Bodoni is a serif typeface originally designed by Giambattista Bodoni in 1798. He was an Italian engraver, publisher, and printer known for his prowess in technical skill. He was the official printer for the Duke of Parma. He stated that well designed type followed the four principles of “uniformity of design, sharpness and neatness, good taste, and charm.”
When designing Bodoni, Gimabattista was inspired by the typeface of Baskerville. He also admired the work of Pierre Simon Fournier and Firmin Didot. The characters in Bodoni are known for their very thin hairline strokes contrasting with the thick lines that make up the main stems in the characters. Bodoni is very different from many oldstyle typefaces because its serifs are very perpendicular to the main stems of the letters, rather then gently sloping. It is meant to look formal and polished.
Bodoni is an unbracketed typeface. Bodoni is not known to be very legible because of the thin strokes but is said to be pleasing to the eye because of the thick to thin contrast. This type of visibility disproportion is referred to as “dazzle.” It is not very suitable for body copy, but looks better in a larger font size. Other versions of Bodoni have been designed to work better with smaller font sizes, but it is still not common for body copy.
Bodoni has been adapted and altered by many other font designers throughout years, though maintaining its characteristic look. Therefore, there are many versions of Bodoni today enhanced with modern printing and typography techniques. ATF Bodoni and Bauer Bodoni are two adaptations with particularly more success. Bauer Bodoni emphasizes the contrast between the hairline and main stroke while ATF Bodoni tries to enhance the legibility of the typeface. Since it has been around for so long, Bodoni now makes up a huge font family which allows a lot of variety.
Although in the 18th century Bodoni was used for fine book printing, it is more commonly seen in advertising and branding in the 21st century. Bodoni is used often in fashion industry branding and fashion magazines, as well as the basis for notable corporate identities like IBM. Nirvana’s logo is also written in Bodoni.
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Fussel, Stephan. "TASCHEN Books: Bodoni, Manual of Typography - Manuale tipografico (1818)." TASCHEN Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/classics/all/05059/facts.bodoni_manual_of_typography_manuale_tipografico_1818.htm.
Vanvelsor, Meredith. "Meredith: Giambattista Bodoni." Meredith. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. http://meredithvanvelsor.blogspot.com/2010/03/giambattista-bodoni.html.
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