Typophile

Fra (Bartolomeo)

Titus Nemeth

dear typophiles,
i'm posting my latest project: fra, a display font based on the lettering on a sketch by italian renaissance artist fra bartolomeo.

i'm presenting two versions. i started with a design, that wasn't very close to the original drawings. after i got feedback, that it was to reserved and geometric i decided to draw a new version.
by now, i hate the first version, but i'm not quite sure if the second attempt is heading in the right direction, even though i like it much more. please tell me what you think.
is it too calligraphic ot should be even less "sharp"? what about the serifs, should i keep the edges or round them up?



regards,
titus


application/pdfhere is a pdf:
specimen121204.pdf (484.8 k)

as8

I like the first (close to the original drawings) better
but with the Y proportions and the angle you changed.
Little bit round serifs make it looks more consistent,
I think. Very nice. Where did you find that sketch ?

AS


Fra BARTOLOMEO (1472-1517)
Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola (c. 1498)
Oil on wood, 47 x 31 cm
Museo di San Marco, Florence
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bartolom/fra/savonaro.html

Titus Nemeth

hello alessandro,
i suppose you're talking about the second version, on the bottom of the page.

what do you mean with the proportions of the Y?

there was a great renaissance drawings exhibition in vienna a couple of months ago. the lettering on fras sketch jumped immediately to my eye.
http://www.albertina.at/cms/front_content.php?idart=100

as8

Hallo Titus,

yes, I'm talking about the second version,
on the bottom of the page. With 'Y proportions'
I wanted to say the vertical (direction of the shapes).
So, you are in Vienna ! Cool.
I have a friend who just graduated at
Universit

Titus Nemeth

>So, you are in Vienna ! Cool.
only the fact of being in vienna can't really be called cool. :-)

i know two quite famous professors at the angewandte: "lürzer" (advertisement class) and "fons hickmann" (grafic design class). perhaps it was one of them.

best,
titus

as8

Why ? You are freezing ?
Hej, then might be Fonts Hickman ! :-)
Will ask her.

Gruss,
AS

Captured from commoncrawl.org on 20 Apr 2015. original URL