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By The Designer Erik Spiekermann
ABCDEFHIJKLMOPQRSTUVXYZ
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ontent
1.Intro
2.Type Family 3.Type anotomy 4.Branding and Usage
The Designer Erik Spiekermann (born May 30, 1947 in Stadthagen, Lower Saxony) is a German typographer and designer. He is a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen. Spiekermann studied art history at Berlin's Free University, funding himself by running a letterpress printing press in the basement of his house. Between 1972 and 1979, he worked as a freelance graphic designer in London before returning to Berlin and founding MetaDesign with two partners. In 1989 he and his wife, Joan Spiekermann, started FontShop, the first mail-order distributor for digital fonts. FontShop International followed and now publishes the FontFont range of typefaces. MetaDesign combined clean, teutonic-looking information design and complex corporate design systems for clients like BVG (Berlin Transit), DĂźsseldorf Airport, Audi, Volkswagen and Heidelberg Printing, amongst others. In 2001 Spiekermann left MetaDesign over policy disagreements and started UDN | United Designers Networks with oďŹƒces in Berlin, London and San Francisco. In April 2006, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena awarded Spiekermann an Honorary Doctorship for his contribution to design. His family of typefaces for Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), designed with Christian Schwartz, received a Gold Medal at the German Federal Design Prize in 2006, the highest such award in Germany. As of January 2007, UDN has been renamed SpiekermannPartners, and as of January 2009 it has been renamed Edenspiekermann.
Type Family Meta Book:
aA bB cC dD eE fF gG hH iI jJ kK lL mM nN oO pP oO rR sS tT uU vV xX yY zZ 1234567890 Meta Book Italic:
aA bB cC dD eE fF gG hH iI jJ kK lL mM nN oO pP oO rR sS tT uU vV xX yY zZ 1234567890
Meta Bold:
aA bB cC dD eE fF gG hH iI jJ kK lL mM nN oO pP oO rR sS tT uU vV xX yY zZ 1234567890 Meta Bold Italic:
aA bB cC dD eE fF gG hH iI jJ kK lL mM nN oO pP oO rR sS tT uU vV xX yY zZ 1234567890
FF Meta Normal FF Meta Hebrew FF Meta Correspondence Pro FF Meta Headline FF Meta Serif FF Meta Condensed FF Meta Subnormal FF Meta Correspondence FF Meta Boiled FF Meta Bougainville
Type Anatomy FF Meta was originally conceived as a sturdy, basic serif typeface, verylegible for text small sizes, with angled terminals and other visual “noise” to give the face a pleasing, slight informality.
In FF Meta, strokes have slightly varying width as the spiekermann’s goal was that in small sizes, thinner strokes should not “drop out” but, on the contrary, become undistinguishable from the thicker ones. On the other hand, in compensation for the missing serifs, it has vigorously bent-off tips of vertical strokes in letter ‘d’ and ‘m’. Both upeer case and lowercase characters are narrower than in most other sans serif fonts. It is an excellent example of how far it is possible to “humanize”sans serifs and borrowing serif-specific features, while remaining within the sans serif paradigm. Meta is a more condensed face than helvetica and Gill Sans. It’s x-height is only slightly lower than that of Helvetica, but both are significantly larger than Gill Sans, which is most discemable in the lower case letters.
me t a book
bold
book italic
bold italic
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Meta vs Gill Sans
ear of g in Meta is upward but Gil Sans doesn’t
Comparison
Tail of j in Meta is downward than Gill Sans
Gill Sans has equal crossbar
M glOCyaFQj M of Gil Sans is middle junction; g of Gil Sans l of Meta has O of Gil Sans but Meta is is linked but curved tail has circle counter baseline junction Meta is open
Meta vs Helvetica
Tail of l in Helvetica is straight
C of Meta is not wider than Gil Sans
Tail of j in Meta a of Gill Sans is downward than Gill Sans but angled in Meta
Counter of Q in Gill Sans is circle
Final of a in helvetica is on baseline
Helvetica wide opening but Meta doesn’t
Q has a wavy tail in Meta but Helvetica doesn’t
M glOC yaFQj M’s stem of Helvetica is straight
g of Helvetica is different with Meta
Counterof Meta is smaller than Helvetica
Helvetica doesn’t
Crossbar of f in Meta is shorter than Helvetica
inletter of y
on top crossbar
the dots of Meta is rounded, but Helvetica is square
Uppercase Angled finals can be found in the tops of strokes of C,E,F,G & S
K has one junction
CEGJK Base of E Extended The base of G has no spur
C has wide opening
Junction of M rests of baseline
Base of J has no loop
Oval shaped counter like Q & O
MQR Stem of M are oblique
Leg is slighty curved Wavy tail
Lowercase
Ascenders of b, l, p are slighty bend on top Rounded dot
bgilp The loop of g is open
l has curved tail The bowl is geometric
Finals of w&y slighthy angles
y has a oset junction
wyz junction and base of w are flat Angled final ocur at the bottom of z
Brading/Usage
“I’m very much a word person so that typhography for me is aobvious extension it just make my word visible.”
... By Erik Spiekermann