Garamond is a serif typeface available in roman and italic form. It features adnate and bilateral serifs that are calligraphic and cupped; thick strokes taper to joins; stroke weights are canted (on tilted axes); and counters are wide and round. (Willen & Strals, 2009, p30) In terms of proportion, compared to Baskerville (1757), the letterforms are slightly narrower and taller, contrast between stroke weights is smaller, and the x-height slightly shorter. (Ellison, 2006, p18) The result is an elegant, legible and readable face that is harmonious, and best suited for print applications such as books and printed ads. Josef Muller-Brockmann also states in his book Grid Systems in Graphic Design that it is also still available today for film-setting. (Brockmann, 2008, p21) An interesting note to add is that according to Wikipedia, it is currently one of the more environmentally-friendly print typefaces on the market in terms of ink used. (Wikipedia, 2011)
The typeface originated in Paris, France in 1535 during the French Renaissance, by punch-cutter Claude Garamond (1480-1561). (Brockmann, 2008, p21) The typeface has survived and been made ‘current’ several times up until today. Garamond, the face, was the first to include roman and italic forms as components of a type cut. Its characteristics may be seen as a progression from calligraphy or humanistic text in the 16th century. (Carter, Day & Meggs, 2002, p7) Since then, it has been revived numerous times in different forms and is still heavily used in the 21st century. Amendments were made from the second half of the 16th century, with Robert Granjon and Christoph van Dycks’ improvements. (Brockmann, 2008, p21) More recently, in the 20th century, due to the invention of mechanical typesetting and the resulting interest in historic typefaces (Baines & Haslam, 2002, p58), Garamond became the model for ATF, Deberny & Peignot, British Monotype, Stempel, Ollière, Mergenthaler Linotype, Ludlow, Simonici, Typoart, ITC, Lanston Monotype’s Garamont, Mergenthaler Linotype’s Granjon and Estienne, Sabon, with the latest being Adobe Garamond (see specimen above). (Kelly, 2001, p55) It was only discovered throughout this time however that many of these fonts were not in fact based on Claude Garamond’s original but were drawn from a later version by 17th century punch-cutter Jean Jannon. (Kelly, 2001, p55) Jerry Kelly, author of ‘Adobe Garamond: A New Adaptation of a Sixteenth-Century Type’, believes that Robert Slimbach and Adobe Corporation’s version of Garamond is the most accurate of the original overall to date - “no other Garamond-inspired type comes as close in proportion, refinement of drawing, evenness of fit, and general elegance of appearance.” (Kelly, 2001, p56)
References
Baines, P, Haslam, A, 2002, Type & typography, Lawrence King Publishing, London
Brockmann, JM, 2008, Grid systems in graphic design, Verlag Niggli AG, Switzerland
Carter, R, Day, B, Meggs, P, 2002, Typographic design: form & communication, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey
Ellison, A, 2006, The complete guide to digital type: creative use of typography in the digital arts, Laurence King publishing, London
Kelly, J, 2001, ‘Adobe Garamond: a new adaptation of a sixteenth-century type’, in S Heller & P Meggs (eds), Texts on type, Allworth Press, New York, pp. 54-64
Wikipedia, 2011, Garamond, [online] (updated 19 Feb 2011) Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garamond
Willen, B, Strals, N, 2009, Lettering & type: creating letters and designing typefaces, Princeton Architectural Press, New York
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