Serif

On Bodoni Serif... 

Bodoni typeface (or font) was created in late 1700s, between the brothers Giuseppe and Giambattista Bodoni, who were both sons of professional typographers.  Giambattista was the most well known for this font, and made three major landmarks on the world of typography. Bodoni was also known for his poem he made for a wedding for the sister of the King Louis XVI, which started his “dramatic, bold style” Suffield stated.  Those all being shown in the Bodoni typeface, with “vertical alignment, thin horizontal serifs, and increased contrast between stems and serifs” stated Laura Suffield of Oxford University Press.  

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The specificity of the typeface is widely recognized today as a means of a “transitional” typeface, where in history, it was a font made the transitional stages of font types as stated by Craig Eliason.  Eliason also recognizes that when given a visual analysis, it can be seen the slight differences when it comes to the four characteristics of “contrast, axis, stroke construction, and serif shape”. Within Bodoni the contrast of thick and thin strokes is in between the other two styles of Baskerville and Caslon.  Following the contrast, the axis refers to the angles where the thickening strokes are at their thickest, versus at the thinnest Eliason states. The Bodoni style has very upright, modern letters, so the axis is virtually nonexistent on angles, but more obvious at the vertical and horizontal planes. Stroke construction is is similar to that of axis, but “refers to the manner in which the thinning and thickening of strokes happen” as defined by Eliason.  Finally, serif shape, which is determined by the finishing strokes of the letters, and Bodoni is the most rigid and horizontal of them all as said by Eliason.

So, after all of this specificity in why Bodoni is separated in the serif font styles, why do certain companies use it?  Iconic companies, like Vogue, Calvin Klein, and Giorgio Armani use this specific style Bodoni, which helps give context into the sense of royalty, and high class.  Like stated earlier, Bodoni was well known by French royalty, so with the history of the creator, this typeface gives the companies an idea for a feel of higher class.  Therefore, the Bodoni typeface is big in the world of fashion, Vogue being the frontrunner in fashion marketing, it gives into the fonts that they use throughout their magazine, website, and their cover, as told by Carmen Cristófol Rodríguez.  Rodríguez also revealed how it was typically more leaning towards celebrities and fashion, to make it more interesting and relatable to the readers. Yet, Bodoni does not just appear in fashion icons, it can also be seen in the entertainment industry of movies and music.  As told by Claire Cock-Starkey, people like Lady Gaga and Nirvana have used this typeface for their logos for album covers, as well as Mamma Mia! famously using this style for their posters for both films and musical of the franchise.