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BASKERVILLE
TO
HELVETICA
Baskerville
FROM
BASKERVILLE
TO
HELVETICA
FROM
BASKERVILLE
TO
HELVETICA
Analysing six typefaces
Cecilia Serafini
Index
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
13
Rockwell
17
Avant Garde
21
Helvetica
25
References
29
Introduction
Baskerville
Baskerville
11
Name
Year
About
Baskerville
1757
Origin
Classification
England
Transitional
Baskerville typeface takes its name
from John Baskerville, an english printer and
designer. Starting his carreer as a writing-master
in Birmingham, he had established a printing
office by 1754 working in editions of Latin poems.
He later started working for Cambridge University
and was commissioned to produce editions
of the Bible.
The Baskerville typeface is the result
of John Baskervilles intent to improve upon
the types of William Caslon. He increased the
contrast between thick and thin strokes, making
the serifs sharper, and shifted the axis of rounded
letters to a more vertical position. The curved
strokes are more circular in shape, and the
characters became more regular. These changes
created a greater consistency in size and form.
Baskervilles typeface was the
culmination of a larger series of experiments
to improve legibility which also included paper
making and ink manufacturing. The result was a
typeface that reflected his ideals of perfection,
where he chose simplicity and quiet refinement.
Variations
Regular
Italic
Semibold
Semibold Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Baskerville
vs. Caslon
12
Main Features
Numerals
Baskerville is a transitional typeface
(transitioning between old style and modern
typefaces). These type of faces tend to have a
medium contrast between their thick and think
strokes and a lower degree of of left-inclined
stress than the old style faces. A distinguished
feature of transitional typeface is a flat or
triangular tip where the diagonal strokes meet,
as can be seen in the W.
Some special characteristics about
Baskerville are the following: the tail on the
lowercase g does not close; the swash-like tail
of the Q; high crossbar and pointed apex of A;
long lower arm of E; a long armed t and a small
counter in the lower case e.
There are two classifications. Lining
and Old Style. Lining numerals (upper case) are
aligned to the baseline and are all of equal height,
whereas old style numerals (lower case) do not,
which means they can be difficult to read
1234567890
Baskerville traditionally has lower case
numerals. However, an upper case variation
is available.
The loop
The enclosed or partially enclosed (in
this case, for example) lower counter in a Roman,
is called a loop. Baskervilles lower case g is one
of the most characteristic letters of the family. If
there is a need of differentiating similar families,
go for the g!
In Baskerville, the ascenders have a
stronger balance between the apex and the
serifs. Caslons apex, for example, are much
pointier and the transition from the apex to the
serif is more drastic.
x bjf gikyt
Details
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Bodoni
Name
Bodoni
Origin
Italy
Year
1798
Classification
Modern
Variations
Regular
Italic
Book
Book Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Bold Condensed
Bold Condensed Italic
Black
Black Italic
Ultra Bold
Ultra Bold Italic
About
Bodoni is a typeface designed by
Giambattista Bodoni in 1978. Bodoni wanted to
follow Baskervilles steps in creating a new style
of typefaces, away from the Old Style. To this end,
he continued some of Baskervilles ideas, but took
them to the extreme. He notably increased the
stroke contrast and enlarged the x-height.
Bodoni had made some proofs before
the final typeface, and those designs are called
transitional. However, the Bodoni we know today
is a modern typeface.
As William Morris states below, some
may find Bodoni difficult to read because of the
alternating think and thin of its strokes, specially
at small point sizes.
15
16
Haute Couture.
Because of its sleekness
and thin strokes, Bodoni
is usually used for highfashion magazines such
as Vogue.
Main Features
Didone
Bodonis main characteristics are the
following: top and bottom serifs on C, vertical and
centered tail of Q, unbracketed serifs, a vertical
stress (tall x-height), a small upper bowl of g,
large ball terminal of c, but most importantly, the
high contrast between thick and think strokes.
As we said before, Bodoni is part of the
Modern typefaces group; tyfaces that were these
types were designed towards the end of the 18th
century and they all share certain characteristics,
among others: high contrast between the thick
and thin strokes and flat, unbracketed and often
thin serif. However, according to the Thames &
Hudson Manual of Typography, Bodoni also falls
under the category of Didone; in the words of the
authors: (from Didot and Bodoni). These types,
invented by Didot and perfected by Bodoni, are
classified in England by the meaningless term
modern. They have vertical shading and hairline
serifs, introduced in the middle of the 18th century
when improvements in presses and paper-making
made such fine lines possible to print.
Main Features
Bodonis ascenders clearly show the
unbracketed thin serif that is so characteristic to
the typeface. The tittles are rounded. As for the
descenders, the terminal (or tail) of the y and the
j are rounded and have a hook like appearance.
If we take a look at the y, we can clearly see the
difference in thickness between the strokes of the
body (within the x-height) and the one
in the descender.
x bjf giyt
Avant Garde
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Centaur
Name
Centaur
Origin
United States
Year
1914
Classification
Humanist
Variations
Regular
Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
19
About
The Centaur typeface was
designed by american book and type
designer Bruce Rogers. History says
Rogers felt inspired when he saw a copy
of french engraver Nicholas Jensons 1470
Eusebius at the Boston Public Library.
Though he was not pleased with his first
attempt at creating the typeface, 10 years
later, while working in New York City, he
created the Centaur typeface for the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rogers had only designed the
roman alphabet, so when the Monotype
foundry decided to release the typeface
for commercial use, the italic version was
added. It was designed by Frederic
Warde, who based his designs on the
work of Ludovico degli Arrighi, a 16th
century calligrapher.
20
Off to Cadiz!
The italic version brings a
special z character.
Main Features
So, humanist?
According to the Thames & Hudson
Manual of Typography, Centaur falls under
the category of a Humanist typeface. These
typefaces are the ones inspired by 15th century
humanistic script, first seen in Venice.
Sometimes they can be found under the name
Old Style Venetenian.
Some of Centaurs main characteristics
are: the tail of the upper case J descends below
the baseline and points down; the ball of the
9 doesnt close; the bar of the lower case e is
diagonal and not horizontal and the serifs
on the M are single sided, opposite to the rest
of the faces.
As we said before, Centaur is part of
what we call the Humanist types. These kind
of types appeared during the 15th century (of
course, Centaur is inspired by the Humanist
typefaces) and got shaped after the forms of
italian humanist writers. Because they were
inspired by human script, and therefore the tools
humans used, they have certain characteristics
that are natural to this type or writing: one of the
most important being a low contrast between
thick and thin strokes. This little variation makes
the overall look of the font dark (dense).
The e
Being a Humanist font, Centaurs
ascenders of this typeface are distinctively
pointy, similar to those of Caslon. Tittles are
round. As for the descenders, we can see how the
stroke in the tail of the y is notably thinner.
x bjf gikyt
Centaurs e (magenta)
vs. Baskervilles: diagonal
vs. horizontal.
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Rockwell
Rockwell
Rockwell
23
About
Name
Variations
The original Rockwell was produced by
the Inland typefoundry in 1910, which issued it as
Litho Antique; American Type Founders revived
the face in the 1920s, with Morris Fuller Benton
cutting several new weights.
The Monotype Corporation produced its
version of Rockwell in 1934 and the project was
supervised by Frank Hinman Pierpont.
Rockwell
Regular
Italic
Light
Light Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Extra Bold
Condensed
Bold Condensed
Origin
England
Year
1934
Slab Serif
Classification
Slab serifs are distinguished by larger,
square serifs, which were considered to be
bolder than those of their predecessors. There
are sub-classifications within the slab serifs, like
Clarendon or Typewriter.
According to the Thames & Hudson
Manual of Typography, slab serifs are types
originated in the high flowering of the Industrial
Revolution; the large area of their faces made
them ideal for decoration, sometimes of the most
extravagant kind.
Slab Serif
Unbracketed Serif
Detail
In Slab serif typefaces, serifs tend to
be as thick as the vertical lines themselves and
usually have no bracket (curves which connect
the serif to the stroke). This is the case of
Rockwell, but not of Clarendon, another slab serif
and the name of one of the sub-classifications.
Clarendon, though sutil, has bracketed serifs.
90 angles in Rockwells
slab serifs.
24
Main Features
Rockwell is geometric, its upper- and
lowercase O more of a circle than an ellipse. The
lowercase a is two-story, somewhat incongruous
for a geometrically drawn typeface. Its distinctive
characteristics are, among others: a fairly high
x-height, short descenders and ascenders;
a distinctive bar at the apex of the A and deep
serifs in the T and L that helf reinforce the idea
of horizontality.
x bjfgiyk
Short Ascenders
How to spot it
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Rockwell
Avant Garde
Bodoni
Avant Garde
Name
Avant Garde
Classification
Geometrical
Sans Serif
Year
Origin
About
1970-77
United States
In 1964, Herb Lubalin formed his own
design consultation firm named Herb Lubalin,
Inc. During those years he collaborated with
a number os publications as art director;
one of them was the magazine Avant Garde.
When Lubalin was commisioned to design the
magazines logo, he was told to capture the
advanced, the innovative, the creative. That is
when he came up with the Avant Garde font.
Variations
Book
Book Oblique
Book Condensed
Book Condensed Oblique
Extra Light
Extra Light Oblique
Extra Light Condensed
Extra Light Condensed Oblique
Medium
Medium Oblique
Medium Condensed
Medium Condensed Oblique
Bold
Bold Oblique
Bold Condensed
Bold Condensed Oblique
Demi
Demi Oblique
Demi Condensed
Demi Condensed Oblique
Main Features
According to the Thames &
Hudson Manual of Typography, Avant Garde
is a geometric sans serif. These are fonts
constructed on geometrical shapes and usually
monoline. Main characteristics include: the
bowl of the R doesnt close, but in the P it does;
the tail on the Q is curved; the Gs crossbar is
particularilly low and the tittles are squared.
Canadian typographer Robert
Bringhurst described the font as a bicameral
stick-and-ball sanserif with very large x-height.
27
28
Question
Avant Gardes special Q.
bb
bfikpgy
Baskerville
29
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Rockwell
Avant Garde
Helvetica
Helvetica
Helvetica
31
Name
Origin
Variations
Helvetica (neue)
Switzerland
Year
Classification
1957
Sans serif
Roman
Oblique
Medium
Light
Light Oblique
Ultra Light
Ultra Light Oblique
Bold
Bold Oblique
Condensed
Condensed Oblique
Condensed Black
Condensed Bold
Extended
Extended Oblique
...
About
Helvetica was developed in 1957 by
Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the
Haassche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry)
of Mnchenstein, Switzerland. Haas set out to
design a new sans-serif typeface that could
compete with the successful Akzidenz-Grotesk
(another sans serif font) in the Swiss market. The
aim of the new design was to create a neutral
typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic
meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide
variety of signage.
Main Features
Helvetica is a sans-serif font. According
to the Thames & Hudson Manual of Typography,
it also falls under the category of neo-grotesque
lineal. One of the main characteristics of this font
is the perfectly straight horizontal and vertical
cuts of the strokes. Some other characteristics
include the spur at the G, the two-storied a, the
bracketed top serif at the 1, the straight diagonal
as a tail in the Q and a slightly double-curved tail
in the R.
Detail
32
x
x
Detail
bdfhiklt
gjpqy
Straight edges
Helvetica has been praised for its
simplicity. One of the characteristics that makes
it so simple, clear, neutral and legible is the
straight edges of its strokes.
Baskerville
Baskerville
Bodoni
Centaur
Rockwell
Avant Garde
Helvetica
References
1. Ambrose / Harris 2005, Basics Design 03:
Typography: Basics design 3, Ava Publishing, GB
2. McLean, R. 1992, The Thames and Hudson
manual of typography, Thames and Hudson,
London
3. The Typehead Chronicles (http://www.
rightreading.com/typehead/typehead.htm)
4. King 2009, A Brief History of Avant
Garde, Thinking for a Living (http://www.
thinkingforaliving.org/archives/147)
33
34
xxxxxx
This book was printed at the London College of
Communication on March, 2013.
Baskerville
35
36