OUGD403 - Vignelli's Six Basic Typefaces

"Out of thousands of typefaces, all we need are a few basic ones, and trash the rest" - Massimo Vignelli (2015). He believed that there are only six basic typefaces that we should be using for everything. These are:

1. Garamond
2. Bodoni
3. Futura
4. Helvetica
5. Times Roman
6. Century Expanded

Garamond:

Produced by French Renaissance punchcutter, Claude Garamond (1532).

Characterised by large counters in the a and e which have a horizontal crossbar. Long ascenders and descenders. F has a strong hook. Most top serifs are diagonal and lean towards the left.

Bodoni:

Developed by Italian typedesigner, Giambattista Bodoni (1788).
Thick and thin strokes. Originally characterised by subtly bracketed serifs. Long ascenders and descenders compared to x-height. Narrow M and W, R features a curved leg and Q has a tail that extends vertically. Regarded as a display type.

Century:

Developed by Lynn Boyd Benton and Theodore De Vinne, specifically to print Century Magazine (1900).

Carefully determined stroke weights, character heights and spacing of letterforms. Characteristics of each letter are slightly exaggerated. Produced to be a readable typeface.

Futura:

Designed by German designer and educator, Paul Renner (1930).

Inspired by Russian Constructivism movement and elemental geometry. All strokes made of a single line weight. The o is a perfect circle and a, b, d, p and q were designed by adding straight vertical lines to the circle. 

Times Roman:

Produced by English typewriter and historian, Stanley Morison (1931).

Commissioned by The Times of London to redesign the newspaper's text typeface. Features sharp serifs and contrast in stroke weights. Short ascenders and descenders. 

Helvetica:

Developed by Max Miedinger and Edouard Hoffman (1957).

An attempt to improve the Akzidenz Grotesk typeface. Includes qualities of clarity, precision and objectivity. Rounded sans-serif with large x-height. Oval shaped counters. The a is double-storied and features a tear drop shaped counter. The R stands on a curved leg.

Fig. 1. Bodoni and Futura.

Fig. 2. Century Expanded and Garamond.

Fig. 3. Times New Roman and Helvetica.