Azimuth Print Ltd Blog Font Friday - No. 2

On every Friday we are going to introduce you one of the 100 best typefaces of all time. An international jury assembled the list of the fonts based on sales numbers, historical relevance and aesthetic qualities.No. 2Name: GaramondDesigned by: Claude Garamond 1530Garamond is the name given to many serif typefaces, after the Latinized name of the 16th-century French artisan Claude Garamond, often written as 'Garamont' in his lifetime. Garamond worked as an engraver of punches, the masters used to stamp matrices, the moulds used to cast metal type. He worked in the tradition of what is now called old-style serif letter design, that produced letters with a relatively organic structure resembling handwriting with a pen but with a slightly more structured and upright design.Our designers' opinion: "Some distinctive characteristics in Garamond's letters are the small eye of the 'e' and the bowl of the a, which has a sharp hook upwards at top left. The 'M' is slightly splayed. The x-height (height of lower-case letters) is low, especially at larger sizes, making the capitals large relative to the lower case, while the top serifs on the ascenders of letters like 'd' have a downward slope and rise subtly above the cap height. Garamond typefaces are popular and often used, particularly for printing body text and books."