Garamond is a group of Old-Style1 typefaces, originally designed by French craftsman Claude Garamond in the sixteenth century, a time deemed as the golden age of French typography. With the evident influence of calligraphy, the classic design is one of the most successful typographic achievements not only in the old era but also today. Bespeaking stately elegance and rhythm, it offers legibility, readability to be suitable for a wide range of different applications.

Analysis

• Legibility

Counters: moderate counters

x-height: moderate ratio (61%)

Width and weight: compared with other serif typefaces, Garamond is a relatively slightly narrow (X=103%) and light (tk=11%, tn=4%) type with clear stroke contrast. The variations in width are …show more content…
For centuries, it has been in frequently employed, even for much of the time effectively the only one. Several popular alternatives, such as Sabon and Granjon, are still in use, keeping widening its coverage. Besides, both luckily and unluckily, the typeface is out of copyright, making itself a highly copied one with a numbers of versions by different companies, which consolidate its continuing familiarity.

• Readability

Garamond is a fairly readable typeface, especially for printing applications, including books, magazines and reports. It is also one of the most sustainable typefaces in terms of ink usage. Given its eco-friendliness in print, the typeface works well for text-rich documents when a designer aims at a clean appearance and save space.

However, what enhance the legibility and readability for prints, conversely decrease its flexibility in the digital environments. The small letter size, light weight and variable strokes restrict the usage online. Although higher screen resolutions had tended to eliminate the constraints associated with the serif typefaces, the complex curves of a Garamond can still be a disaster for on-screen reading unless with professional …show more content…
There attributes are fairly consistent among all variations. Among the digital interpretations, the most faithful one arrived in 1924 by Stempel Foundry. Both the roman and italic styles are based on the original design, while other versions of italics get inspirations from Granjon2 or Jannon3. An angularity is apparent in the Roman style, with a slightly heavier weight, which is unlike other Garamonds. The angular head and the bowl of the ‘a’ and the oblique apex of the ‘A’ are calligraphic qualities that are less pounced in other versions, but are clearly accentuated in the Stempel’s version.

Towards the later part of the twentieth century, the advent of digital technology has provided yet another venue for the new versions of Garamond. Released in 1989, Adobe introduced Adobe Garamond that appears more uniform and orderly. The new version’s calligraphic form shines through its increased modularity and contrast in stroke weight. The fluid strokes of it create a soft and harmonious string of characters, while enhancing the calligraphic nuances inherent in the original