About Hermann Zapf Calligraphy
Hermann Zapf wrote with a broad nib before he cut type, and the two never separated. Palatino carries the Italian Renaissance hand into metal; Optima came from grave slabs in Santa Croce, sketched on a banknote in 1950.
This system takes the sheet as its subject. Warm-white mould-made paper, one measured column of ink, hairline rules, marginalia hanging in a wide outer margin, and rubric red reserved for a single initial or a marked word — never for a button.
- Origin
- Frankfurt, Germany — D. Stempel AG typefoundry
- Era
- 1948–1990 (Palatino 1948, Feder und Stichel 1949, Optima 1958, UN Charter Preamble manuscript 1960)
- Key figures
- Hermann Zapf · Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse · August Rosenberger · Giambattista Palatino
- Movements
- humanist calligraphy · German type revival · mid-century book typography
Hermann Zapf Calligraphy design spec
Colors
Background
Surface
Primary
Secondary
Accent
Text
Typography
MarcellusHeadings
EB GaramondBody
IBM Plex MonoMono
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