Typeface Review: "Trajan"

What It Looks Like:

Picture found here.

It's History: "Trajan was designed by Carol Twombly in 1989 as a faithful transcription of the 1st-century AD letters on the Trajan column in Rome.

"Because of its origins, Trajan does not have a miniscule lowercase but has instead a small-cap lowercase, comprising capital forms of a slightly lower height. It has proved an extremely popular titling face, combining classical authority with great refinement of form." (Source #1)

Picture found here.

What Type of Font It Is: Glyphic; "This is a category of carved or inscribed type with its origins in both the history and the contemporary practice of letter cutting, and its main exponents have been equally distinguished in the letter crafts.

"Glyphics are primarily a titling form and many have no lowercase. Mantinia and Trajan exist only in capital form. Some of the Germanic Glyphics can be effectively used for limited amounts of text setting, providing a tonal depth similar to that of the heavier Humanist revival faces. Their weight can create a more dramatic color in a text page but their application in this context is fairly specialized." (Source #2)

Picture found here.

How You Can Design With It: "Trajan is available in regular and bold weights, and is suitable for a range of titling functions. It is also suitable for architectural and environmental use, particularly in contexts involving reference to classical concepts or values. If it is to be paired with a text face, this should be based upon similar classical proportions, and care should be taken to compliment the delicacy of the strokes and serifs." (Source #1)

Where You Can Get It: You can download the font at FontPalace or you can purchase the font at MyFonts.

Descriptive Terms for It: Classic, Glyphic, Greek, headings, no lowercase, old, Roman, serif, sub-headings, and titles.

Sources:
- #1 - The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 144
- #2 - The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 142

Examples:

Picture found here.

And every movie poster ever.
Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.