So, I thought I'd share a little bit of knowledge about the typeface Optima and its designer Hermann Zapf. Actually, all of this I learned this semester studying Typography.
Hermann Zapf (b. November 8, 1918) was a German typeface designer and calligrapher. In his lifetime, he had created over 200 typefaces and made a significant impact on digital typesetting design. At an early age, Zapf showed signs of excellent calligraphy; however, he wanted to become an electrical engineer. Due to Nazi suppression, he was unable to attend university so he found work as a photo retoucher. During his time as a photo retoucher, he attended an exhibition with works featuring the late German typeface designer, Rudolf Koch. This exhibition gave Zapf his first interest in lettering. Besides Optima, Hermann Zapf designed other iconic typefaces including Palatino, Zapfino, Aldus, Melior, and Zapf Dingbats. Zapf Dingbats is considered a precursor to our modern day emojis.
At just 20 years old, Hermann Zapf designed his first typeface, Gilgengart. Zapf had designed many well received typefaces before he started to work on Optima, most notably being Palatino. On October 3, 1950, Zapf was traveling Italy with his wife. While in Florence, he happened upon some ancient Roman gravestones at the Basilica di Santa Croce. These relics featured detailed letters cut
into the gravestones that were unusual in the fact that they lacked the traditional serifs. This unique sans-serifed typeface intrigued and delighted Zapf; however, he had forgotten to bring his notebook that day. As a result, the first sketches of Optima were made on a 1,000 lire banknote.
After years of perfecting and manufacturing the typeface, Optima was released in 1958 with great success. Optima had been popular with typographers and graphic communicators, but it was not a favorite among manufacturers. Vendors of typesetting equipment and type fonts would approach Linotype for licensing rights but it is unclear why Linotype rejected these requests. As a result, vendors copied Zapf's design and released a nearly identical design under a different name. Of course, the result was not as beautiful as Zapf's original design but Zapf was also denied the royalties that would normally be due to him. It is believed that Zapf is one of the most copied typeface designers ever.
Uniquely beautiful, Optima is a sans-serif typeface with full bodied characters (like the Roman typeface it was created after). Although classified as sans-serif, it is widely different from others; the only characteristic it shares is the lack of "feet" at the end of its terminals. However, Optima has a slight flare towards the end of each terminal.
Optima's success is a direct result of the shortcomings of sans-serif typefaces at the time. Zapf intended Optima to be seen as a typeface that can be used for both display and body text. It is an elegant and conservative choice that mixes well with other typefaces and is ideal for luxurious or sophisticated designs. Companies like Estée Lauder, Pandora, Aesop all use Optima for their logotype. Zapf wanted to show the versatility of Optima, so in 1960 he published a book titled "About Alphabets" and used Optima as the typeface throughout his book. It is known as one of Zapf's favorite designs.
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