Wednesday, December 12, 2007

colophon


Goudy Old Style is a graceful, balanced design with a few eccentricities, including the upward-curved ear on the g and the diamond shape of the dots of the i, j, and the points found in the period, colon and exclamation point, and the sharply canted hyphen. The uppercase italic Q has a strong calligraphic quality. Generally classified as a Garalde (sometimes called Aldine) face, certain of its attributes—most notably the gently curved, rounded serifs of certain glyphs—suggest a Venetian influence.

Wikipedia


Two years back I chose to set Nini's book in Goudy Old Style for reasons that I kept to myself at the time (mostly because I believe it's best that we typefreaks stay quiet about the strange synaesthesia that we experience around letterforms).

But now I'll spill: I felt it had the firm uprightness of a Catholic girl from Kansas, the solid serifs of a businesswoman who tackled work as though it were a sacrament, the elegance and grace of a hostess who knew how to put on the swank, and the warmth and eagerness of a woman who loved to learn and thoroughly enjoyed her life.

Today I set the program for her Funeral Mass in the same typeface.

For all the same reasons.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

it is strange how we sometimes have an attachment to something like a typeface. a couple days ago i showed a friend a new design for a personal card and he criticized me for selecting Garamond. i was furious even though i have no type training. he was going to suggest i used times instead of garamond.

i chose to ignore the rest of the conversation. there is something about serifs that come from a time when people still use quills. and i as one who still cuts their own quills, was not going to give in completely to the world of postscript...

karigee said...

I'm awed by your reverence for details, and the care you put into the choices you make. As always, my best to you.

anniemcq said...

I second Kari's comment - if we all paid such careful attention to the details, I think we might actually be nicer to each other. Love you, friend.

Lolabola* said...

Oh Narthex, B has a special attachment to Garamond and was also furious when i read him your comment.

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