Ever since I got Indie Fonts 2, I've been itching to try Mario Feliciano's Morgan Sans. Love the subtle tension between the curves and straight lines.

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/feliciano/morgan-sans/

I agree with William: the best examples of this genre bring a bit of humanity (in the form of subtle modulation and ornament) to the table.

Interesting topic. Ties in to the rigidity angle of the Legato discussion.

I think it might be a reaction against the cloying mushiness of humanism in type design, without falling for the "Forest Gump" grot style, or the "Dumb and Dumber" vernacular. And it might reflect what some designers desire in this century: honesty, firmness, bravery, moderation, compassion.

hhp

>between Geometric and beyond Humanist

>reaction against the cloying mushiness of humanism

Interesting. I think you are on to something that this give the sans more punch without the problems of circular bowls on the geometric faces, and keeping the more readable, narrower proportions of the humanist faces.

'Cloying mushiness' I think goes too far.

i find the curves of chester's galaxiepolaris quite squareish..

in a typographica discussion on this font, nick shinn refered to 'supercurves', a term coined by zapf apparently. anyone have more info?

I guess Nick was thinking of the superellipse, which Zapf used in the design of Melior.

I think the name was coined by Piet Hein.

aha. cheers, robin.

Galaxie Polaris, Amplitude and Melior are more rounded than what I was thinking of. It's the more angular thing that seems to be popular right now. As Yves says, it suddenly seems like a good idea to a number of people.

It is interesting that Zapf says he designed Melior without knowing about the superellipse as a mathematical construct. He just was figuring how to increase counter space for a newspaper type, and drew it exactly. Then Piet Hein, I think, pointed out that it was the superellipse.

The rounding on Melior is softer than Apex etc. I don't know why, because I am otherwise a big fan of Zapf, but I've never liked the look of Melior.

That's an interesting story William. Can you remember where you heard it?

Well a few months ago I got a book of Zapf's essays out of the library, so it is likely I remember it from there. I think it was this one.

I like Melior italic very much.
For movie subtitles I think that the bold roman'd do a great job.
Wonder if it has never been used for that purpose.
Any one knows ?

AS


PS/
Time ago I cached on mi Mac this text.
Cannot find the source though.

"The origin of the "Super Ellipse" has an historical curiosity.
Piet Heine, was a Dutch architect, poet and acknowledged
creative genius. (Somna, Hex, Super-ellipse, Super-egg,
"Grooks", etc.)
Well, regarding the super-ellipse, here is the story.
In 1959 Piet Heine the architect was approached by the Stockholm
city planners to solve a difficult problem in urban planning.
This was the first time Heine ever focused on the subject of
ellipses. The city square, with all the streets leading into it,
needed a fresh approach, a pleasing architectural shape to create
a focal point for the town. None of the city planners were able
to solve the problem. The square didn't work, the ellipse didn't
work and the "segmented ellipse" didn't work. Indeed, it was a
devious puzzle.
Enter Piet Heine ... Voila! ... and the super-ellipse was born!
The curious thing about this story is that Hermann Zapf had used
a "super-ellipse" like shape in the design of his typeface called,
"Melior", which was designed in 1949 and commercially released in
1952. Now, that is 7-10 years earlier then the "super-elllipse"
was invented!"