BODONI Everything you never thought you wanted to know about the typeface.
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The letters don’t get their true delight, when done in haste and discomfort, nor merely done with diligence and pain, but first when they are created with love and passion. -Giambattista Bodoni
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Giambattista Bodoni was born in Saluzzo, Italy in 1740. Bodoni’s father was a printer, which led him to find an apprenticeship at a printing press. He came to manage the Royal Press, which belonged to the Duke of Parma. He printed books in several different languages for the court to use. The Duke gave him more freedom to print his own documents, which allowed him to create the typeface that bears his name. Bodoni was first familiar with the fonts of Pierre Fournier of Paris and
eventually began designing his own typefaces. Bodoni is one of several typefaces that Bodoni created. Bodoni also produced several books, including Manuale tipografico (which translates to “Inventory of Types), which contains a couple hundred roman and italic typefaces and typefaces from other countries, “Saggio tipografivo di fregi e maiuscole”, and an homage book “Epithalamia exoticis linguis reddita”.
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History of Bodoni Typeface
Giambattista Bodoni designed the typeface Bodoni in the late 18th century during his time working at the Duke of Parma’s printing press after he was promoted to the director of the Duke of Parma’s printing press. He designed the typeface so that he would have something to carry his own name. Bodoni was inspired by the typeface Baskerville, created by John Baskerville in 1775. Eventually, the Duke allowed him to print his own documents in the typeface.
Initially, Bodoni was used to make these documents look regal; it was appreciated as artwork rather than just used to communicate something. It relays high class and sophistication to its readers. Today, Bodoni is used for headlines and larger displays (as it becomes more illegible the smaller it is printed). It is particularly popular in the fashion industry, as it is used in the Vogue, Armani, and Alexander Liberman logos.
What’s in a letter?
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1. Ascender (the stroke that extends above the x-height) 2. x-height (height of the lower case letters) 3. Counter (the enclosed space within a letter) 4. Descender (the downward stroke that extends below the baseline) 5. Terminal (the end of the stroke that isn’t a serif)
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Characteristics of Bodoni
Bodoni is a didone modern typeface. It is characterized by the extreme weight contrast between thick and thin strokes, which are gradual transitions. The tip of the letter A comes to a point, rather than lying flat and the letter R’s bowl dips farther below the baseline, whereas the R in Baskerville only touches the baseline.
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Humanist Didone
Humanist typefaces (above Centaur) are markedly different from Didone typefaces (ex. Bodoni) in that they have a more organic feel. The serifs are slanted and the axis is tilted, giving it a similar feel to hand-written characters.
Bodoni also features ovular counters and cupped top serifs. Bodoni could be considered a size specific typeface, as it is best read on large displays and logos and becomes more difficult to read as it gets smaller. The letters have hairline serifs and horizontal strokes, which can disrupt the readability of the typeface.
The serifs have no slope to them and are the same width as the thin strokes of the letter. The thick strokes give the character variety.
R
Different versions of Bodoni have unique features for individual letters, such as the tail of the capital R. In the MT version (grey) the tip has a blunt end. In one variation (white), the tail of the R has a ball at the end.
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Bodoni’s elegance shows at large point sizes.
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Presented above is the full family of Bodoni MT, including Bodoni MT regular, italic, bold, bold italic, extrabold, and extrabold italic. It becomes increasingly difficult to read as the point size decreases.
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Different Fonts
RegularItalic Italics aren’t just slanted letters. They are a completely different set of characters. Italics are generally used to emphasize some part of the sentence. Notice the difference in the lowercase a’s.
Bold Italic The bold italics are slightly wider and taller than the regular italic letters, making them quatter and rounder.
Ultrabold Italic The ultrabold & italic family are the most different. The serifs are immensely thin, and for certain characters, become triangular (ex. the letter U). There is no transition between the thick and thin strokes. Notice the difference between the a’s again in ultrabold and italic.
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Variations of Bodoni
Bodoni 72 Oldstyle Bodoni Oldstyle Book is thinner than Bodoni MT, and the x-height is slightly taller. The serifs are curved rather than straight across, giving it a more organic feel.
Bodoni 72 Bodoni 72 has the same characters as Bodoni 72 Oldstyle, but the numbers sit on the baseline, rather than dipping below it (as you can see by the 7 in Bodoni 72 Oldstyle above) and reach the full cap height rather than the x-height (as you can see by the 2 above.)
BodoniMT Compared to the Oldstyles, BodoniMT (without a space) has about the same thickness contrasts in the strokes, but has a more automated appearance due to the flat serifs.
Bodoni MT Bodoni MT (with a space) is the typeface used for comparisons between other typefaces in this book. It has the greatest contrast between thick and thin strokes and the shortest x-height and cap height. It is the squattest and roundest of the verrsions of Bodoni.
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Comparisons
Although Bodoni is similar to the typeface Baskerville, from which Bodoni drew much inspiration, Bodoni is distinctly taller and skinnier. The serifs are curved and thinner than Baskerville. It is a more streamlined version of the typeface that features many specific and unique qualities to individual letters. The tip of the letter A comes to a point, rather than lying flat and the letter R’s bowl dips farther below the baseline, whereas the R in Baskerville only touches the baseline. Baskeville is generally a thinner typeface than Bodoni. The transitions between thick and thin are not as distinguishable. Baskerville is also much rounder than Bodoni – the O’s are more circular and the other letters are wider than the Bodoni letters. The x-height is less than that of Bodoni, giving it a very squarish appearance. The serifs are less dramatic and bold than Bodoni and it is a typerface that is more legible for body text; but is also less elegant looking than Bodoni by that regard.
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The serif on the Baskerville B (left) is triangular, whereas the Bodoni B (right) serif lies flat. The x-height is of Baskerville is slightly taller, making the letters rounder, and the counter of the Bodoni B is more ovular due to the thick stroke.
The tails of the Q’s are extremely different. The Bodoni Q (right) is much more ovular than the Baskerville Q and the tail of the Baskerville Q (left) is much more dramatic than the Bodoni Q.
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The top of the Bodoni t (right) is much flatter than the top of the Baskerville t (left), as the top of the the Baskerville t slopes into the crossbar.
The tip of the Bodoni A comes to more of a point than the Baskerville A. You can also see how much wider Baskerville is than Bodoni.
The Baskerville R (left) has a straighter tail than the Bodoni R (right). The Bodoni R also dips below the baseline where the Baskerville R does not. There is a slope in the shoulder of the Baskerville R, which is gives it a more rounded look. The Bodoni serif is much thinner than the Baskerville serif.
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Comparisons
The Didot typeface preceded Bodoni. It marked a departure from the calligraphic typefaces that had been used in the recent past. It is clean, slick, and geometric. It has extremely thin serifs; thinner than the Bodoni serifs. It is wider than Bodoni but not as wide as Baskerville. Its descenders are longer and its x-height is slightly taller than Bodoni. However, it still retains a completely vertical axis. The differences between thick and thin are less stark than Bodoni.
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tt o The descender of the Didot y dips farther down than Bodoni and sits higher. The terminal at the end is more fully shaped, too.
The x-height of Didot is slightly taller than Bodoni. Although the typeface is thinner than Bodoni, there is still a lot of contrast between the thickness of the stems and the thinness of the serifs and crossbars.
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The O of Didot demonstrates the completely vertical axis of the letters and the contrasts between the thick and thinness of the strokes.
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Didot descends lower than Bodoni, but also ascends higher than Bodoni. The dot over the j (and the i as well) floats higher. The serif at the top of the Didot j is completely flat, whereas the Bodoni serif curves just slightly.
The ascender height of Didot is taller than Bodoni as well. The terminal on the F is more circular on Bodoni than on Didot.
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Other versions of Bodoni
Subsequent versions of Bodoni, designed by Bodoni himself or other designers as a revival version of the typeface, retain the contrasts between thick and thin. Many versions experiment with a condensed look to the typeface. However, as the thick and thin lines remain the same, it becomes very vertical and stripey.
Bodoni featured in a variety of different media including logos, film posters, and album covers.
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Many companies or groups that feature Bodoni as the typeface for their logos have modified it slightly to suit their needs. It can become more delicate, as in the case of the Armani logo or on the poster below, or it can be used as-is (ex. the album cover for A Great Big Pile of Leaves).
Works Cited
1. http://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/ type-anatomy/type-classifications 2. http://www.andrewkeir.com/typeface-serif-fonts/ 3. http://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/bodoni 4. http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=14398 5. http://www.designmylife.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ bodonitypespecimen.pdf 6. http://cdncms.fonts.net/documents/38e31e135dec4230/ ILBodoni.pdf 7. http://www.prepressure.com/fonts/interesting/bodoni 8. http://www.gianlucateti.com/bodoni-a-typeface-for-almostany-occasion/ 9. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Giambattista-Bodoni 10. http://www.giambattista-bodoni.com/ 11. http://theartofmessmer.com/images/Bodoni.pdf 12. http://www.graphic-design.com/typography/design/transitional-modern-type-families 13. http://www.mb-museobodoniano.it/bodoni.htm#morte 14. http://s3images.coroflot.com/user_files/individual_ files/368112_3ptwo4rI857lET_ABP4aIGE8p.pdf 15. http://typedia.com/learn/only/anatomy-of-a-typeface/
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