Renaissance type styles include Gothic styles still in use after the Medieval
period—frakturs, textura, and blackletter forms—as well as humanistic
styles incorporating Carolingian forms into the new modern alphabet of
fifty-two characters: the upper- and lowercase serifs. These new faces,
which would eventually be known as oldstyle, refer to archaic capital
structure in their proportions, with some characters markedly wider than
others, but integrate the soft, rounded pen strokes of uncials and minus-
cules. Renaissance oldstyle faces are remarkably organic, with fluid shading
and minimal contrast between thick and thin strokes, a small x-height in
the lowercase, teardrop, brush-formed serifs, and soft, rounded terminals.
Their curved characters, in both upper- and lowercase, show a pronounced
oblique axis, further evidence of their derivation from the brush. Overall,
Renaissance faces tend to be more extended than those considered conven-
tionally regular in width. Italics, which first made their appearance in the
fourteenth century, are also generally useful for imparting a Renaissance
quality to typography, especially if they exhibit scriptlike junctures.
In Europe, the late thirteenth through early sixteenth centuries were
marked by a tremendous expansion in scholarly activity. Following the
rediscovery of ancient learning lost in the Middle Ages, this burst of
creativity affected literature, science, and the arts—among them, type
design. A shift from an agrarian, feudal society toward a culture of
commerce, exploration, and humanism is reflected in type and color
of increased richness, subtlety, and refinement.
Magazine Page Spread
top, and detail, bottom
Flat
Petter Ringbom, Tsia Carson
New York City USA
Renaissance
Time
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Context
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