Venus (typeface) explained

Venus or Venus-Grotesk is a sans-serif typeface family released by the Bauer Type Foundry of Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1907 onwards.[1] Released in a large range of styles, including condensed and extended weights, it was very popular in the early-to-mid twentieth century.[2] [3] [4] [5] It was exported to other countries, notably the United States, where it was distributed by Bauer Alphabets Inc, the U.S. branch of the firm.[6] [7]

Like other "grotesque" typefaces of the period such as Akzidenz-Grotesk of the Berthold Type Foundry, Venus has a minimal, 'neutral' design, with a monoline structure and an absence of flourishes. However, compared to many later sans-serifs, such as Helvetica and Univers, it has a more irregular design, with stroke terminals at a variety of angles rather than generally exactly horizontal or vertical.[8] A notable feature is the distinctive motif of unusually high-waisted capitals, visible in the 'R', 'G' and 'E'. Walter Tracy describes this as similar to some of the much more adorned Art Nouveau and Secessionist lettering of the period.[9] Original versions had sheared horizontal stroke terminals on 'E' and 'F', but in the later metal-type period it was sold with alternate capitals without these.[10] The 'g' is single-storey and the sloped form is an oblique, rather than a true italic.[11] A double-storey 'g' was also available as an alternate character.[12]

A prominent use of it was Jan Tschichold's second book, German: Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung (1930), which used it for body text. It was also used in other avant-garde printing of the period.[13] Sainsbury's, a major United Kingdom supermarket chain, used Venus in its logo for many years.[14]

A number of digitisations have been released based on some styles of the family.[15] [16] Monotype's 1920s Grotesque 215 and 216 series, created for their hot metal typesetting system, were also reportedly loosely based on it;[17] the standard Windows typeface Arial is influenced by them.[18] [19]

In 2007, David Berlow published the "Vonness" typeface, closely based on the Venus typeface.[20]

Eric Olson designed the Coordinates typeface, a monospaced sans-serif typeface based on the Venus typeface.[21]

Parachute Type Foundry designed the PF Grand Gothik Variable typeface, a blend of Venus and Interstate, with OpenType features.[22] [23]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Alexander S. Lawson . Anatomy of a Typeface . 298–305 . January 1990 . David R. Godine Publisher . 978-0-87923-333-4 .
  2. Barnes . Paul . Schwartz . Christian . Christian Schwartz and Paul Barnes deep in the archives: Venus 1907-27 . Eye magazine . 13 January 2017.
  3. Book: Jeremy Aynsley (Wolfsonian-Florida International University) . Graphic Design in Germany: 1890-1945 . 103─108 . 2000 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-22796-5.
  4. Web site: Kupferschmid . Indra . The True Typefaces of the Bauhaus . Fonts in Use . 6 January 2012 . 13 January 2017.
  5. Book: Philip B. Meggs . Rob Carter . Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces . 10─11 . 15 December 1993 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-0-471-28429-1.
  6. Budrick . Callie . Vintage Fonts: 35 Adverts From the Past . Print . 19 October 2015. 20 March 2016.
  7. Book: McGrew . Mac . American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century . 1993 . Oak Knoll . 0-938768-39-5 . 352 . Second, revised .
  8. Book: Heidrun Osterer . Philipp Stamm . Adrian Frutiger – Typefaces: The Complete Works . 96 . 8 May 2014 . Birkhäuser . 978-3-03821-260-7.
  9. Book: Walter Tracy . Walter Tracy . Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design . 96, 97 . January 2003 . D.R. Godine . 978-1-56792-240-0.
  10. Web site: Hardwig . Florian . Sexual Politics – Kate Millett . Fonts in Use. 7 November 2018 . Bauer recut the E, F and L in all sizes and styles of Venus, straightening the diagonally sheared terminals . 20 April 2019.
  11. Majoor . Martin . Martin Majoor . Inclined to be dull . Spring 2007 . Eye . 3 August 2015.
  12. Web site: Coles . Stephen . Bauhausvorhangstoffe ad from C. E. Baumgärtel & Sohn . Fonts in Use . 8 August 2021.
  13. Book: Angela Kottke . Die Auswirkungen des Bauhauses auf die Buchgestaltung der zwanziger Jahre . 4 January 2002 . 86, 87 . Diplom.de . 978-3-8324-4869-1.
  14. Web site: Sainsbury's packages, 1962–1977 . 5 April 2013.
  15. Web site: Venus . Fonts in Use . 13 January 2017.
  16. Web site: Venus . . URW++ . 17 April 2019.
  17. Web site: Mosley . James . James Mosley . The Nymph and the Grot, an update . Type Foundry (blog) . 13 January 2017.
  18. Web site: Shaw . Paul . Arial Addendum no. 3 . Blue Pencil . 1 July 2015.
  19. Web site: Shaw . Nicholas . Arial addendum no. 4 . Blue Pencil . 1 July 2015.
  20. Web site: Vonness typeface . Fonts In Use . 25 March 2023.
  21. Web site: Coordinates typeface . Process Type Foundry . 13 October 2021.
  22. Web site: PF Grand Gothik Variable on Behance . behance.net . May 2019 . 28 April 2023.
  23. Web site: PF Grand Gothik Variable . Parachute Fonts . 28 April 2023.

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