Typophile

Font suggestions for legal/copyright journal

dendicott

Hi

I've been tasked with (re)designing a journal/magazine for Patent lawyers (the legal eagles who fight over copyright, trademarks, and intellectual properties). They're a fairly conservative bunch, but I think they could handle a contemporary makeover.

I'm looking for suggestions for body copy and display faces. My initial thoughts are a slab perhaps Stag for headers, a neutral clean sans such as Whitney and a modern take on a serif for body - perhaps Chronicle. I'm aware these are all H&F fonts (but they are ones I'm well versed in using). The other school of thought is something a bit more retro a la Gotham or Neutraface, but to be honest I'm getting a little tired of those...

So can anyone suggest some alternatives? Bearing in mind as it's predominantly a journal there will be a lot of reading matter and not much imagery, so I need the fonts to vary and produce texture, but be complementary and not too edgy.

Thanks!

Indra Kupferschmid

You could look into Equity, a typeface designed for legal document by type designer and attorney Matthew Butterick. http://www.typographyforlawyers.com/?page_id=3047/

I think, setting the whole thing in a geometric typeface won’t be readable enough. Better combine a serif for body text with something like Stag or Amplitude for headlines.

Hrant H Papazian

Considering Darren's "contemporary" that might be too old-fashioned.

If the heading is going to be a slab, maybe something like FF Olson? But with a less hefty x-height.

hhp

Indra Kupferschmid

Always depends on what typeface you combine the “old-fashioned” fonts with. Stag seems anything but dusty to me. And in that regard, something retro like Neutraface is not the right direction to take either.

Hrant H Papazian

I meant just Equity, sorry.

something retro like Neutraface is not the right direction

If only FontBureau had something just like it...

hhp

dendicott

Equity looks nice, but for the price tag I'd need to use across multiple publications and I'm also wary of using a 'new' font. I do love amplitude and there's something a bit more fitting, so would think Farnham or Miller might work well as body and have a contemporary yet established feel - also a bit more sophisticated. They also work well alongside Stag.

If anyone has recommendations to alternatives feel free to add...

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