andover, Mass. When Wilson,director of Linotype: The Film, came across these original drawings during his research, he was surprised and delighted by the ‘great old quirks and lively characters’ of Dwiggins’ original design and immediately set about com-missioning a digital version to be used exclusively for the film’s credits. After a few successful rounds of small design modifications, there was overwhelming consensus for an enhanced and expanded version of the Metro family.
with all its quirks and old~style charm
The single story â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a charming alternate to the standard Metro Nova
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The splayed ‘M’ and wide ‘W’ alternatives provide a classic counterpoint to the design.
Condensed Thin 10pt 100 points ≈ 35.2 mm 12pt 120 points ≈ 42.3 mm 14pt 140 points ≈ 49.3 mm 18pt 180 points ≈ 63.4 mm
Condensed Thin Italic 10 pt 99 points ≈ 34.9 mm 12pt 118 points ≈ 41.6 mm 14pt 140 points ≈ 49.3 mm 18pt 179 points ≈ 63.1 mm
Condensed Light 10pt 102 points ≈ 35.9 mm 12pt 123 points ≈ 43.4 mm 14pt 143 points ≈ 50.1 mm 18pt 184 points ≈ 64.9 mm
Condensed Light Italic 10pt 102 points ≈ 35.9 mm 12pt 122 points ≈ 43.1 mm 14pt 143 points ≈ 50.4 mm 18pt 184 points ≈ 64.9 mm
Condensed 10pt 106 points ≈ 37.4 mm 12pt 128 points ≈ 45.1 mm 14pt 149 points ≈ 52.5 mm 18pt 192 points ≈ 67.7 mm
Condensed Italic 10pt 106 points ≈ 37.4 mm 12pt 128 points ≈ 45.1 mm 14pt 149 points ≈ 52.5 mm 18pt 192 points ≈ 67.7 mm
Condensed Medium 10pt 110 points ≈ 38.8 mm 12pt 132 points ≈ 46.6 mm 14pt 154 points ≈ 54.3 mm 18pt 198 points ≈ 69.85 mm
Condensed Medium Italic 10pt 110 points ≈ 38.8 mm 12pt 132 points ≈ 46.6 mm 14pt 154 points ≈ 54.3 mm 18pt 198 points ≈ 69.8 mm
Condensed Bold 10pt 113 points ≈ 39.8 mm 12pt 135 points ≈ 47.6 mm 14pt 158 points ≈ 55.7 mm 18pt 203 points ≈ 71.6 mm
Condensed Bold Italic 10pt 113 points ≈ 39.8 mm 12pt 135 points ≈ 47.6 mm 14pt 158 points ≈ 55.7 mm 18pt 203 points ≈ 71.6 mm
Condensed Black 10pt 116 points ≈ 40.9 mm 12pt 139 points ≈ 49.1 mm 14pt 162 points ≈ 57.1 mm 18pt 209 points ≈ 73.7 mm
Condensed Black Italic 10pt 116 points ≈ 40.9 mm 12pt 139 points ≈ 49.1 mm 14pt 162 points ≈ 57.1 mm 18pt 209 points ≈ 73.7 mm
Thin 10pt 12pt 14pt 18pt
Thin Italic 10pt 124 points ≈ 43.7 mm 12pt 149 points ≈ 52.5 mm 14pt 174 points ≈ 61.3 mm 18pt 223 points ≈ 78.6 mm
Light 10pt 12pt 14pt 18pt
127 points ≈ 44.8 mm 152 points ≈ 53.6 mm 178 points ≈ 62.7 mm 229 points ≈ 80.7 mm
Light Italic 10pt 127 points ≈ 44.8 mm 12pt 152 points ≈ 53.6 mm 14pt 178 points ≈ 62.7 mm 18pt 229 points ≈ 80.7 mm
Regular 10pt 132 points ≈ 46.5 mm 12pt 159 points ≈ 56.1 mm 14pt 185 points ≈ 65.2 mm 18pt 238 points ≈ 83.9 mm
Italic 10pt 12pt 14pt 18pt
132 points ≈ 46.5 mm 158 points ≈ 55.7 mm 185 points ≈ 65.2 mm 238 points ≈ 83.9 mm
Medium 10pt 136 points ≈ 49.3 mm 12pt 163 points ≈ 59.1 mm 14pt 190 points ≈ 69 mm 18pt 245 points ≈ 88.7 mm
Medium Italic 10pt 136 points ≈ 47.9 mm 12pt 163 points ≈ 57.5 mm 14pt 190 points ≈ 67.1 mm 18pt 244 points ≈ 86.1 mm
Bold 10pt 12pt 14pt 18pt
139 points ≈ 49.1 mm 167 points ≈ 58.9 mm 195 points ≈ 68.7 mm 251 points ≈ 88.5 mm
Bold Italic 10pt 142 points ≈ 50.1 mm 12pt 171 points ≈ 60.3 mm 14pt 195 points ≈ 68.8 mm 18pt 251 points ≈ 88.5 mm
Black 10pt 12pt 14pt 18pt
Black Italic 10pt 143 points ≈ 50.4 mm 12pt 171 points ≈ 60.3 mm 14pt 200 points ≈ 70.5 mm 18t 257 points ≈ 90.6 mm
ExtraBlack 10pt 147 points ≈ 51.8 mm 12pt 177 points ≈ 62.4 mm 14pt 206 points ≈ 72.6 mm 18pt 266 points ≈ 93.8 mm
ExtraBlack Italic 10pt 147 points ≈ 51.8 mm 12pt 177 points ≈ 62.4 mm 14pt 206 points ≈ 72.6 mm 18pt 266 points ≈ 93.8 mm
124 points ≈ 43.7 mm 149 points ≈ 52.5 mm 173 points ≈ 61.1 mm 223 points ≈ 78.6 mm
143 points ≈ 50.4 mm 171 points ≈ 60.3 mm 200 points ≈ 70.5 mm 257 points ≈ 90.6 mm
Metro Nova
monotype.com
Copy fitting example 60,000 words English prose manuscript into 224 page ~ 60,000 ÷ 224 = 268 words per page ~ 419,500 ÷ 224 = 1873 characters per page * There are on average, 1 mark of punctuation for every 10–12 words ~ 60,000 ÷ 10-12 ≈ 5,500 For ever word, there is a space ~ 60,000 (assuming an average of 10 words on a line, every tenth word space will not be needed at the line end) ~ 60,000 - 6,000 = 54,000 ~ 54,000 + 5,500 = 59,500 additional key strokes taking the average word to be 6 characters long (This may not be true with technical texts, texts with foreign words or phrases, but it is a good average for English prose) ~ 60,000 × 6 = 360,000 characters in the typescript
Anything from 45 to 74 characters is widely regarded as a satisfactory length of line for a single-column set in serifed text face in a text size. The 66-character line (counting both letters and spaces) is widely regarded as ideal. For multiple-column work, a better average is 40 to 50 characters. If the type is well set and printed, lines of 85 to 90 characters will pose no problem in diccontinous texts, such as bibliographies, or, with generous leading, in footnotes. But evenwith generous leading, a line that averages more than 75 or 80 characters is likely to be too long for continuous reading. A reasonable working minimun for justified text in English is the 40-character line. Shorter lines may compose perfectly well with sufficient luck and patience, but in the long run, justified line averaging less than 38 or 40 characters will lead to white acne or pig bristles: a rash of erratic and splotchy word spaces or an epidemic of hyphenations. When the line is short, the text should be set ragged left. In large doses, even ragged-right composition may look anorexic if the line falls bellow 30 characters, but in small and isolated patches - ragged marginal notes, for example - the minimum line (if the
59,500 extra key stokes add about 1/6 or 16% to actual length ~ 360,000 + 59,500 = 419,500 characters in the manuscript *419,500 ÷ 224 = 1873 characters per page Average per line, 10 words plus spacing and punctuation ~ 60 + 9 + 1 = 70 ~ 419,500 ÷ 70 = 5,993 lines 30 lines per page ~ 5,993 ÷ 30 = 200 pages (leaving 24 pages for prelims and endmatter) ~ 70 × 30 = 2,100 characters per page
Anwser typeface = Metro Nova Regular point size = 10pt measure = 28 picas leading = 2pt (10pt/12pt) column depth = 30 lines total pages of composed type = 200
language is English) can be as little as 12 or 15 characters. These line lengths are in every case averages, and they include empty spaces and punctuation as well as letters. The simplest way of computing them is with a copy fitting table. Measure the length of the basic lowercase alphabet -abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz- in any face and size you are considering, and the table will tell you the average number of characters to expect on a given line. In most text faces, the 10pt roman alphabet will run between 120 and 140 points in lenght, while a 10pt bold might run to 160. The 12pt alphabet is, of course, about 1.2 times the length of the 10pt alphabet - but not exactly so unless it is generated from the same master design and letterfit is unchanged. On a conventional book page, the measure, or length of line, is usually around 30 times the size of the type, but lines as little as 20 or as much as 40 times the type size fall within the expectable range. If, for example, the type size is 10pt, the measure might be around 30 × 10 = 300pt, which is 300/12 = 25 picas. A typical lower case alphabet length for a 10 pt text font is 128 pt, and the copyfitting table tells us that such a font set 25-pica measure will yield roughly 65 characters per line.
Casting off A the term given to the mathematical conversion of lines of copy into lines of type. The simplest method is to estimate the number of words in the copy and multiply this by six (the average words in English prose contains five letters plus one space) which represents the total number of 'characters'. If a more accurate cast-off is essential, then the quickest way to count the actual number of characters is to drawn a line down through the typewritten copy level with the shortest line. Type written characters are normally the same width. The number contained in the shortest line is multiplied by the number of lines and the remainder are counted individually and added to arrive at a total.
1cm = 1 2.216312056737 26.59574468085 0.393700787401 10 2.362204724409 2.371062992126 28.346456692913 28.452755905512
Centimeter Ciceros * Didot's point * inch millimeter pica (PostScript, DTP, computer * pica (printer's) * PostScript (DTP) * printers point (American) *
* Approximately equal, to nearest twelve decimal places.
1 Centimeter 1 Ciceros 1 Didot's point 1 inch 1 millimeter 1 pica (PostScript, DTP, computer 1 pica (printer's) 1 PostScript (DTP) 1 printers point (American)
Metro Nova
monotype.com
= ≈ ≈ = = ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
1 cm 0.4512 cm 0.0376 cm 2.54 cm 0.1 cm 0.4233333333333 cm 0.42175176421752 cm 0.035277777777778 cm 0.03514598035146 cm
marginal mark new matter followed by strike through unwanted letter/s stet
meaning insert
ital
change to italics
s.c.
change to small caps
caps
change to caps
bold
change to bold type
l.c.
change to lower-case
encircle letter/s
rom
change to roman
encircle letter/s
w.f.
wrong font
text mark
under characters under characters under characters under characters under characters encircle letter/s
delete leave as printed
encircle letter/s
invert type
encircle letter/s linking characters
change damaged type
between top of letters around letters
close up #
insert space
letter #
letterspace
trs
transpose indent one em indent two ems
around letters between paragraphs before first word over and under lines over and under lines between lines
move run on
move to the position indicated no new paragraph
n.p.
begin new paragraph
raise
raise lines
lower
lowever lines
2pts
insert leading (2pt)
Proof Correctionsâ&#x20AC;&#x192; A code of signs and abbreviations is fairly universal to printers and the chart to the left show the most common and useful marks for the designwr in specifying layouts and correcting proofs. â&#x20AC;&#x192; Corrections are shown in the margins of proofs and where there is more than one error in a line each mark is separated by a diagonal line and read from left to right in sequence with the mark in the text.
Avalible formats ~OpenType (CFF) ~TrueType ~WOFF/EOT/SVG ~Mac & PC monotype.com
Jonathan Speak
Copy fitting table
Read down, in the left column: lowercase alphabet length in points. Read across, in the top row: line length in picas.
80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 320 340 360
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
40 38 36 34 33 32 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 10 10
48 45 43 41 40 38 37 35 34 32 31 30 29 28 28 27 26 25 25 24 23 23 22 22 21 20 19 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 13 13 12
56 53 50 48 46 44 43 41 39 38 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 30 29 28 27 27 26 25 25 23 22 21 20 20 19 18 18 17 17 16 15 14
64 60 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 40 39 37 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 30 29 28 27 25 24 23 22 22 21 20 20 19 18 17 16
72 68 64 62 59 57 55 53 50 48 47 45 44 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 32 30 29 27 26 25 24 23 23 22 21 20 19 18
80 76 72 69 66 63 61 59 56 54 52 50 48 47 46 45 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 33 32 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 24 22 21 20
88 83 79 75 73 70 67 64 62 59 57 55 53 51 51 49 48 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 37 35 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 23 22
96 104 112 120 128 136 144 152 160 91 98 106 113 121 129 136 144 151 86 93 100 107 115 122 129 136 143 82 89 96 103 110 117 123 130 137 79 86 92 99 106 112 119 125 132 76 82 89 95 101 108 114 120 127 73 79 85 92 98 104 110 116 122 70 76 82 88 94 100 105 111 117 67 73 78 84 90 95 101 106 112 65 70 75 81 86 91 97 102 108 62 67 73 78 83 88 93 98 104 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 58 63 68 73 77 82 87 92 97 56 61 66 70 75 80 84 89 94 55 60 64 69 74 78 83 87 92 54 58 63 67 72 76 81 85 90 52 56 61 65 69 74 78 82 87 51 55 59 63 68 72 76 80 84 49 53 57 62 66 70 74 78 82 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 51 55 59 62 66 70 74 78 47 46 49 53 57 61 65 68 72 76 44 48 52 56 59 63 67 70 74 43 47 50 54 58 61 65 68 72 42 46 49 53 56 60 63 67 70 40 43 47 50 53 57 60 63 67 38 41 45 48 51 54 57 60 64 36 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 35 38 41 44 46 49 52 55 58 34 36 39 42 45 48 50 53 56 32 35 38 41 43 46 49 51 54 31 34 36 39 42 44 47 49 52 30 33 35 38 40 43 45 48 50 29 32 34 37 39 41 44 46 49 31 33 35 38 40 42 45 47 28 31 34 36 38 40 43 45 27 29 25 27 29 32 34 36 38 40 42 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
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