Brown_TypefaceResearch

I

M

OPTIMA

Table of

Contents

02

Typographer & Foundry

06

Anatomy & Metrics

10

Font usage

11

Similar Fonts & Pairings

Optima was

designed by

Hermann Zapf

in 1958.

Optima is a humanist sans-serif font

published in 1958 by German typographer

Hermann Zapf. He spent over six years

perfecting his design. Although classified

as a sans-serif typeface, Optima is always

described as a serif font without the serifs.

Zapf originally wanted the font to be

named “Neu Antiqua” but the font foundry,

Stempel AG, decided on Optima and it was

debuted at the DRUPA printing.

02

03

ermann Zapf was born in Nuremburg

on November 8, 1918 at the

conclusion of World War I. Zapf wrote,

“On the day I was born, a workers’ and soldiers’

council took political control of the city. Munich

and Berlin were rocked by revolution. The war

ended, and the Republic was declared in Berlin

on 9 November 1918. The next day Kaiser

Wilhelm fled to Holland.”

Since his childhood days, Hermann found an

interest in science and tech. He was often

found reading scientific journals or testing

a new technological device. During this time,

he began experimenting with letters and

drawing alphabets.

In 1933, Hermann wanted to become an

engineer, yet the economic crisis in Germany

prevented him from doing so. Instead of

attending technical school, he found an

apprenticeship at the Karl Ulrich and Company

working as a photo retoucher for four years.

While working as an apprentice, he taught

himself calligraphy and began to improve

his lettering and illuminating skills. His

manager saw his lettering, and was thoroughly

impressed. So, they began to assign him

work outside retouching to enhance his

typographic skills.

At the age of 20, Zapf was hired by Fürsteneck

Workshop House managed by Paul Koch,

the son of Rudolf Koch. Zapf wrote, “ It was

through the print historian Gustav Mori that I

first came into contact with the D. Stempel AG

type foundry and Linotype GmbH in Frankfurt.

It was for them that I designed my first printed

type in 1938, a fraktur type called ‘Gilgengart’.”

Zapf’s Typeface “Gilgengart” from 1938

In 1939, his typographic career was thwarted,

as he was called to serve in the Germany

army near the french border. However soon

into service, he developed a heart issue and

was transferred to the writing room where he

delivered camp reports and wrote certificates.

However, after seeing his adeptness with a

pen, he was transferred to the cartographic

unit and became known as both the youngest

and most skilled cartographer during the war

in Germany.

After the conclusion of the war, Hermann

began to teach calligraphy in Nuremberg and

soon after teaching, accepted a position with

the Stempel AG foundry. Although he had

little qualification, his detailed sketchbooks

and work from his years in war were enough

to display his talent.

During his time with Stempel, Zapf created

his two most prominent fonts, Palatino and

Optima. Palatino was designed based on the

16th century Italian calligrapher Giambattista

Palatino. In his work, he often attempted

to emulate Renaissance forms from

humanist typographers. Other fonts Zapf

designed included Zapfino and Aldus.

While visiting Florence, Zapf toured the

Santa Croce church and noted the exquisite

typography on the grave plates. Eager to

sketch the letterforms, he pulled out two 1000

lire banknotes and began sketching, creating

the base of the Optima typeface.

04

* Photos sourced from typeroom.eu

Zapf’s sketches of gravestone lettering

on italian banknote in Santa Croce that

influenced the Optima typeface.

Hermann

Zapf

05

There are no serifs, which

categorizes Optima as a

humanist sans-serif.

The angle used here is

roughly 8 degrees.

The two diagonal strokes

of the M are x and 2x

width, showing an

organization of the

asymmetry.

2x

x

This font contains

concaved terminals.

06

Anatomy &

Metrics

The font Optima has a very unique feel

of both its uppercase and lowercase

characters. The typeface clearly references

Roman forms and their perfection giving

the uppercase a very strong feel. The font

is very legible and is most clearly read when

set open rather than tight. The sans-serif

nature of Optima gives it a modern

feel, while the curved terminals and

differing stroke weights hint at a

more traditional design.

All of Zapf’s letterforms in Optima were

designed to the proportions of the Golden

Ratio, which is shown below. In 1954, Zapf

visited Monroe Wheeler in New York at the

Museum of Modern Art. Wheeler suggested

that he adapt the early drafts of his font to

be used as a book typeface. This inspired

Zapf’s refinement of the proportions and

he continued to test the font for reading.

The font was designed before digital

typefaces were developed, so it was set

in metal and hand cut. This development

also influenced the curved lines in the

stems, as it allowed technical production to

progress more easily with linotype cutting.

Linotype led to several limitations, including

the em being divided to only 18 units, and

impossible kerning without compound

matrices. However later digitization of

the font provided solutions to these

limitations. The font was digitized in 1965

when the cathod ray tube typesetting was

developed. However, initial digitization

removed the signature curves and unique

elements of Optima.

Early digitization of an

uppercase “I”

07

Optim

ertian letterforms like the E and

R are exactly half a square in

width. The capital letters follow

the proportions of the Trajan Column

inscriptions from 113 A.D. The baseline

alignment of Optima is unique, as it

was the first German type not based on

standard baseline alignment. Although

inspired by Roman forms, typical German

font baselines were not normal for Roman

typefaces. As opposed to high x-heights,

that created overly long descenders and

ascenders, Optima had a smaller x-height.

Optima can be set at a wide range of

letterspacing, but is ideal at a more open

kerning. The changing stroke widths in

each font allow clear legibility at any weight.

The body text of Optima is ideal for 09 to

13 point sizes. At 14 pt or larger, Optima

should only be used for headlines.

Optima’s legibility can be primarily

attributed to its horizontal stress, giving

the font balance and harmony.

Analyzing the “B” of Optima, the highest

point is at 685 units. The lower curve of the

B is slightly larger, and stands out roughly

24 units than the top curve. The stem is 97

units thick and curves roughly two units

below the baseline. There is a slight curve

at the upper curve to the top of the stem,

which arches around five units.

B685

433

E

R

al

g

a

Both the lowercase

g and a are two-story

ASCENDER

CAP HEIGHT

X-HEIGHT

BASELINE

DESCENDER

09

Similar

Typefaces

CONTAX SANS

VANITAS

PTL PUBLICALA

ACCENT GRAPHIC

CORA

FF PAGE SANS

CASTLE EFw

Common Font Pairings

GEORGIA

FUTURA

PLAYFAIR

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog



11

Font

Applications

The neutrality of the Optima font has led to

several uses in design. It is used in several

iconic logos and the body text of the

Vietnam memorial.

Photo sourced from the New Yorker

Resources:

https://multimediaman.blog/2015/09/30/

hermann-zapf-1918-2015-digital-typography/

https://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/optima/story

https://issuu.com/nivean/docs/optima

10

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