Souvenir (typeface)
Category | Serif |
---|---|
Designer(s) | Morris Fuller Benton |
Foundry | American Type Founders |
Date released | September 1914 |
Souvenir is a
At the time of its issue it achieved only a moderate popularity but was known as "the printer's friend" because of its forgiving qualities on press. In the 1970s, because of its friendly, curving structure, it became very popular in uses such as in body text of educational material and for headings in book printing. Historians have described it as 'laid-back', 'the friendliest of Benton's designs' and as 'like Times Roman dipped in chocolate'.[3][4][5]
Cold type copies
In 1967
Hot metal copies
The sudden popularity of this face in the 1970s led to the creation of Linotype matrices in two weights by Matrotype. This is perhaps the only time when a phototype was subsequently cut into metal.[7]
Digital copies
Because of cross-licensing agreements, the original digitisation is sold by a variety of companies. Digital copies are widely available from
Reputation
Due to its enormous popularity in the 1970s, Souvenir has become associated with the design of that era. This inevitably led to a backlash commencing in the 1980s and 1990s. Simon Garfield lists it as the "seventh worst typeface in the world."[8][9] The backlash can be compared to that against Comic Sans some decades later, another typeface intended to seem casual and friendly that came to be seen as overused in inappropriate circumstances.
References
- ^ "Souvenir Origins". Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-933360-42-3, p. 220-223.
- ISBN 9780471288947.
- ISBN 9781845110284.
- ISBN 9780823000531.
- ^ Lawson, Alexander, Archie Provan, and Frank Romano, Primer Metal Typeface Identification, National Composition Association, Arlington, Virginia, 1976, pp. 34 - 35.
- ISBN 0-938768-34-4, p. 285.
- ISBN 978-1-59240-652-4, pp. 301–302.
- ^ "The 8 Worst Fonts In The World", October 28, 2011, excerpt from book