Bodoni
Divine Type
Plenty of white space and generous line spacing, and don’t make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit for a king.
An Overview
Giambattista 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 an offer of expanded facilities and a privilege of printing for other clients. Bodoni elected to remain in Parma.
2
Guiseppe Lucatelli Giambattista Bodoni, c. 1805-1806 Oil on canvas, 63.9 x 50.5cm Parma, Museo Glauco Lombardi
Bodoni is no quiet servant to the communication process; it is a design that demands attention.
Characteristics of the Typeface
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.
Quousque tandem abutêre, Catilina, patientiâ nostrâ? Quousque tandem abutêre, Catilina, patientiâ nostrâ? Quousque tandem abutêre, Catilina, patientiâ nostrâ? At small sizes, Bodoni’s hairline serifs and thick/thin strokes become difficult to read, even in bold fonts.
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.
Bodoni
5
Typographic Elements
Counter: The open space in a closed area within a letter. Aperture: A more specific counter, characterized by a partially enclosed space. Bowl: The stroke that encloses a counter in a letter. Finial: The tapered or curved end of a letter.
Art ball terminal
aperture
Ball Terminal: A circular form at the end of the arm in letters. Stem: A vertical, full–length stroke in upright characters. Ascender: The vertical stroke that extends beyond a letter’s x-height. Descender: Anything that extends below the baseline.
counter
Regal bowl
stem
descender
Quick Fox
X–height: The height of a lowercase letter, without ascenders and descenders. The height of a lowercase x.
6
abrupt weight changes
hairline serifs
Above: Bodoni Bold Italic Left: In Manuale Tipographico, published posthumesly, Bodoni created a guide to beautifully set type. Here, his italic and book faces are incorporated into a music chart, where the letters’ heavy contrast pairs nicely with the music staff’s varied line weights. Giambattista Bodoni Manuale tipographico, 1818 Taschen Reproduction
Bodoni
7
Origins of the Typeface
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. Yet despite these influences, he was not a copyist. 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 a 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 design. They were radical enough to be considered new and different (to establish for Bodoni an important place in current typographic circles), but not so different that they became the 18th–century versions of fad designs.
8
Phases of Typography Humanist faces are based strongly on calligraphic styles and the motion of the hand. They are not as stylized as more modern faces. A perfect example is Centaur, a humanistinspired face. Transitional faces feature more stylized elements, especially in the serifs and axes. A perfect example is Baskerville, mentioned here as a major influence on Bodoni’s own faces. Modern faces are highly abstracted from old calligraphic forms. Serifs and other elements become more geometric than naturalist. Both Bodoni and Didot are examples of modern faces.
Baskerville Designed by John Baskerville in 1754, this transitional typeface is known for its crisp lines.
Didot One of the first modern Roman typefaces, Didot is similar to Bodoni in its high contrast strokes and hairline serifs.
Bodoni
9
Comparison
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 terminals, vertical axes, small apertures, and high contrast and exaggerated modulation. The ITC Bodoni, digitized in 1994–95 under the direction of Sumner Stone, is the closest of all the revivals to Bodoni’s mature style. (There are three versions, based on 6, 12 and 72pt 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.
123456789 The quick Brown fox jumped over 10 boxes. This Bodoni features lining figures, meaning all numerals sit along the baseline, with no descendors or ascendors. This feature is beneficial for columnar arrangements, but can be distracting within a body of text.
10
Bauer Foundry Bodoni Title This version of Bodoni features an unusally high contrast between thick and thin strokes, as well as sloped serifs. Bauer first cut Bodoni under Louis Hoell in 1924.
thinner strokes
sloped serifs
lower crossbar
lower terminal
Monotype Bodoni 375 While both of these types were produced by the Monotype foundry, the black forms were cut in 1930 as Bodoni 375, while the gray outlines are the 1999 digitized versions. Here, the lower crossbar height on the “A” and more oblong bowl shape on the “a” are evident.
Bodoni
11
The Faces of Bodoni
12
AaBbCcDdEeFf GgHhIiJjKkLlMm NnOoPpQqRrSsTt UuVvWwXxYyZz
AaBbCcDdEeFf GgHhIiJjKkLlMm NnOoPpQqRrSsTt UuVv WwXxYyZz
Bodoni Regular 20 pt
Bodoni Italic 20 pt
AaBbCcDdEeFf GgHhIiJjKkLlMm NnOoPpQqRrSsTt UuVvWwXxYyZz
AaBbCcDdEeFf GgHhIiJjKkLlMm NnOoPpQqRrSsTt UuVvWwXxYyZz
Bodoni Bold 20 pt
Bodoni Black 20 pt
This book was designed by Noah Jodice, a Communication Design student at Washington University in St. Louis, in the Spring of 2015. The book was set in Monotype Bodoni and Neutraface 2 Text.
References:
Image Sources:
Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. 3rd ed. Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 2004. Print. 217, 218.
Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipographico. Taschen, 2010).
Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: Godine, 1990. Print. 46, 48, 49, 50.
Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: Godine, 1990. Print. 46, 48.
Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Viking, 1983. Print. 124. “Typography Desconstructed.� Typography Deconstructed. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Bodoni
13
B
14
Bodoni