Typeface Close Study on Clarendon
For Core Studio Lab I was assigned to a typeface and did a close study on it. Based on the research, I designed a poster that gives a complete story of the typeface. Some of the things I had to include are the typeface classification, complete alphabet set, numerals & punctuations, several style of the typeface (regular, bold, italic, etc.), and a short essay on the typeface history.
Clarendon is a typeface designed in England by Robert Besley for the Fann Street Foundry in 1845. The name of the typeface originates from the Clarendon Press in Oxford. Right after its release, Besley went to patent the typeface, and Clarendon is known as the first registered font. Unfortunately, at that time, the license expired within three years. As soon as Clarendon gained popularity in the market, many other type foundries copied its design. The original matrices and punches remain in Stephenson Blake, and now they can be found in London's Type Museum. The typeface classification falls under the category of an English slab-serif, due to its thick and blocky form. Clarendon has a bold, solid construction, and it shares similarities with modern serif typefaces that were popular during the nineteenth century, often used for the body text. For example, the letter "R" in Clarendon has a curled leg, and there are ball terminals in "A" and "C" as well. Clarendon also features bracketed serifs that become larger and especially prominent once it reaches the mains stroke of the letter. In the past, Clarendon was often used as a wood type in the Old West in what is now iconic poster art such as "wanted" posters and reward signs. Today, Clarendon made appearances in many different varieties of branding. Firstly it is featured in the U.S. National Park Service for its traffic and mileage signs. Furthermore, famous companies like Sony, Starbucks Chocolate, Pitchfork, Ruby's Tuesday, People's Magazine, and Wells Fargo use Clarendon in their logo design.
