Font information
| designer | Hermann Zapf |
| year | 1948 |
| publisher | Linotype |
|
Arno Iowan Old Style Minion Palatino Nova |
Notes
Palatino is the work of Hermann Zapf, who is a calligrapher by training. Many of his fonts reflect this influence. But the Palatino system font is a harsh representation of Zapf ’s original design. Palatino Nova is Zapf’s own reworking of Palatino that restores its original fluid subtlety. Minion and Arno are also influenced by pen lettering. Minion is a clean design, widely used for books. Arno is darker and more distinctive.
Glad to see the Venetians represented. Please have a look at a couple others: Iowan Old Style (Bitstream) and Vendetta (Emigre).
Thanks,
JD
I am of course hooked on typography now. I’ve read some of your recommended books and I am now reading an article by Derek Kiernan-Johnson on typography in legal briefs. He raises the issue of your criticism re using screen fonts for briefs. In the courts I practice before, our briefs are scanned into pdf format and I suspect the law clerks are reviewing our work on screen rather than via hard copy. Shouldn’t we make it easier for them? Is there a recommendation you would make for a compromise font–that works for both screen and paper?
Thanks.
If you’re practicing in a court where you file in PDF, you shouldn’t be making a PDF by scanning..
As for screen vs. print, this is covered in the TFL book on p. 84. The short answer: you’re better off with a print-optimized font.
What about Aldus? It’s another Zapf face, and sets well at smaller sizes. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but it’s worthwhile.
The 2005 Palatino Nova family includes revised versions of Aldus, called Aldus Nova.
I am not a lawyer, I am a fine arts teacher (graphic design and photography). I was doing a search on a different typography question when I stumbled upon this site– what a great find! I am so excited to see a profession other than mine concerned with fonts. Aesthetics matter, readability matters, and choice matters. Palatino is an elegant and easy on the eyes. If a lawyer handed me some official document typed in Palatino (I would know), I would be impressed almost as much as nervous that I just received a document from a lawyer.
In response to RSW above– I heard it said that counter to previous studies showing that seriffed fonts are easier to read in columns, type columns on screen might be easier to read in SANS serif.