Canada Type News | July 2007

Font Releases:

-Centennial Script: In trying to be a true homage to the history of the new world, Centennial Script transcends its then-contemporary deco fashion to embrace script elements historically similar to lettering found on maps or political documents of the 18th century. Letters like the p and s extend themselves high and mighty to accentuate words and lines of text in a fancy hand-drawn manner. The dots on the i and j are those of a careful scribe who acknowledges the importance of the document being lettered. The lowercase letters connect with two slight angular motions of the hand, also very carefully and elegantly. Even the ligatures and ending swashes Ihlenburg made for this face were reminiscent of a mapmaker's patient hand, though Ihlenburg's elegant touch in them cannot be mistaken.

-Clarendon Text: The rich, full-bodied style of Clarendon Text takes its primary inspiration from the classic 1953 Hoffmann/Eidenbenz polishing of the mid-nineteenth century English slab serifs originally conceptualized by extraordinary craftsmen like Vincent Figgins and Robert Besley. The italic styles of Clarendon Text take their cue from Aldo Novarese's 1955 Egizio typeface, which was the very first to attempt a true italic companion to the Clarendon roman. Clarendon Text slightly departs from the original roman and bold in semantic details that make it contemporary and more easily read. The shapes of the letters like a, g, q, and t were revised to be more in line with an immersive body copy face. The original a, g, q and t are available as alternates, for display uses, or those designers who like to make use of the traditional Clarendon. The ascender serifs were also slightly revised for a better immersive reading fit. Clarendon Text was tested thoroughly for readability in sizes between 8 and 12 pt. Display uses are also clear and attractive, especially with the bold weights.

-Press Gothic: Press Gothic is a revival of Aldo Novarese's Metropol typeface, released by Nebiolo in 1967 as a competitor to Stephenson Blake's Impact (designed by Goeffrey Lee). Though Metropol enjoyed a few short months of popularity and use in Italy, Germany and France, Impact won the technological outlasting battle by moving on to film type then to computer outlines bundled with mainstream software, while Metropol never made it past the metal state until now. Too bad really, since this is one of the few faces that could have played well with all the horrendous stretch'n'squeezing of the 1970s. Just like its inspiration, Press Gothic aims to be a fresh alternative to big economical poster fonts with clear sans serif forms and an urgent, strong, yet elegant design appeal.

July 2007 Notes:

- Thanks everyone for the overwhelming response to Ambassador Script. We "like that you like", as a friend of ours is fond of saying.

- Congratulations to Toni Ibriz from Turkey, Elsbeth McKatrick from Ireland, Rita Forster from Germany, and Bob Baxendale from the USA. They were the winners of last month's random draw. The next draw will happen on August 3, and four from our July customers will receive their choice of any Canada Type font package (excluding value packs). Winners will be notified by email by August 5.

Thanks for checking out Canada Type, and see you again in August.