meta:

a typeface designed by Erik Spiekermann

ABCDEFGHIJKL

MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijkl

mnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

“Other people look at bottles of wine, or, you know,

girls’ bottoms. I get kicks out of looking at type.”

erik spiekermann

60 point meta roman

60 point meta bold

60 point meta capitals

meta: the family

2

“Other people look at bottles of wine, or, you know,

girls’ bottoms. I get kicks out of looking at type.”60 point meta italic

meta: the family

3

S E G JAngled finials are definitive of the Meta typeface. They occur in the top strokes of the E, F, G, and on both sides of the S, C, and Z

The base of the G has no spur

The J has no loop

characteristics: uppercase

4

S E G J M Q RThe tail of the Q is wavy

The junction of the M rests on the baseline

The leg of the R is curved

characteristics: uppercase

5

Several of Meta lowercase have particular traits that distinguish the face from other sans serifs. The ascenders of the b, k, h, and l are slightly bent at the top, a feature that is carried through the stems of the m, n, p, q, and the spur of the u. The finials of the v, w, and y are slightly angles, unlike the Meta family capital letters.

characteristics: lowercase

hmkln

hmklngyOther distinguishing features include the double-

storied g that has a highly unusual open bowl.

The y has an offset junction.

characteristics: lowercase

7

TypomaniacTypomaniac

1. 3. 2. 4.

1

1

2

2

3

3 4

4

90 point meta

90 point helvetica

comparison: helvetica

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Overall, Meta is a more condensed face than Helvetica, and it has only a slightly lower x-height.

Both Meta and Helvetica letterforms have narrow shoulders.

The angled finials of Meta give the typeface a playful look, while finials of Helvetica are strictly horizontal or vertical.

While the dots of Meta letterforms and punctuation are rounded, Helvetica has square dots.

comparison: futura, gill sans

M M M

t t tG G G

a a a

72 point meta

72 POINT FUTURA

72 POINT GILL SANS

pointed junctions

circular form

angled finials

connected crossbar

loop

circular form

vertical bar

vertical/horizontal finials

middle junction

baseline junction

flat junctions

the creator: Erik Spiekermann

“I use words like everybody else. I write words. But I go a little deeper, into the letters. For me, it’s inseparable, totally combined. The physical fascination with the letter shape is the same as the fascination I have from writing... it’s all language.”

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erik spiekermannErik Spiekermann, born in 1947, calls himself an information architect. He is equally comfortable and prolific as a writer, graphic and typeface designer, but type is always at the epicenter of this communication dynamo. In 1988, Spiekermann started FontShop, a digital typeface foundry and distributor of fonts. Spiekermann currently holds a professorship at the Academy of Arts in Bremen, is vice president of the German Design council, president of the International Institute of Information Design, president of the International Society of Typographic Designers and a board member of ATypI.

origins of metaIn 1984, the German State Post Office, the Budespost, was persuaded by Erik Spiekermann of MetaDesign to commission a new, exclusive font for use on all of the Budespost’s printed material. The aim of the project, which began in 1985, was to develop a face that was easy to read in small sizes,

the creator: Erik Spiekermann

available in several weights, unmistakable as an identity, and technologically up-to-date. Although the font was digitized, tested, and approved in the summer of 1985, the project was canceled. The Bundespost returned to using one of its many previous typefaces, Helvetica, assuming that digital type would not catch on.

In 1989, after design software made creating new fonts more efficient, MetaDesign refined the Bundespost typeface for its own exclusive use, renaming it Meta. Initially, Meta was just used for in-house projects, but soon MetaDesign began to use it in mail-order catalogs for FontShop, a digital type foundry, confounded by Erik Spiekermann. FontShop encouraged the parent company to license the face. Released as FF Meta, it has become one of the most successful typefaces available from FonFont, a subsidiary of FontShop.

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unmistakable.

bibliography

“Erik Spiekermann – Putting Back the Face into Typeface.” Gestalten. Vimeo. 2011. Web.

Sweet, Fay. MetaDesign: Design from the Word up. New York: Watson-Guptil Publications, 1999.(A&A: VNC999.6.G4 M48 1999 and Vault)

Spiekermann, Erik and Ginger, E.M. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find out how Type Works. USA: Hayden, 1993.(Vault)

Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces/essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, c2000.(A&A: Z250 .R45 2000)

unmistakable.

This book was created by Shelby Lindblad

in the Fall of 2012 at Washington Univeristy

in St. Louis. Typefaces used include Meta,

Helvetica, Futura, and Gill Sans.