Garamond AN INTRODUCTION
cap height x-height baseline
Garamond 5
1
2
3
4
[1]slight contrast between thick and thin strokes [2]smaller aperatures [3]diagonal stress [4]heavily bracketed serifs [5]wedge shaped serifs
Old-Style Serif
“an ease of legibility, a feeling of fluidity and consistency,
a sense of beauty —
all of which gives a text set in Garamond
”
credibility, authority & grace.
—Lucy Sisman -
Garamond was originally developed by Claude Garamond (1480–1561). Garamond refers to typefaces inspired by Garamond’s roman alphabet. Its characteristics were adapted in many typefaces by the French printer Jean Jannon. Since then, many versions of Garamond have been created using Garamond and Jannon’s designs, including the popular 1989 Adobe Garamond, designed by Robert Slimbach. Garamond is a “traditional” or “old style" typeface, with many of its terminals being reminiscent of calligraphy strokes. It is best suited for use in books or where a great volume of text exists in print, because of its extreme readability and clarity.
Aa Aa Aa Aa Garamond Regular
Garamond Italic
Garamond Semibold
Garamond Bold
P
g A B C D E H I J K L O P Q R U V W X a b c d e h i j k l o p q r u v w x the bowl of the uppercase P does not meet its stem
F G M N S T Y Z f g m n s t y z
j
j & the italic & is ea sily one of Garamond’s most beautiful characters
1 2 3 4 56 7 8 9 0 ! ? @ # $ % & ( ) . , : ‘ “ ”
the uppercase W looks like two uppercase V’s superimposed
The birdis did with oppin vocis cry, O luvaris fo, away thow dully nycht, Garamond Regular 14/16 pt
And welcum day that confortis every wicht.
Haill May, haill Flora, haill Aurora schene, Haill princes Natur, haill Venus luvis quene.
Garamond Bold Italic 20/22 pt
Garamond Semi Bold 18/20 pt
Scho ordand eik that every bird and beist, Befoir hir hienes suld annone compeir, And every flour of vertew, most and leist,
And every herb be feild, fer and neir,All present wer in twynkling of ane e,
Garamond Bold 14/16 pt
Garamond Italic 22/24 pt
Baith beist and bird and flour, befoir the quene. Garamond Regular 20/24 pt
- William Dunbar, The Thrissil and the Rois (1503)