Which typeface has a particularly well designed semi-colon?

September 29, 2009 3:49 PM

Which typeface has a particularly well designed semi-colon?

I'm working on a design that is built off of a semi-colon.

One stipulation:

The upper, dot part of the semi-colon must be perfectly circular—or at least close. Beyond that, I'm just looking for opinions on particularly well designed semi-colons.

Thanks, hive mind!

posted by defenestration to media & arts (13 answers total)

Why not draw one?

It's easy enough to make one that meets your needs while also fitting in with whatever typeface you wish to match.
posted by rokusan at 3:54 PM on September 29, 2009

Gill Sans MT, although I'm not a fan of the rest of the font.
posted by sonic meat machine at 3:58 PM on September 29, 2009

That could definitely work. The entire design consists of replication of the pieces of the semi-colon, though, so I don't have to worry about matching any thing else. I just figured that altering an already well designed semi-colon would be easier than starting from scratch.
posted by defenestration at 3:58 PM on September 29, 2009

Didot. It's like a thin wafer mint.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:00 PM on September 29, 2009

Going just off the fonts installed on a standard Mac, the Bodoni Bold semi-colon is just about perfect. and I think even Windows comes with Bodoni.
posted by martens at 4:02 PM on September 29, 2009

Didot, and, shockingly, Times New Roman has a steady, round, practically smiling semicolon.

If it's as specific as you say, however, I suggest that you draw your own and adjust it to your needs as you go.
posted by Mizu at 4:13 PM on September 29, 2009

I like the one in New Century Schoolbook Bold. I had never previously realised how ugly most semicolons are. Honorable mentions to Papyrus (really), Stencil Regular and Times.
posted by nowonmai at 4:14 PM on September 29, 2009

Elephant. Type in some semicolons and enlarge to 144pt.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:22 PM on September 29, 2009

Flipping Typical might be of use here.
posted by heeeraldo at 4:57 PM on September 29, 2009 [6 favorites]

I prefer the Georgia semicolon to the TNR one; it's a little more sassy while still being a type classic that meets your criteria.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:31 PM on September 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

Going just off the fonts installed on a standard Mac, the Bodoni Bold semi-colon is just about perfect. and I think even Windows comes with Bodoni.

On windows the semicolon has a square top, not a round one.
posted by kylej at 7:17 PM on September 29, 2009

I have a semicolon tattoo. After weeks of poring through typefaces, I drew my own: at the size I wanted it, all the standard versions either had too-weird tails or the indents looked too bitten-off and square. So you probably just want to draw it.
posted by dame at 8:14 AM on September 30, 2009

From Flipping Typical I like Hoefler text.
posted by Brainy at 1:17 PM on October 11, 2009