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THE BODONI TYPEFACE How Letterforms Become Art
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GIA MBAT TISTA BODONI A twenty-eight -year-old Bodoni was asked to take charge of the Stamperia Reale, the official press of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. Bodoni accepted and became the private printer to the court. He printed official documents and publications desired by the Duke, in addition to projects conceived and initiated by Bodoni. His initial design influence was Fournier le Jeune, whose foundry supplied type and ornaments to the Stamperia Reale after Bodoni took charge. The quality of Bodoni’s design and printing, even though scholarship and proofreading were sometimes lacking, created a growing international reputation. In 1790, the Vatican invited Bodoni to Rome to establish a press for printing the classics there, but the Duke countered with and offer of expanded facility and a privilege of printing for other clients. Bodoni elected to remain in Parma.1 Bodoni was no revolutionary. The modern roman style, which is attributed to him, did not, as many would believe, spring forth as if by magic. While the letters he cut and the books he printed were more refined and of exceptionally higher quality than most of the work originating before or during his lifetime, it would be difficult to classify any of Bodoni’s efforts as fundamentally new. When he was young, the work of John Baskerville served as his ideal; when he opened his first printing office for the Duke of Parma, Bodoni did so with type from Fournier. In later years, the work of his great Parisian competitor, Francois Didot, influenced him dramatically. Bodoni was always, in some manner, dependent on the work of other, bolder contemporaries.2
About the Author
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counter
terminal*
tittle
ascender cap height *
x height *
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bowl
spine
baseline
ANATOMY The main anatomical parts that we will focus on with reference to Bodoni will be the serifs, terminals, x-height and cap height, and the contrast between elements like the stem and hairline. These elements help define Bodoni, as we will see later.
axis* ear
shoulder
stem*
serif * hairline*
loop
link
descender
spur
aperture*
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*TERMS TO REMEMBER cap height height of capital letters from the baseline x-height height of lower case letters, determined by the ‘x’ terminal an end of a stroke that does not have a serif hairline a thin stroke, usually on serif typefaces serif a stroke added to the beginning and end of a main stroke axis an imaginary line from top to bottom of the character stem the main, heavy stroke of the letterform aperture the opening at the end of a counterform
Typographic Anatomy
EX AMINING BODONI 6
Bodoni was one of the most prolific type designers and considered an arch-romantic. His hundreds of faces embrace considerable variety, and more than 25,000 of his punches are in the Bodoni Museum in Parma. The revivals issued in his name reflect only a tiny part of this legacy, and many are simply parodies of his ideas. The typical features of Bodoni revivals are abrupt hairline serifs, ball terminal, vertical axis, small aperture, high contrast and exaggerated modulation. The ITC Bodoni, digitized in 1994-95 under the direction of Sumner Stone, are the closest of all the revivals to Bodoni’s mature style. (There are three versions, based on 6, 12 and 72 pt originals.) Other favorites are the Bodoni cut by Louis Hoell for the Bauer Foundry, Frankfurt, in 1924, and the Berthold Foundry version, produced in 1930. Both have been issued in digital form. Small caps and text figures are essential to all of these designs. 4
high contrast
ball terminals
vertical axis
small aperture
abrupt hairline serifs
neat BODONI SPECIALTIES As seen in the letterforms in the background, the Bodoni typeface has a wide variety of of fonts. It comes in many different weights, with an italics option for eace. For the purposes of this book, we will focus on Bodoni MT regular, which is used for the word “neat.� Characteristics of Bodoni
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U 60 pt width
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CONTRAST Bodoni uses extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes. The strong thick strokes help emphasize the vertical axis that is also characteristic of Bodoni.
12.5 pt width
USIN
This is an exa typeface. The use. The high as body text. as a title or s the reading p just so that t it clear that B purpose. It sh
n
s
NG BODONI
ample of how not to use the Bodoni e above is an example of intended h contrast makes it difficult to read . It can be a beautiful piece of art subtitle, but it was not designed for process. This paragraph will go on there is more text, which will make Bodoni was not designed for this hould be evident now.
BODONI AS ART Bodoni created typefaces and typography to impress the eye. His designs were studied efforts meant to be seen as well as read. Few would deny that Bodoni’s typefaces are beautiful; unfortunately, few would say they are also easy to read. By current standards, his designs are, in fact, the antithesis of what an easily readable typeface should be. Had he known this fact, however, Bodoni would probably not have been very upset. His goal was not to create typography to be appreciated by the masses. His books and other printing exercises were large regal efforts meant to be looked upon and appreciated as works of art, rather than as mere pieces of communication. Beatrice Warde, an eminent typographic historian, in a famous essay, likened the perfect type to a crystal goblet. Her perfect type is transparent, or invisible, to the reader and allows the content to be enjoyed without coloration or distraction. Bodoni’s type is anything but a “crystal goblet.” Its hairline serifs, strong thick-and-thin stroke contrast, and abrupt weight changes cloud the reading process. Bodoni is no quiet servant to the communication process; it is a design that demands attention. If used carefully, Bodoni type can create typography that is exceptionally beautiful, even elegant, but not particularly easy to read. If used poorly, Bodoni’s extreme weight contrast and vertical stress can cause a typographic effect, “dazzling,” which is visually uninviting and exceptionally disruptive to the reading process.3
Characteristics of Bodoni
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CAP HEIGHT AND X-HEIGHT Bodoni and Baserville both have sho x-heights and cap heights. This heigh difference is particularly evident wh compared next to Didot.
COMPARISONS 10
A comparison of Bodoni’s type to Didot’s two designs that on the surface may appear virtually identical is a perfect example. There are distinct similarities in their work, and Bodoni surely studied Didot’s designs very carefully, but a close examination reveals that Bodoni’s weight transitions are more gradual and his serifs still maintain a slight degree of bracketing. There is even hint of “old style” in Bodoni’s work. He followed Didot’s lead, carefully evaluating the designs of his great competitor, consciously remaining, however, always just slightly behind the radical modernism of his contemporary. Perhaps this explains to some degree the longevity of Bodoni’s type designs. They were radical enough to be considered new and different (to establish for Bodoni an important and influential place in current typographic circles), but not so different that they became the 18th-century versions of fad designs. 2
Didot Regular Baskerville Regular Bodoni MT Regular
CURVATURE As seen in the lowercase ‘o’, the insid strokes of Bodoni become visibly ver whereas both Didot and Baskerville This unique element of Bodoni help verticality, and results in increased v
ort ht hen
de of the curved rtical and straight, constantly curve. ps emphasize the visual contrast.
DIDOT BASKERVILLE BODONI
Comparisons
DIDOT BASKERVILLE BODONI
ANGLED SERIFS Bodoni also retains some “old style” qualities, seen in the slightly curved and angled serifs of many lower case letters, at the top of a vertical stroke. Didot is fully flat, and Baskerville has a steep curve, but Bodoni lies in a middle ground between the two.
BOLD
REGULAR 12
N N
N N
BRACKETED SERIFS Bodoni is not so modernized that it completely does away with bracketed serifs. Didot has flat, hairline serifs in both regular and bold (in this case, an ‘N’). Baskerville regular and bold serifs are both bracketed. However, the Bodoni regular serif on letters like the ‘N’ is a flat hairline serif, while the same letters in bold have a bracketed serif.
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BALL TERMINALS Each of these three typeface families uses some degree of a ball terminal, as seen in the ‘f’. Didot continuously curves into it’s ball shape. Baskerville ball terminals are more subtle, and less circular. The ball terminals on Bodoni come to a full point before the ball is formed.
Comparisons
BIBLIOGRAPHY 14
Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o)
REFERENCES 1.
Philip B. Meggs, A History of Graphic Design (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), 124.
Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990. (SC: Z250 L34 1990)
2.
Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks,1997. (A&A: B745 1996 and Vault)
Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 48.
3. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1992), 217, 218.
Jaspert, W. Pincus. The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press; New York: Distributed in the U.S. by Sterling, 1983. (SC: Z250 J36 1983) 4. Cleland, T. M. Giambattista Bodoni of Parma. Boston: Society of Printers, 1916. (SC: Z232 B66 C5) 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, 2000. (A&A: Z250. R45 2000) Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipografico, 1788. Facsimile a cura de Giovanni Mardersteig, Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1968. (SC: Z232 B66 1788a 4o) Bodoni, Giambattista. Preface to the Manuale Tipografico of 1818, translated by H. V. Marrot, London: Lion & Unicorn Press, 1953. (SC: Z232 B66 1953)
Sources
Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 49, 50.
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ABOUT THIS BOOK Designed by Katie Bumatay for Typography I, taken at Washington University in St. Louis, in the Spring 2017 semester. This book is based on the typeface Bodoni MT, designed by Giambattista Bodoni. Comparisons are Made to the typefaces Didot and Baskerville. The body text and captions are set in Strada Regular and Bold.