Benton 1936, also rounded, with a rougher outline than the one from ITC, sharp negative (white) corner) Adobe Garamond (by Robert Slimbach 1989, more constructed shape featuring curved edges with obtuse corners, Italics based on Granjon’s Ascendonica Italic) Stempel Garamond LT (by D. He was surprised at how fresh and modern his conscientious interpretation appeared.ĭifferent interpretations of the same idea, from left to right: Garamond Premier (by Robert Slimbach 2005, inspired by the imperfection of printed type) ITC Garamond (by Tony Stan 1975, the round effect of printed type is clearly visible here) Garamond #3 LT (by Morris F. He could not imagine that Granjon had intended anything other than the resulting form, which was so clear and appealing. Van Dommelen was enthusiastic about how accurate the digitization of the smoke proofs was. It seemed clear to him that this curve should only serve to prevent unsightly bumps caused by squeezing edges and to produce straight feet. In print, they mostly look protruded instead of hollow. For the same reason, he also neglected the curve in the bottom of the serifs. Aad van Dommelen assumed that Granjon only rounded it off due to physical limitations. While all other digital Garamonds or Granjons have rounded or cut serifs, Romaine has sharp ends. The fine details of the template led to a special feature of Romaine. Carter’s version is quite rightly very popular and widespread, but he allowed himself significantly more freedom, especially with the Italic. There are also two digitizations of Granjon Ascendonica available: the previously mentioned Granjon LT and Matthew Carter’s ITC Galliard. There are now many Garamonds, but no two are the same. Each digitization is also a separate interpretation by the interpreter. The type size used as a template is decisive for the design, because each size was designed and cut separately. Especially the Ascendonica Romaine/Parangonne (names for the cut font sizes, ± 20 pt) from the Plantin catalog number MA 8. The quality and details of the smoke proofs were exceptional. Digitizing the old templates seemed to be the best solution. The problem was that the existing digitization by Linotype deviated too much from the original and showed some inconsistencies. The only typeface that seemed to fit the bill was designed by Robert Granjon (1513–1590). Neither was the proposed alternative DTL VandenKeere. However, it was not what the client had in mind. Although Christophe Plantin did not live in the 17th Century, the important book printer and his font of the same name immediately came to mind. One condition of the brief was to use a Flemish letter from the baroque period. This is the story of a typeface that is all at once ancient yet still modern and current.Īad van Dommelen was recently faced with this task when working on the design of a corporate identity for a client. The typeface owes its existence to a very current challenge. Despite her old age, she cuts a very good figure. Romaine is a carefully interpreted digitization of Ascendonica by Robert Granjon from 1570.