Abstract
This research paper takes an in-depth look at the origin, development and the applications of the typeface Garamond. It looks at the history of the typeface: with a particular interest in its original designer and inventor, Claude Garamond, with whom the typeface shares a name. In this way, the influences that led to the invention of this typeface shall be explored.
The research paper also looks at the various developments that the typeface has undergone with a special emphasis on the variations arising from this particular typeface. Of special interest in this research shall be the typefaces that have drawn their influence from the Garamond. Comparisons shall also be made between the Garamond and several other typefaces.
Introduction
Typeface refers to a type design for a set of fonts used in printing and graphic design. Fonts refer to a set of printable or displayable textcharacters in a specific style and size.The printable or displayable texts are used in typed work pieces in the fields of publishing, printing, and graphic design. The typefaces are individual font types: each with its own unique characteristics. The variations of the designs of a specific font type form a typeface family
Claude Garamond
Born in 1490, in 15th century Paris to humble parents, Claude Garamond was an apprentice to a number of French punch-cutters and printers in his formative years. It is through these apprenticeships to printers, publishers and cutters that he developed a love for typefaces and designs. Later on in his life, around the year 1545, Garamond became his own publisher; the very first to ever specialize in type design, punch cutting and type founding in all of Paris. These aspects of his work made him famous among a great many publishers in Paris and even beyond. The typeface he developed later became a global factor.
His work with fonts became so famous across Europe during his lifetime that King Francois I of France demanded that he produce a Greek typeface, which later became known as “Grecs du Roi.” The artist in Garamond made him insist on clarity in design, generous page margins, quality composition, paper, and printing, which was always accentuated with superb binding(Pointlessart.com, 2015), a feature that made the Garamond typeface very popular with publishers and printers. To this very day, the Garamond typeface incorporates the most generous margins as compared to other typefaces.
According to Pointlessart.com (2015), because of the soundness of Garamond’s designs, his typefaces have a historical staying power, and they are likely to remain as the choice day-to-day tool for professional typographers, as long as western civilization survives. Reading a well-set Garamond text page is almost effortless, a fact that has been well known to book designers for over 450 years.Claude Garamond’s contribution to typography was vast, a true renaissance man. Creating perfection in the typeface that he designed, his life will live on through his contribution to typography(Pointlessart.com, 2015).
Pointlessart.com, (2015) states that as a publisher, Claude Garamond relied on his creativity harnessed by reasoned discipline to produce superbly well designed products. He modelled his book publishing style after the classic works of the Venetian printers who catered to the absolute elites of high society. In this way, his fame spread wildly and with it, his typeface became more and more popular. He admired and emulated the works of Aldus Manutius who was his biggest inspiration.
History of the Garamond Typeface
Garamond is a family of old-style serif typefaces derived from the work of the Paris based Claude Garamond who plied his trade and crafts in sixteenth centuryFrance. These fonts were defined by the presence of a descender — the short, angular line that stems from the upper and lower ends of the strokes of a letter.
The Frenchman first conceived the typeface in the sixteenth century when he was working in Paris as atype designer, punch cutter and a printer inservice to many famous publishers. Most Garamond fonts have become renowned for their excellent readability, elegance, and character(Garamond.org, 2015). According to Garamond.org (2015), numerous publishers, authors, and individuals for the printing of their works select the typeface.Google.com (2015) even declares that the Garamonds are probably the most copied typefaces in the world.
The Garamond Typeface Today
Printers of books today use the typeface most commonly and so do publishers of other mass read texts such as magazines and newspapers. The variations of the Garamond are increasingly becoming popular for their neatness and presentably. The Garamond typeface was designed specifically for book printing and is still very famous for that very use. The Garamond typeface is still elegant even in all of its variations and adaptions.
The typeface has influenced the creations and variations in such typefaces as Granjon and Sabon with the generics bearing many similarities to the original. Each generic Garamond typeface only possesses the slightest of modification to differentiate it from the original typeface. The texts written in Garamond can still be distinguished from other fonts in the elegance and character as illustrated by the two phrases below:
“Brazil will host the 2016 Olympic games in Rio”
“Brazil will host the 2016 Olympic games in Rio”
While the first text uses the Garamond typeface, the second text uses the Palatino Linotype typeface. The difference between the two is noticeable in the width and breadth of the two typefaces. While Garamond is lighter and more compacted and occupies less space, the Palatino Linotype is wider and heavier hence taking up more space on paper during printing.
The pictures shown here below illustrate the difference between Manfred Klein’s serif typeface, Bondoni, and the original Garamond as designed by the Frenchman Claude Garamond.
Bondoni Garamond Bondoni MT Black
While the Bondoni typeface appears too condensed and squeezed, the Garamond is relaxed and properly faced, hence making it easier to read than the Bondoni. The Bondoni MT black serif typeface, despite being heavier and thicker, is still as squeezed and condensed as the other variants of the same typeface.
References
Garamond.org, (2015). Garamond. Retrieved 13 October 2015, from http://garamond.org/
Google.com, (2015). Google Fonts EB Garamond. Retrieved 13 October 2015, from https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/EB+Garamond
Pointlessart.com, (2015). The Biography of Claude Garamond. Retrieved 13 October 2015, from http://www.pointlessart.com/education/loyalist/typeTalk/garamond/biography.html