Cartier (typeface) explained

Cartier
Style:Serif
Classifications:Old Style
Date:1967
Creator:Carl Dair
Rod McDonald (digital redesign)
Foundry:Mono Lino
Monotype
Variations:Raleigh
Cartier Book

Cartier is a family of serif old style typefaces designed in 1967 by Carl Dair, who was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada-in-Council to create a new and distinctively Canadian typeface. The first proof of Cartier (in Roman and Italic faces) was published as "the first Canadian type for text composition" to mark the centenary of Canadian Confederation.[1]

In 1977 a revival of Cartier was produced under the name Raleigh by Robert Norton.

This typeface was later redesigned by Canadian typographer Rod McDonald in a digital format. McDonald's Cartier family removed inconsistencies in the baseline weight, and streamlined the stroke angles to enforce a strong horizontal flow.[2] His work was a form of homage to the validity of Dair's original design, which was incomplete and plagued with weight, stroke, and grid issues because Dair insisted that the type foundry not refine the face.[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002105 The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719134431/http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/STEPMagazine/Article/28572/index.html Allan Haley, "Rod McDonald, Canada's Typographer Laureate", Step Inside Design (January/February 2006).
  3. http://www.pointlessart.com/education/loyalist/typeTalk/cartier/ Sara Curtis, "Rod McDonald and Carl Dair", Applied Arts (November/December 1999). Retrieved August 25, 2013.