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Bodoni
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
STANDARD CHARACTER SET 4
DESIGNER 5
ORIGIN 5
AESTHETICS 6
VARIATIONS & USES 6
CHARACTERISTICS & VARIATIONS 7
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DESIGNER
Giambattista Bodoni, born in 1740, was
best known as an Italian engraver, type
designer, typographer, printer, and pub-
lisher. Above all, his great reputation lies
in his design of the typeface, Bodoni. Both
his father and grandfather were printmak-
ers, so with early knowledge of the trade
at a young age, Bodoni began an appren-
ticeship in the Vaticans Propaganda Fide
printing house in Rome. With the many
skills he gained, the Duke Ferdinand of
Parma then commissioned the artist for
the startup of La Stamperia Reale, which
was to be one of the greatest printing
houses in Italy. There, he earned high
repute from the upper class for his printed
specimen books, which were intended to
publicize the print house. The success of
these books quickly led him to create ne
editions of classical works. His attention
to detail was so great that the quality of
his printing was unparalleled. It did not
take him very long to become recognized
as the nest printer of his day. Bodonis
experience and admirable work eventually
earned him his own printing house named
Ofcina Bodoni. Through his career, he
was able to successfully recreate letter-
forms characterized by his style of extreme
contrast in thick and think strokes. With-
out a doubt, Bodoni became a leader in
creating pseudoclassical typefaces, which
many described as to be admired for
typeface and layout, not to be studied or
read.
ORIGIN
By admiring the work of John Basker-
ville, Bodoni gained inspiration for his
typefaces. Although he is also known for
studying designs by type founders, Pierre
Simon Fournier and Firmin Didot, Bodoni
was able to nd his own niche and style
in creating distinguished font families. In
classifying Bodoni, this font family falls
under the Modern or Didone category even
though some of his earlier versions seemed
to be more Traditional. When the type
designer created his font family, he was
thinking a style more contemporary rather
than the age of the scribe. He emulated
the characteristics of copperplate engrav-
ing with his mathematical precision and
graceful hairline strokes. In comparison
to Baskerville, a Traditional typeface,
it has greater contrast in stroke as well
as an increased vertical and moderately
condensed uppercase. Therefore, Bodoni
appears to be an original, dramatized ren-
dering of Baskerville.
to be admired for typeface and
layout, not to be studied or read
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Bodoni
AESTHETICS
Through many refined details, Bodoni
conclusively designed a typeface that has
a fundamentally narrow structure. One
recognizable feature is its unbracketed
serifs, which are hairline thin and at.
Its general geometric appearance also
consists of a strong vertical stress and of
course, extreme contrast between thick
and thin strokes. Because of this, Bodoni
is known to have a dazzling effect. In
other words, it has a less legible quality
to it due to its varying contrast. Therefore,
it is said to be better at larger sizes. Along
with a small x-height, it uses ball termi-
nals to accentuate its form. Other special
characteristics of Bodoni include a double
story a, a centered tail under the capital
Q, a serif capital C, and a ball terminal
lowercase c.
VARIATIONS & USES
After Bodonis original designs, many
variations by different foundries followed.
Of the many modern versions, ITC Bodoni
and FF Bodoni Classic are said to be some
of the most respected. Both emulate the
true characteristics of Bodoni as they were
digitally produced from varying sizes
of the artists original specimen sheets.
Another popular variation today is Bauer
Bodoni. Designed by Heinrich Jost, it is
more delicate in design, making it appear
lighter in text. Bodoni was once used for
ne printing, but its uses have changed
since. Besides being a go-to for high-end
fashion logos, Bodoni is also commonly
used in magazine spreads and covers,
advertising, posters, and other display
features due to its elegant and beautiful
structure when set at larger sizes.
EXTREME
CONTRAST
VERTICAL
STRESS
SMALL
X-HEIGHT
UNBRACKETED
SERIFS
FLAT, THIN
SERIFS
SLIGHTLY CUPPED
ASCENDER
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a C c Q
CENTERED,
VERTICAL TAIL
DOUBLE
STORY
DOUBLE SERIFS vs.
BALL TERMINAL
Bauer Bodoni Bodoni Std
Bauer Bodoni Roman Bodoni Std Book
Bauer Bodoni Italic Bodoni Std Roman
Bauer Bodoni Italic Old Style Figures Bodoni Std Book Italic
Bauer Bodoni Small Caps & Oldstyle Figures Bodoni Std Italic
Bauer Bodoni Bold Bodoni Std Bold
Bauer Bodoni Oldstyle Figures Bodoni Std Bold Italic
Bauer Bodoni Bold Italic Bodoni Std Bold Condensed
Bauer Bodoni Bold Italic Oldstyle Figures Bodoni Std Poster
Bauer Bodoni Black Bodoni Std Poster Italic
Bauer Bodoni Black Italic Bodoni Poster Compressed
Bauer Bodoni Bold Condensed
Bauer Bodoni Black Condensed
Bodoni