Typefaces and Visual Details for Teaching Materials, Mark II
December 30, 2009 9:16 PM Subscribe
Need font and other design suggestions for subtly representing Europe 1850-1900 in a multi-period lit course.
I asked and received good help a couple of years ago, when I first taught this course, but this time around I've dropped the French neo-classical unit and instead am teaching a unit on drama in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, with an emphasis on Ibsen, Zola and the general realist-premodernist trend.
Anyway, what's the perfect font (preferably that will look decent in digital projection and in print, but with projection the more important) to represent this period?
One of the subthemes of the course is the relation of drama as a technology to the technology of printing and publishing. So I use Day Roman ["In digitizing this typeface, attention was mainly given to duplicate the technical imperfections of 16th century printing"] for my early modern England unit, where new markets in both print and performance are in play, and a charming (I thiink) free retro typewriter font called Liecester for my US cold war unit, stressing the still-important modernity of typing and the strong relation between stage and print in this period.
Anyway, neoclassical France and my use of Garamond are out this time, so what's perfect for the age of realists, naturalists, and symbolists?
(Bonus points for improvements on my earlier choices and especially for suggestions for decorative visual elements that can be used logo-like on materials for these periods).
I asked and received good help a couple of years ago, when I first taught this course, but this time around I've dropped the French neo-classical unit and instead am teaching a unit on drama in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, with an emphasis on Ibsen, Zola and the general realist-premodernist trend.
Anyway, what's the perfect font (preferably that will look decent in digital projection and in print, but with projection the more important) to represent this period?
One of the subthemes of the course is the relation of drama as a technology to the technology of printing and publishing. So I use Day Roman ["In digitizing this typeface, attention was mainly given to duplicate the technical imperfections of 16th century printing"] for my early modern England unit, where new markets in both print and performance are in play, and a charming (I thiink) free retro typewriter font called Liecester for my US cold war unit, stressing the still-important modernity of typing and the strong relation between stage and print in this period.
Anyway, neoclassical France and my use of Garamond are out this time, so what's perfect for the age of realists, naturalists, and symbolists?
(Bonus points for improvements on my earlier choices and especially for suggestions for decorative visual elements that can be used logo-like on materials for these periods).
I happened to spend most of this afternoon reading about old european typefaces. Start by reading about Sütterlin, an old German style of cursive.
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:15 AM on December 31, 2009
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:15 AM on December 31, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks to both answers so far.
MsM, that's a beauty, but I have no idea what it is.
Jon_Evil, Sutterlin is indeed fascinating, but not really legible enough for my needs.
posted by Mngo at 9:57 AM on December 31, 2009
MsM, that's a beauty, but I have no idea what it is.
Jon_Evil, Sutterlin is indeed fascinating, but not really legible enough for my needs.
posted by Mngo at 9:57 AM on December 31, 2009
Best answer: "L'Argent" looks like a condensed Bodoni to me.
Bringhurst's Elements has this to say about the Realist letter: "blunt and simple..., based on the script of people denied the opportunity to read or write with fluency and poise. Realist letters very often have the same shape as Neoclassical and Romantic letters, but most of them have heavy, slab serifs or no serifs at all. The stroke is often uniform in weight, and the aperture is tiny." Realist type designers include Phemister (Bookman) and Besley (Clarendon). Akzidenz Grotesk, the ancestor of Helvetica, is a Realist sans-serif.
posted by Dean King at 12:25 PM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Bringhurst's Elements has this to say about the Realist letter: "blunt and simple..., based on the script of people denied the opportunity to read or write with fluency and poise. Realist letters very often have the same shape as Neoclassical and Romantic letters, but most of them have heavy, slab serifs or no serifs at all. The stroke is often uniform in weight, and the aperture is tiny." Realist type designers include Phemister (Bookman) and Besley (Clarendon). Akzidenz Grotesk, the ancestor of Helvetica, is a Realist sans-serif.
posted by Dean King at 12:25 PM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the tip, Dean King. I'll definitely look for something in this category. I'm thinking something similar to this (from a facsimile of Ibsen's collected works)--any guesses?
posted by Mngo at 2:00 PM on January 2, 2010
posted by Mngo at 2:00 PM on January 2, 2010
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posted by Monday, stony Monday at 9:31 PM on December 30, 2009