Karnak (typeface) explained

Karnak is a slab-serif typeface designed by R. Hunter Middleton for the Ludlow Typograph company and issued in the period 1931–1942.^[1]

Karnak is a "geometric" slab serif, reflecting the style of German geometric sans-serifs (in particular Futura) which had attracted considerable attention in the United States and adapting the design to the slab serif structure. It copies the German geometric slab-serif Memphis.^{[2] [3]} Middleton also designed a loose copy of Futura, the sans-serif Tempo, around the same time.^[4] It and other similar designs were popular in American printing during the hot metal typesetting period.

Like Memphis, Karnak's name, after the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt, references the fact that early slab serifs were often called "Egyptians" as an exoticism by nineteenth-century typefounders.^[5]

Karnak was an influence on the design of the popular 2009 slab serif Neutraface Slab.^{[6] [7]} It is an adaptation of the sans-serif Neutraface designed by Christian Schwartz, influenced by Middleton's Tempo.^{[8] [9] [10]} Archer is another well-known modern geometric slab serif in this style with a less strictly geometric design.^{[11] [12]}

External links

• Fonts in Use
• Ludlow specimen book
• Sample image of Memphis for comparison

Notes and References

1. Book: Allan Haley. Typographic Milestones. 15 September 1992. John Wiley & Sons. 978-0-471-28894-7. 117–120.
2. Web site: Devroye. Luc. Luc Devroye. R. Hunter Middleton. Type Design Information. 4 October 2016.
3. Web site: Tam. Keith. The revival of slab-serif typefaces in the 20th century. University of Reading (MA thesis). 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20151013185850/http://keithtam.net/documents/slabserif.pdf. 13 October 2015. dead.
4. Book: Neil Macmillan. An A-Z of Type Designers. 2006. Yale University Press. 0-300-11151-7. 135.
5. Web site: Frere-Jones. Tobias. Scrambled Eggs & Serifs. Frere-Jones Type. 23 October 2015.
6. Web site: Neutraface Slab. Christian Schwartz. Schwartz. Christian. www.christianschwartz.com. October 2, 2011.
7. Web site: Neutraface Slab. House Industries. October 2, 2011.
8. Web site: Neutraface. Christian Schwartz. Schwartz. Christian. www.christianschwartz.com. October 2, 2011.
9. Book: Berry. John D.. Dot-font: Talking About Fonts. 2006. Mark Batty Publisher. New York. 0-9772827-0-8. 117-121. 1st.
10. Web site: The Neutra Legacy. House Industries. October 2, 2011.
11. Web site: Sentinel: historical background. Hoefler & Frere-Jones. 15 July 2015.
12. Web site: Challand. Skylar. Know your type: Clarendon. IDSGN. 13 August 2015.