Goudy Old Style & Garamond. A Type Comparison Book by Brittany Hansard

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1 Goudy Old Style & Garamond A Type Comparison Book by Brittany Hansard

2 Frederic W. Goudy created this old style typeface in the late 1920s and it is known as one of his most adored typeface alphabets within his collection today. Goudy is a unique combination of some of the finest elements of Roman design and is well known for its intrinsic characteristics.the typeface combines interplay of relatively thick and thin strokes and has short, cupped serifs. Each fluent stroke within a letterform smoothly collides to create perfectly square proportions. Goudy is seen incised into many historical momuments of stone even today. Created by French printer Claude Garamond in the sixteenth century, the typeface Garamond also falls under the Old Style classifcation of type. Old Style fonts are classified by their calligraphic resemblances from which they are based, and also reflect the tools used when carving into stone, such as statues, which was a great practice for Garamond in its time. Claude Garamond designed this his typeface specifically for King Francis I. In fact, Garamond s particular calligraphic resemblance to the handwritten element is based on the handwriting of Francis s librarian Angelo Vergecio. The famously known typeface of today first made its debut within a series of books by Robert Estienne. The finials are a key difiner in the comparison of the lowercase a. Goudy (left) is angular with a slight dip leading towards the center of the letterform while Garamond (right) is simply rounded at its end. In comparing the capital A letterform: While both typefaces contain a bracketed serif, Goudy s (top) are shorter in length and have a well rounded fillet from stroke to bracket; Garamond (bottom) is much thinner with an angled fillet. The capital A is also a prime example of the difference in stroke weight between the two typefaces: Garamond displays a higher contrast in thick to thin stokes. The bowl of the lowercase d in Goudy (left) is more compressed than the wider bowl of Garamond (right)

3 In comparing the capital Q letterforms of both alphabets, Goudy is most notable for its swash of a tail that extends across the bottom of the letterform like a wave, while the tail of Garamond s letterform is simply a tilted extension from the bottom right, angled away from the letterform. The differences in the punctuation of Goudy and Garamond are particularly evident in the example of the question mark and the period, as shown to the right. The periods of Goudy (left) are diamond in shape which reflects the tool used during its creation while the period of Garamond (right) is round which resembles more closely to calligraphy. The question marks, however, seem to be just the opposite; Goudy s seems more organic in its flow and low in its distinction of angles while Garamond is very distinct to the traditional symbol we know today. Also, the stress in the letterform Q is vertical in Garamond s alphabet while the stress of the letterform Q in Goudy s alphabet is vertically tilted just offcenter (as shown by the dotted lines). Garamond s thick stroked ampersand (left) with its figure 8 resemblance is a major difference to Goudy s highly contrasted and open ampersand (right); both signs are representative of their according typefaces through the previously mentioned serif classifications. In the Old Style typefaces, the capital letterform T is a prime definer of determining tool use and creation. The same letterform of Goudy and Garamond contain very subtle distinctions. The T of Garamond (right) contains an extension above its arm that is absent in the T of Goudy (left). The angles of the beaks of both letterfoms are also notable differeneces

4 The ear of the lowercase g is exetended horizontally to the right of the letterform with a rounded finial in Garamond (left) and is extended out and up the the right of the letterform with a pointed finial in Goudy (left). Between Garamond and Goudy, the lowercase s letterforms are harder to distinguish but not impossible. While both letterforms are equally contrasted and neither contain barbs, the same distinct classification concerning the serifs of the two typefaces applies to the lowercase s of both. The finials of Garamond s letterform are squaredoff while Goudy s are rounded. Also, the spine of Goudy s s is wider than Garamond s. Most notably, the terminals of the letterforms when comparing the lowercase r have the most variety. The terminal of Garamond s letterform has squared-off tips and a distict and significant curve into the top of the terminal; In comparison, the terminal of Goudy s letterform has rounded tips and only a slight curve into its top.

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