1

METAis not helvetica

2

Where can you find Meta? don’t worry, you’ve definitely seen it before.

u

1

Where can you find Meta?

u Meta makes its appearance on a London Bus advertisement.

Meta is used on a global scale: here, it is featured as the main titular logo of a facility in France. Internet

powerhouse Firefox finds itself using Meta in its logo.

2

FF Meta has been called the “Helvetica of the 1990s.”

While that may be dubious praise, Meta is a warm,

humanist alternative to the classic sans faces.

early sketches

of meta

FF Meta Book Roman FF Meta Book Italic

FF Meta Book Capitals Italic FF Meta Bold Roman

FF Meta Bold Capitals

3

FF Meta has been called the “Helvetica of the 1990s.”

While that may be dubious praise, Meta is a warm,

humanist alternative to the classic sans faces.

Meta’s History Spielorigins of a typeface? yeah, you read that right.

In 1984 the German State Post Office, the Bundespost, was persuaded by Erik Spiekermann of MetaDesign to commission a new, exclusive font for use on all of the Bundespost’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, 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.

FF Meta Book Capitals

FF Meta Bold Capitals Italic

FF Meta Bold Roman FF Meta Bold Italic

4

First, let’s understand a few thingsan attempted crash course in typography in a single page

ykb the ascender

the baseline

finials

the junction

the counterform

the x-height

the cap height

is like the neck of your wine bottle. It’s what makes that tall part look hip.

is there because your pretty letters need to sit somewhere, right?

is where things connect

is the inside space in your letter that is crucial to its proper functioning

is determined by how tall your lowercase letter is

is determined by how tall your uppercase letters are

—think of them as the bottle cap on your bottle of wineo z n

5

A gthe descender

the serif

dips below the baseline and can choose to do so stylishly

is like a letter’s shoe. It gives them some security when they stand. Meta does not have this feature, which is what makes it a “sans serif” typeface

the stemholds the letter upright. Think of it as a flagpole, of sorts.

nthe bowlis like the letter’s belly. Though, as you can see, the bowl of this lowercase g is open. This is actually a characteristic that makes Meta rather unique.

6

nmpqG

What makes Meta unique?an understanding of why Meta is just weird

There is no spur, allowing for the bottom to round out nicely.

The slight curvature gives the typeface a neat, quirky look.

Seriously. What?

curved stems

odd junctions

no spur

y k

7

wavy tail

curved leg

Q

REF

A characteristic shared by other letters as well

A trait similar to...

believe itbent ascenders

angled finials

curves

S

8

aaMeta Book Roman 256pt

Helvetica Regular 256pt

Meta is different

meta vs. helvetica

meta vs. others

because not all sans serifs look the same

As you can see, at the same point size, Meta is slimmer in several ways.

aFutura’s counterform is a circle, instead of a nuanced tear drop

Meta

Futura

a

9

meta vs. others gA

aGill Sans is wider because of the larger counterform.

Gill Sans has a smaller x-height, and the spur at the end flips upward.

Baskerville also shares this interesting trait

gMeta

Meta

Meta

Gill Sans

Gill Sans

Futura

the open bowl

AA

10

“a real typeface needs rhythm, needs contrast, it comes from

handwriting, and that’s why i can read your handwriting, you

can read mine. and i’m sure our handwriting is miles away from

helvetica or anything that would be considered legible, but we

can read it, because there’s a rhythm to it, there’s a contrast to it.

helvetica hasn’t got any of that.”

11

interviewer: why, fifty years from now, is [helvetica] still so popular?

[sigh] why...is bad taste ubiquitous?

erik spiekermann

Erik 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. Even as a child, Spiekermann was drawn to the typographic arts. “I had a little printing press and taught myself to set type when I was twelve,” he recalls. “Years later, when I went to university to study art history, I made a living as a letterpress printer and hot metal typesetter.” When it comes to the design of typefaces, Spiekermann sees himself as more of a problem solver than an artist. His process for beginning a new typeface is simple and straightforward. “Identify a problem – like space saving, bad paper, low resolution, on-screen use – then find typefaces that almost work but could be improved,” he explains. “Study them. Note the approaches and failings. Sleep on it, then start sketching without looking at anything else.”

does everything (including designing meta)

12

references1 Fonts.com, Available at http://www.fonts.com/About-

Fonts/DesignerProfiles/ErikSpiekermann.htm Accessed

November 1, 2005

2 Leland M. Hill. Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of

Classic Typefaces (New York: RC Publications), 142-143.

3 Ibid., 143, 144.

4 Ibid., 145.

this book was designed by alex chiu a student at Washington University in St. Louis. This book

was created for Typography 1. All images belong to their

respective owners. This book was set in Scala Sans, Meta,

Helvetica, Gill Sans, Futura.

bibliographySweet, 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 Typefac-

es/essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip

B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications,

c2000. (A&A: Z250 .R45 2000)

13

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z A B c D E F G H I j k l M N O P Q R S T u v W x Y z

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! ? & , ‘ “ [ ] ( ) @ # $ % ^ & * ~

knmlrqpowsuytzv

“the waves may come and go, but graphic design will always be about problem solving first, and style-making afterward.”–Erik Spiekermann