What It Looks Like:
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| Picture available here. |
Its History: "Optima is a Humanist Sans Serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf between 1952 and 1955 for the D. Stempel AG foundry [located in] Frankfurt, Germany." (Source below. #1)
"At the Franciscan Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence on October 3rd, 1950, one visitor was looking at the 276 gravestones through quite different eyes than the other tourists. The great names of Michelangelo, Rossini, Galilei and Machiavelli held less fascination for him than the great variety of lettering carved in the stone. Because he had left his notebook behind at the hotel, Hermann Zapf sketched a few characters on a 1000 lire note." (Source below. #2)
"A delicate sans serif, characterized by its tapered stems, Optima alludes to Greek inscriptional forms without appearing archaic." (Source below. #3)
"Hermann Zapf, born November 8, 1918, is a German typeface designer who lives in Darmstadt, Germany. He is married to calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf von Hesse.
"Zapf's work, which includes Palatino and Optima, has been widely copied, often against his will. The best known example may be Monotype's Book Antiqua, which shipped with Microsoft Office and was widely considered a "knockoff" of Palatino. In 1993, Zapf resigned from ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) over what he viewed as its hypocritical attitude toward unauthorized copying by prominent ATypI members." (Source below. #4)
"Zapf's work, which includes Palatino and Optima, has been widely copied, often against his will. The best known example may be Monotype's Book Antiqua, which shipped with Microsoft Office and was widely considered a "knockoff" of Palatino. In 1993, Zapf resigned from ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) over what he viewed as its hypocritical attitude toward unauthorized copying by prominent ATypI members." (Source below. #4)
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| Picture available here. |
"Humanist Sans typefaces function well for the setting of extended text, though they do not as a rule provide for very economical setting because most have a lower x-height than the Grotesques. Heavier weights may be effectively used for smaller quantities of text, and benefit from generous leading.
"Humanist Sans faces are notable for their compatibility with classic serif types, and can be paired with a number of Humanist, Garalde, and Transitional faces that are based upon similar Roman proportions." (Source below. #5)
How You Can Design With It: "Optima is an elegant if conservative type choice, and is well-suited to understated designs. Most famously, it’s been used for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and by the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. It’s also the official branding typeface of Estée Lauder Companies and Aston Martin." (Source below. #6)
Where You Can Get It: Available for a free download here: http://www.fontsupply.com/fonts/O/Optima.html. There are Optima alternatives available for free download here: http://www.fontspace.com/category/optima.
Descriptive Terms For It: book copy, classical, Humanist, large blocks of text, legibility, logo, modern, readable, and sans serif.
Sources:
- #3 and #5: "The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 110 and 117,
Examples:
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| Picture can be found here. |
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| Picture can be found here. |
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