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Reprinted by permission from InDesign Magazine 113 To subscribe, visit CreativePro.com 2 36 - Andrea Leksen Andrea BY fonts. The name refers name refers The fonts. Just thinking about it gives me thinking about it gives Just Didone Fonts vertical heavy with strong, Fonts highly- by surrounded strokes thin horizontal contrasting called serifs are and strokes Didone eigh to Didot and Bodoni, two designers font teenth-century beautifully their for known well fonts. modern well-designed swash that ends like a stunning like that ends swash finale? symphony goosebumps. of The Modern Beauty ). Is it a quick transition or or ). Is it a quick transition FIGURE 1 something about homing in something about homing designed on that meticulously curve letterform—each to a connecting a thin stroke thick stroke—that ridiculously and intensity drama creates ( connect Does the terminal slow? or letterforms other back into an ornate out into is it drawn I don’t know about you, but but you, about know I don’t dramatic, a gorgeous, I love font high contrast over-the-top, on titles in magazines, large for There’s on a tattoo! or posters, Alejandro Paul’s recent font release, Speakeasy. font release, recent Paul’s Alejandro 2018 Exploring the Craze of High-Contrast Fonts of High-Contrast the Craze Exploring FIGURE 1. Typographic Drama Typographic SEPTEMBER

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These designers were inspired printer.2 Bodoni’s letterforms of the time—precision, perfec- in the printing world of the early by the modern fonts created by evolved from traditional roman tion, and simplicity of design— nineteenth century (FIGURE 3). the English printer John Bask- letterforms, not only extending replacing the frills of the rococo While this Didone movement erville, who set the stage for the the contrast of stroke weight style.3 The friendly typographic is over two centuries old, these next chapter of serif type in the but also by designing more competition between Bodoni and fonts often still feel modern to 18th century, bridging the gap condensed letterforms with the Didot family kept evolving us! But of course, typography between oldstyle and modern hairline serifs. These character- the modern serif further and never stands still, and designers serifs. Baskerville achieved crisp istics reflected the machine age raised the standard of precision have taken high contrast fonts to printing of these thin modern even greater extremes. strokes through his experimen- FIGURE 2. Baskerville’s first print, Virgil, 1757 FIGURE 3. Il Manuale tipografico, 1813 tation with printing technology, Extreme Fonts in crafting new processes to create Fashion Design darker inks and using brighter If you were to describe a Didone paper (FIGURE 2). Through this, font, you might use adjectives Baskerville printed crisp, legible like “sophisticated,” “dramatic,” type in spite of the new printing or “classy,” due to its precision challenges of these extreme and extreme contrast of stroke stroke weights.1 weight. In many fashion lines, The modern serif continued the goal is to create clothing that to evolve through Giambattista describes similar qualities—or Bodoni’s experimental typog- at least make you feel like you raphy in Italy. “The king of will fit that description. So printers and the printer of kings,” naturally, it makes sense that Bodoni created innovative type these fonts might be paired designs and also had the repu- with these types of brands. For tation of being a meticulous example, the Couture mission is

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to create clothing of the highest quality with incredible attention to detail. That sounds a lot like Bodoni’s style to me!4 Commercial Type’s Le Jeune font, designed for the 2013 refresh of Vanity Fair, was based on the Didot typeface and named after the French punchcutter Joseph Molé Le FIGURE 5. Le Jeune Stencil, Vanity Fair Italia Jeune (FIGURE 4). It even includes a stencil version, playing with the extremes of disconnection Art Director Alexey Brodo- to offer even more excitement in vitch brought the iconic Didone the strokes (FIGURE 5). Bazaar masthead to life during As in all design, typography his years at Harper’s Bazaar. This and images work together to tell cover from 1955 (FIGURE 6) shows FIGURE 6. Bazaar cover, November 1955 FIGURE 4. Le Jeune’s debut on Vanity Fair, a clever correlation between a cohesive, compelling story. 2013 In “Type in Couture,” Elizabeth type and image and is just one example of a persuasive visual Carey Smith states: “Typography self-expression. The secure and The Science of Contrast story from his 24 years reforming informs and expresses but it’s insecure ways that we reflect However, it’s clear that so many editorial design.5 mostly literal, while fashion is ourselves to ourselves and of us are drawn to these high more nebulous. Fashion commu- others.” While these fonts have contrast fonts. But why? Bruno nicates lifestyles or the aspira- screamed “modern” for so long, Maag of the type design foundry tions of life visually. Fashion some designers have wondered if Dalton Maag states, “Extreme is about self-invention and the trend is overused. fonts, whether that be contrast,

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weight, width, or any other thing use of high contrast typography How Should I Use High flamboyant, dramatic fonts in that a type designer can think has been passed from one user to Contrast Fonts? headlines and subtitles, and keep of, are very expressive. They another on an emotional basis, body type to legible text fonts High contrast fonts have a clear, shout for attention and elicit an hence very much involving that are designed for paragraph resonant voice that demands to emotional response, and that the ‘emotional brain’.” It would settings. be heard. If these fonts reflect makes them useful and popular.” be a fascinating study to see Here are a few fun high-contrast the personality of your project, Whether it’s seen in design, how people’s brains respond to fonts you should know about: use them at large sizes and show fashion, or typography, contrast contrast in a variety of cultures! off those beautiful curves! High }} Matthew Carter’s Miller font is one of the essentials that Nietzsche suggests that “all contrast fonts are best used includes all the weights you creates dynamic design. pleasure depends on propor- for display and big headings. need, from text to display, Of course, what we define tion” and that one of our innate At smaller text sizes, hairlines including Miller Banner, Miller as beauty is determined by desires is to find pattern and will disappear and no longer be Display, Miller Headline, many things, including culture, symmetry. It is also suggested legible. So have fun with these and Miller Text. Carter has a history, and nature. Last month that the significance of the beautiful way of integrating I was discussing this issue with aesthetic response correlates to personality into his letterforms neurologist Alessia Nicotra, who the relationship of the parts to FIGURE 7. Matthew Carter’s Miller Banner while still keeping the consis- font family has recently been educating the whole. So perhaps we could tency necessary for a successful the typography world on the find a link to contrast in these typeface (FIGURE 7). Check out neuroscience of typography. She aesthetic responses as our eye that italic lowercase z and said that “Cultural preference compares the difference in the uppercase Q! (swoon) depends on emotional choices thin stroke to the thick stroke of that have become history on a high contrast letterform. The }} Argentinian type designer the background of a script. High greater the disparity between Maximiliano Sproviero’s Erotica contrast typography applies only stroke weights, the more our font is a calligraphic script to certain scripts, like Latin, for brain reacts aesthetically to the that oozes sensuality through example (and not Chinese). The stimulus.6 the dramatic stroke contrast

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and with terminals ending in Am I a little biased when it elaborate swashes (FIGURE 8). He comes to this category of type? includes multiple alternates Perhaps. I do have a knack for FIGURE 10. Andrea Leksen’s to create your own ending—a finding passion, whether it’s soon-to-be-released designer’s dream! in an expressive dance step Mr Gabe typeface on the tango floor, playing a Rachmaninoff rhapsody on my grand piano, or drawing an over-the-top curve in a letter- form. So when the Font Bureau High Expression Fonts offered me a generous mentor- Andrea Leksen is a type designer, Perhaps now that we understand ship opportunity a few years graphic designer, and educator with a FIGURE 8. Maximiliano Sproviero’s the history, emotion, and metic- Master of Design degree from Duncan of ago, I used my time to concoct Erotica font ulous creation of high contrast Jordanstone College of Art & Design in a typeface with some of my fonts a little better, we can Scotland. Currently a Design Instructor favorite display attributes—low at Western Washington University and }} A few years ago I was drooling appreciate them even more as Associate Professor of Design at Cornish over the display font in Food x-height and high contrast, we see them in use. Our clients with oodles of ligatures to College of the Arts, Leksen specializes & Wine magazine and wrote may not know the history of in typography, type design, brand, and to ask what font it featured. It explore beauty in the connec- Didone fonts when we use them traditional print design. She has worked turns out it’s Dino Dos Santos’ tion between letterforms. This in specific projects, but they (the in-house for corporations and design Acta Display, so gorgeous in typeface, Mr Gabe (FIGURE 10), clients!) will feel the connection firms and serves a diverse client base Black Italic (FIGURE 9). will be making its debut in the between the emotion and the in her business, Leksen Design. She is near future, and I can only an avid participant in the local and story we’re attempting to portray international typographic community hope that it would have made as designers. So continue the and in her spare time immerses herself FIGURE 9. the founders of the modern craze, push the limits, and see in music, art, dance, pasta-making, Acta Display serif era proud. where it leads you! parenting, and traveling.

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Works Cited 1. Yau, Cheryl. “Know 4. Smith, Elizabeth Carey. “Type Your Type: Baskerville.” In Couture.” YouTube.com. idsgn.org. 10 October 2010. Type Directors Club. 24 June 2018. 2. Tholenaar, J., Jong, C., & Purvis, A. W. (2009). 5. Gallagher, Jenna Gabrial. Type: A visual history of “Alexey Brodovich: 1934– typefaces and graphic styles. 1958.” HarpersBazaar.com. Köln: Taschen. Hearst Communications, Inc. 31 May 2007. 3. Meggs, P. B., Purvis, A. W., & Meggs, P. B. (2012). 6. Smith, C. U. M. “Evolu- Meggs’ history of graphic tionary Neurobiology and design. Hoboken, N.J: Aesthetics.” Perspectives in J. Wiley & Sons. biology and medicine 48.1 (2005): 17–30. ProQuest. Web. 8 May 2018.

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