adjective (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential. origin 1980s: from meta- in the sense ‘beyond.’
“The ascenders of the b, k, h, and l are slightly bent at the top...”
“...and the J has no loop”
“The K has one junction...”
“... the y has an offset junction”
Origins In 1984, Erik Spiekermann of MetaDesign
typeface for its own use, renaming it Meta.
persuaded the Budespost (Germany’s State
Initially, Meta was only used for in-house
Post Office) to commission a new, exclusive
projects, but soon it began appearing in mail-
font for use on all of the it’s printed material.
order catalogs for FontShop, a digital type
The aim of the project, which began in 1985,
foundry, cofounded by Erik Spiekermann.
was to develop a face that was easy to read
FontShop encouraged the parent company
in small sizes, available in several weights,
to license the face. Released as FF Meta,
unmistakable as an identity, and techno-
it has become one of the most successful type-
logically up-to-date. Although the typeface
faces available from FontFont, a subsidiary
was digitized, tested, and approved in the
of FontShop.
summer of 1985, the project was canceled. The Bundespost returned to using one of its many previous typefaces, Helvetica, assuming that digital type would not catch on. In 1989, after new software made creating fonts more efficient, MetaDesign refined the Bundespost
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“The Z has angled finials on both ends”
“The tail of the Q is wavy...”
Characteristics & Comparisons There are many nuances in the glyphs of Meta
also occur in the top strokes of the E, F, G, and
that distinguish it from other sans serif type-
on both ends of the S. The E has an extended
faces and imbue it with a distinct personality.
base, while the base of the G has no spur and the
The capitals letter have flat apexes, similar
J has no loop. The K has one junction, and
to those of Helvetica. It has a wider opening in the
the junction of the M rests on the baseline, like
C, which also has angled finials. Angled finials
Helvetica, except that Meta stems are oblique
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Meta Bold, 48pt.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz Meta Bold, 300pt. When then capital E, F, G, and S are overlayed on one another and enlarged, their angled finals appear clearly. It also reveals other characteristics such as the subtle differences between the strokes of the E and F.
(slanted). The tail of the Q is wavy and the leg
traits that distinguish the face from other sans
of the R is slightly curved. The junction and base
serifs. The ascenders of the b, k, h, and l are
of the W are both flat. The Z has angled finials on
slightly bent at the top, a feature that is carried
both ends, unlike the lowercase z, which has an
through the stems of the m, n, p, q, and the spur
upright finial at the top and an angled one at the
of the u. The finials of the v, w, and y are slightly
bottom. Several of Meta lowercase have particular
angles, unlike the Meta family capital letters.
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Meta Bold/Gill Sans Bold, 650pt.
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Cognition Cognition Cognition Cognition Cognition
Meta Book, 45pt.
Gills Sans Regular, 45pt.
Futura Medium, 45pt.
Helvetica Neue Regular, 45pt.
Univers 55 Roman, 45pt.
Double story lowercase g’s like those found in Meta and Gill Sans (designed 1928 by Eric Gill) are uncommon in sans serif typefaces. Even more uncommon is the open bowl featured in Meta.
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Other distinguishing features include the
a slightly lower x-height. Both Meta and
double-storied g that has a highly unusual
Helvetica have thin shoulders. While the
open bowl. This is a feature shared by the
dots of Meta letterforms and punctuation
transitional typefaces Baskerville and
are rounded, Helvetica has square dots.
Cheltenham; only a few other sans-serif type-
The nuanced construction of the Meta type-
faces, such as Kabel, have this feature.
faces sets it apart from Helvetica’s regularized
The l has a slight curved tail and the y has
structure, creating the face’s unique and
an offset junction. Overall, Meta is a more
appealing personality.
condensed face than Helvetica, and it has only
Helvetic Helveti Meta Bold/Helvetica Neue Bold, 130pt.
Moluptate arum fuga. Et et alia con remodis nam aliqui as ere et laborendus, ut et occullu ptatur? Lore nemolupta volupta tiist, ni re vellor ad que optatios eos atque pos sitat inim aut
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Cc C
Helvetica’s squared punctuation compared to the rounded glyphs of Meta. Notice the slightly angled stroke of the exclamtion point.
ca ica
Meta Bold/Helvetica Neue Bold, 130pt.
Helvetica’s x-height
When set at the same point size, a word in Helvetica extends farther than the same word set in Meta
Cc Cc Cc
( from left to right) Meta Book/Helvetica Neue Regular/ Univers 55 Roman/Gill Sans Regular, 105pt.
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The Designer Erik Spiekermann, born in 1947, calls himself
second edition. He withdrew from the man-
an information architect. He is equally
agement of MetaDesign in 2000 to work on
comfortable and prolific as a writer, graphic
a new project: The United Designers Network,
and typeface designer, but type is always at the
a colla-boration of many designers he has
epicenter of this communication dynamo.
worked with over the years.
Even as a child, Spiekermann was drawn to the typographic arts. “I had a little printing press and taught myself to set type when I was twelve,” he recalls. “Years later, when I went to university to study art history, I made a living as a letterpress printer and hot metal typesetter.”
When it comes to the design of typefaces, Spiekermann sees himself as more of a problem solver than an artist. His process for beginning a new typeface is simple and straightforward. “Identify a problem – like space saving, bad paper, low resolution, on-screen use – then
In 1988, Spiekermann started FontShop,
find type-faces that almost work but could be
a digital typeface foundry and distributor
improved,” he explains. “Study them. Note the
of fonts. Spiekermann currently holds
approaches and failings. Sleep on it, then start
a professorship at the Academy of Arts in
sketching without looking at anything else.”
Bremen, is vice president of the German Design council, president of the International Institute of Information Design, president of the International Society of Typographic Designers and a board member of ATypI. His book, Stop Stealing Sheep, first published in 1993, has sold over 150,000 copies and is currently in its
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Bibliography Sweet, Fay. MetaDesign: Design from the Word up. New York: WatsonGuptil Publications, 1999.(A&A: VNC999.6.G4 M48 1999 and Vault) Spiekermann, Erik and Ginger, E.M. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find out how Type Works. USA: Hayden, 1993. (Vault) 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, c2000.(A&A: Z250 .R45 2000)
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This book was designed and constructed by Emilio Ramos for the Typography I Studio at Washington University in St. Louis during the Fall Semester of 2012. It was designed in Adobe InDesign CS5, printed with Xerox inks on 28lb. Hammermill and 80lb. Strathmore Papers, then assembled by Hand.