Form & Counterform

FORM &
COUNTER
FORM.
BY CHANCE CHILDERS

TABLE OF
CONTENTS.
01
JENSON
ROBERT SLIMBACH
1996
05
FUTURA
PAUL RENNER
1927
02
CLARENDON
ROBERT BESLEY
1845
06
ANTIQUE OLIVE
ROGER EXCOFFON
1962
03
NEUE HAAS GROTESK
MAX MIEDINGER
1957
07
BODONI
GIAMBATTISTA BODONI
1798
04
MRS EAVES
ZUZANA LICKO
1996

01
1996
JENSON
ROBERT SLIMBACH
Jenson is an old Roman style serif typeface created
for Adobe by type designer Robert Slimbach and first
released in 1996. This typeface was inspired by the text
designs of French engraver, printer, and type designer
Nicolas Jenson. Jenson, whom the typeface was
subsequently named for, carried out most of his work
during the 14th century in Venice, Italy. However, Jenson
didn’t begin designing typefaces until he was almost 50.

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“I am drawn to typography that invites the reader to assimilate the
information on the page rather than bombarding the reader.”
— Robert Slimbach

02
1845
CLARENDON
ROBERT BESLEY
Clarendon is a slab-serif typeface originating in England
and designed by Robert Besley in 1845 for the Fann
Street Foundry. Named after the Clarendon Press in
Oxford, this typeface was originally created as a metal
typeface. Later variations were produced in wood-type in
the United States, and were eventually used in the iconic
wanted posters of the old west. Multiple versions of this
typeface have been creaeted throughout the years.

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“Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a
durable visual form.”
― — Robert Bringhurst

03
1957
NEUE HAAS
GROTESK
MAX MIEDINGER
Neue Haas Grotesk is a sans-serif typeface originating
in Switzerland and designed by typeface designer Max
Miedinger in 1957. This typeface gained immediate
success and was quickly developed for the Linotype
machine to give accessibility to international markets. Later
changed to ‘Helvetica’ literally meaning “The Swiss” in
Latin. In 2004 Christian Schwartz was commissioned to
restore Neue Haas Grotesk which took nearly 10 years.

“In many ways, the type business is a fashion business - some
typefaces won’t be used forever. That can be very freeing.”
— Christian Schwartz

04
1996
MRS EAVES
ZUZANA LICKO
Mrs Eaves is a serif typeface designed by Zuzana Licko
and released in 1996 for Emigre Fonts. This type face
draws inspiration from the ‘Baskerville’ typeface which
was designed by John Baskerville in England during
the 1750s. Mrs. Eaves was named in honor of Sarah
Eaves, the woman who started off as Baskerville’s live in
housekeeper but later became his mistress and eventual
assistant in developing his typesetting and printing.

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“A mystery is the most stimulating force in unleashing the imagination.”
— Zuzana Licko

05
1927
FUTURA
PAUL RENNER
Futura is a sans-serif typeface created in 1927 by German
designer, Paul Renner, as a contribution to an affordable
housing project known as the ‘New Frankfurt Project’.
Renner sketched the original concept design based on
geometric shapes such as circles, triangles and squares.
The design office at Bauer Type Foundry assisted in the
final developements. A neat fact, the commemorative
plaque on the moon is set in the Futura typeface.

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“The truly modern is what we hold to be today timelessly perfect.”
— Paul Renner

06
1962
ANTIQUE
OLIVE
ROGER EXCOFFON
Antique Olive is a san-serif typeface that was designed
in 1962 by famous French typographer and art director,
Roger Excoffon. This typeface was named after the French
foundry he consulted for, Fonderie Olive, and “antique”
being equivalent to sans-serif in French typographic
conventions. The key shapes, especially in the letter
“O,” resemble that of an olive, which is one of the many
characteristics that makes Excoffon’s typeface so unique.

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attempt to offer a more refined sans serif than presented by
Helvetica and Univers, but it was too characterful and too late to
be widely adopted outside of
R“An
France.”
— Lewis Blackwell

07
1798
BODONI
GIAMBATTISTA BODONI
Bodoni is a serif typeface designed during the late
eighteenth century but has been frequently revised since.
Named after the original designer, Giambattista Bodoni,
an expert Italian printer who ran a printing-office under
the Duke of Parma. Bodoni was influenced by the work
of John Baskerville. Today, it is regularly used by fashion
magazines, such as Vogue Magazine. It is also commonly
used within the music industry for albumn cover designs.

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letters don’t get their true delight, when done in haste &
discomfort, nor merely done with diligence & pain, but first when
they are created with love and passion.”
- Giambattista Bodoni
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