Bembo Typeface Book

S a l l y Pe a n g

HISTORY.

Bembo is a monotype classic, originating in Venice and influenced byFrancesco Griffo and Aldus Manutius’ humanist typeface in 1495. In1929, Stanley Morison of Monotype Corporation recreated the typefaceand became on of the most popular typeface in modern time.

b a c k i n t i m e

The typeface that was originally by Griffo was first used in the essay by an Italian scholar, Pietro Bembo called “De Aetna”. One significant difference is that the original is wider; this is especially seen in the letters S, O, L and N.

A S O L A N I

AfCLARENDON.

b r a c k e t s e r i f s

Clarendon typed brackets are smoothly connecting the stem to the serifusing a curve rather than a straight edge or line. Visually, this is very sophisticated and elegant and helps the eye transition through the typeface easily.

X-HEIGHT.s m a l l d i s t a n c e

KeThe x-height of Bembo’s typeface is relatively small and is about 70% ofthe baseline to the cap height. Also seen in this example is an overhang,which is when a letter or character slightly goes below the baseline. Thismakes the appearance of the letter look larger than it would if it didn’t.

BhASCENDERS.

e x c e e d s c a p h e i g h t

The ascender not only ascends above the x-height of the typeface, it alsoexceeds the cap height as well. Visually, this enlongates the letter andgives a more elegant and pleasing look.

klANGLED SERIF.

o n l o w e r c a s e l e t t e r s

On some lower case letters the top serifs are angled. This assists your eyemovement through the type.

OoOBLIQUE.

v e r t i c a l s t r e s s

Obique characters such as O, o, Q, and 0 have a vertical stress. This makesthe character feel less heavy yet much wider in shape.

U

NwSTROKE.

m i n i m a l v a r i a t i o n

The stroke is defined as a main diagonal piece or near-vertical portion ofa typeface. The stroke of this typeface has minimal variation in thick andthin weight. For the most part, they are all pretty similar.

Winnebago

Winnebago

COMPARISON.b a s k e r v i l l e

Although Baskerville and Bembo seem very similar, they have some verydistinct characteristics. They both have similar x-heights yet Baskervilletaller capline. Baskerville has a more variations in thick and thin strokesas seen in the O and W. One major distiction between the two are thedifferences in the letter g. Baskerville’s g has a decorative ear, the link issmoother and the loop is open.

WinnebagoWinnebago

COMPARISON.m i n i o n

One major distinction that Bembo has is the letter W. It almost looks asthought two V’s were connected. Minion is very similar to Bembo, butMinion seems to have a thicker weight than Bembo.

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CHARACTERS.a n d p u n c t u a t i o n

The characters for this typeface are very standard. There are no distinctive qualities to them. However, the asterisk * is a lot larger thanother fonts. Also, the question mark varies upon typeface as well.

0 1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9

NUMBER S .c l e a n & s i m p l e

Bembo’s numbers are very simple and clean. They all have the samebaseline and capheight with no ascenders or descenders as some othertypefaces do.