ii
flourish on side
ITC Officina was designed by Erik Spiekermann for office documents and business-related communications. It was born in 1988 under the working title ITC Correspondence, was finished with the help of Just van Rossum in 1989, and was finally published in 1990. Officina was created at a time when digital type was in its infancy. Interestingly, because of this, most of the typefaces designed around the same time were of the geometric or neo-grotesque varieties. Officina bears the appearance of typewriter-generated text and was created for better communication, economic use of space, and ultimate readability and legibility. It aims to give corporate correspondence a human side.
ITC Officina is certainly a unique typeface, and, upon looking into its typographical context, I was frankly baffled. Comparison with Univers yielded observation of very distinct differences; whereas the former is straight-edged and fairly broad for a transitional sans-serif, ends on the horizontal, and contains almost no oblique lines, Officina is curvy and thin, has letterforms that end on a slant, curved terminals and rounded edges. Spiekermann himself has remarked on the distinctiveness of its “blunt edges, its explicit pseudo-serifs and oblique terminals�. However, it lends the typeface a certain friendliness and approachability. While Officina is modern enough to use in any public or corporate capacity, it retains the calligraphic quality characteristic of humanist type.
stroke ends at an angle
no swash
circular dot stroke is loose and organic
“loose� end, not parallel to counter
“a typeface
ce has a face� erik spiekermann
terminates at an angle
calligraphic flourish on end of stroke
Š 2012 by Lauren Lanigan Typography I Kansas City Art Institute