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bodoni

Elyssa Turner

bodoni

Bodoni: A History
Bodoni: A Typeface

 Bodoni is a serif type family

originally designed by Italian
typographer Giambattista Bodoni
in 1789. Bodoni, who designed
principally for the Italian and
French royal courts, was inspired
by the typographic works of
John Baskerville and Franois
Didot. When it was first created,
Bodoni was a very controversial
font. Bodoni has been both
praised and ostracized for its
dramatically thin serifs and vast
contrast between the thick and
thin strokes. As Bodoni is such an
old font, it has been adapted and
reworked many times by many
different designers. The font was
revived by Morris Fuller Benton
in 1910. Benton drew different
elements from many of Bodonis
original fonts, creating the
composite version of Bodoni that
is known today. Many foundries
(such as Adobe, ITC, Bauer...
FontFont, Font Bureau, Linotype
and Berthold) have their own
versions of Bodoni today.

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The font generally features

extreme contrast between
thick and thin strokes, flat,
unbracketed serifs that are
nearly perpendicular to the
vertical strokes, an upright
uppercase and an overall
geometric construction.
The very pronounced contrast
between thick and thin strokes
make the font ideal as a poster
font or for logos and headlines.
Book versions of Bodoni are
ideal for bodies of text. Bodoni
looks best well-leaded on white,
glossy paper. The font is also
susceptible to shimmer, which
is when the thin strokes appear
to disappear or are hard to see;
this can be corrected with proper
spacing adjustments.
Recently, versions of Bodoni
have been used by Hilton Hotels,
in Nirvanas logo, by Brandeis
and Carnegie Melon Universities
and in Lady Gagas logo.

Bodoni
: A History
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!*
#$

@%
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&?

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Bodoni

Bodoni
Bodoni

Bodoni

Bodoni

Bodoni

123
456
789
Bodoni

Bodoni
Bodoni

Bodoni

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If you dont know where

you are going, any road
will get you there.
-Lewis Carroll

=
Bodoni Std Roman
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=
If you dont know where
you are going, any road
will get you there.

Bodoni Std Italic

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Those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mind.

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Those who mind dont matter
and those who matter dont mind.
-Theodor Geisel

Those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mind.

Bodoni Std Bold

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Bodoni Std Bold Italic

Bodoni Std Bold Condensed

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Flying is learning how

to throw yourself at the
ground and miss.

"
Flying is learning how
to throw yourself at the
ground and miss.

"

-Douglas Adams

Bodoni Std Book

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Bodoni Std Book Italic

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Brevity is the
soul of wit.
Brevity is the
soul of wit.

-William Shakespeare

Brevity is the
soul of wit.

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Bodoni Std Poster
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Bodoni Std Poster Italic

Bodoni Std Poster Compressed

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 Font: Bodoni Std

Author/Designer: Elyssa Turner
http://www.rightreading.com/typehead/
bodoni.htm
http://www.fonts.com/NR/
rdonlyres/268D6C02-E923-44B9-957DB1DA81F27B15/0/ILBodoni.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodoni

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