Source: Garg, M. (2010). Azkidenz-Grotesk [Image]. Font Lovin' Part 1. Retrieved on 26 July, 2010, from http://mgarg.com/blog/2010/02/21/font-lovin-part-1/
Akzidenz-Grotesk is a sans serif typeface and is classed under the typographic category Grotesque, otherwise known as Gothic, which typically have “some contrast and may have some quirky characteristics” (Riggs, 2009, p. 9). It was released by Berlin type foundry H. Berthold AG in 1898 and was intended for use predominantly as a display font (Riggs, 2009, p. 95). This is said to be suggested by the translation of the German word Akzidenz, meaning “trade printing, printing of a limited number of copies” (Riggs, 2009, p. 95). The typeface was initially available in “light, regular, medium and bold stroke weights, plus three extended and condensed versions” and as further variations were released, Akzidenz-Grotesk became “an early example of a type family promoted to printers and designers as a complete range” (Weingart, 1993, p. 10).
It is estimated that “Akzidenz Grotesk was probably cut by some experienced but anonymous Berthold punch cutters rather than designed by an individual type designer”, who most likely based its letterforms on various popular classicist typefaces of the time such as Walbaum and Didot, as demonstrated in Figure 1 (see next page) (Majoor, 2002, The origin of the sans section, Para. 6).
Figure 1: Superimposition of Akzidenz-Grotesk and Walbaum (Majoor 2002).
This resulted in its “extremely 'closed' forms” that came from simply thickening the “thin tail-ends in characters like the c and in numbers such as 2 and 5” (Majoor, 2002, The origin of the sans section, para. 6). Since it was based on multiple existing typefaces as opposed to being designed from scratch, “its letterforms [do also] have a certain quirkiness, with unexpected differences seen in characters across weights and style” (Riggs, 2009, p. 95). For example, the a and the t have serifs where the rest of the alphabet does not, and the degree to which the shoulders taper in to the stems seem to vary even between the p and the q. When used for body text in 9/10pt, Akzidenz-Grotesk has relatively normal letter spacing but as it increases to 14pt and above, it becomes notably looser and more uneven. Here its aforementioned quirkiness becomes further apparent with letter combinations such as a and z being noticeably more cramped together than combinations such as o and v. Additionally, as pointed out by Wolfgang Weingart in 1993's Typographic specimens: the great typefaces, “the x-height is larger than most typefaces from the turn of the century, and ascenders and descenders are rather short” (Weingart, 1993, p. 10). However, the letterforms are all in proportion with most crossbars located midway between the x-height and baseline.
Despite these inconsistencies within its visual features, Akzidenz-Grotesk was widely used at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although this lessened during the 1930s and 40s, it re-gained its popularity “during the 1950s under the influence of the Swiss design movement that advocated asymmetrical organization of Akzidenz-Grotesk on grid systems... [and inspired] new sans sarifs, including Univers and Helvetica” (Weingart, 1993, p. 10). The Akzidenz-Grotesk's type family was subsequently enlarged in the 1950s by Günter Gerhard Lange on behalf of Berthold, in order to make it more suitable for use in body copy, resulting in the contemporary Akzidenz-Grotesk (Riggs, 2009, p. 95).
Katherine Roman-Miller 3235050
References
Craig, J. (2010). Designing with type 5: the essential guide to typography. Retrieved 26 July, 2010, from http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/home.php
Majoor, M. (2002). My type design philosophy. Retrieved 26 July, 2010, from http://www.typotheque.com/articles/my_type_design_philosophy
Riggs, T. (2009). Font: classic typefaces for contemporary graphic design. Mies, Switzerland: RotoVision SA.
Twombly, C. (1989). The typographic desk reference (TDR). Retrieved 26 July, 2010, from http://typedeskref.com/
Weingart, W. (1993). In Carter, R. & Meggs, P.B. (Ed), Typographic specimens: the great typefaces. (pp 10-19). John Wiley and Sons. Retrieved on 26 July, 2010, from http://books.google.com.au/
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