Phil's Fonts / FF SIGNA 2002 Type Specimen Book

Description: FF SIGNA Type Specimen Book FF Signa font was the winner of the Danish Design Prize 2002 in the category of best typeface design Title: FF SIGNAPublication: Phil's Fonts, Silver Spring, MD: 2002. 24 pages, self cover Catalogue featuring the Danish typeface FF Signa. With introductory comments and illustrations. Subject: Typography, Type Specimens Signa's rootsDespite its user-friendliness, Signa has a slightly unfamiliar feel to it: a sturdy character which is noticeable without being distracting. This trait may well have its roots in the Danish lettering tradition. Signa's origin is utterly different from that of the calligraphically inspired text types from Germany or the Netherlands. Rather than boasting a storied history of fine book printing, Denmark's typographic community proudly points to a different sort of heritage: architects and craftsmen who excelled in hand-made lettering, both on buildings and on the page. This tradition is still very alive. Born 1937, Signa's designer Ole Sondergaard was one of the first Danish typographers to take this tradition of craftsmanship and architectural lettering into the realm of contemporary corporate design. Before entering the Copenhagen Royal Academy, he had worked as a sign painter in London's Soho district. At the Academy, his mentor Gunnar Billmann Petersen taught him the secrets of the graphic form. In 1962, while still at the Academy, he was invited by Petersen to do the letter carving for a monument to Knud Rasmussen, explorer of the North Pole. The rugged typeface Sondergaard designed especially for carving in the monument's coarse granite was inspired by the lettering styles developed by famous predecessors such as Knud V. Engelhardt, Claus Achton Fris and Petersen himself. On this occasion Sendergaard's father, a well-known sculptor, initiated his son in the art of stonecarving. During the 60s Sondergaard worked as a graphic designer at an architect's studio. In 1973 he established his own design firm, which quickly became one of Denmark's leading studios for corporate design. Sondergaard designed corporate identities and sign-posting systems for some of the country's largest banks, industries and government organizations. In 1985 Sondergaard co-founded Eleven Danes, a group of graphic, industrial and interior designers which for ten years was an influential force in the Danish design world. The development of the FF Signa typeface was made possible by a 3-year working grant from the Danish Art Foundation. FF Signa was created in cooporation with Flemming Rinds and Morten Rostgaard Olsen who did the digital work. Text Jan Middendorp - Edited by Andy Crewdson FF Signa was released in 2000 as part of the FontFont library, FF Signa was the first large type family from Denmark to be published in an international collection. FF Signa is radically different from most sans serif text typefaces introduced during the 1990s. It does not belong to the category of 'humanist sans serif'; nor can it be classed with the unnecessary details. Yet its proportions are classical, and the underlying geometry has been subtly adjusted in order to create letterforms which are at once interesting and harmonious, making for pleasant reading even at very small sizes. When conceiving a 'no-nonsense' workhorse typeface such as Signa, the designer is faced with many constraints and conventions, and has little room for eccentricity. As Erik Spiekermann wrote, 'Ole Sendergaard uses that small margin of invention very skilfully and wisely' Originally designed for signage - hence the name - FF Signa is now a family with three widths, including italics and small caps for all weights, and several types of figures. A useful Correspondence version, containing specially designed 'smart' bitmaps, was introduced in 2002. The typeface has developed into a versatile family which can be used for corporate identities, brochures, magazines, correspondence, books and on-screen publications. The designer's goal with Signa was to make a typeface as universal and versatile as some of the best known modern sans serifs - types like Helvetica, Univers, and Frutiger - while bringing a fresh, contemporary aesthetic to the genre. It is safe to say that FF Signa lives up to this ambition. Please see and examine all pictures for details, they are considered part of the description Items are sold “AS IS” and NO RETURNS unless otherwise listed with conditions We used recycled boxes to help keep shipping rates as low as possible, we will always try to use suitable boxes for your item, but may have company logos, writings, or markings. CHECK OUT OUR STORE, Burman's Basement, FOR MANY UNIQUE TREASURES, WE ARE HAPPY TO COMBINE SHIPPING WHEN POSSIBLE

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End Time: 2024-01-16T20:04:23.000Z

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