BA0701TheTypefaceOf911.pdf

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The typeface
of 9/11
At the National September 11
Memorial, the typeface Optima
dignifies the names of the dead.
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The typeface of 9/11
The newly opened National September 11 Memorial, titled
Reflecting Absence,
conveys loss, nobility, even atonement, in a place of immeasurable sorrow.
Optima is the typeface chosen for the work:
Timeless touchstones
Descending into the foot-
prints of the destroyed
World Trade Center towers,
Reflecting Absence
are
two massive, black-granite
voids into which 30-foot
waterfalls endlessly plunge before dis-
appearing into the earth. Circumscribing
the voids at street level are a quarter
mile of bronze parapets inscribed, in
the typeface Optima, with the full name
of every person now gone. Designed to
be touched, the parapets are temper-
ature-controlled to ensure a humane,
empathetic presence year-around.
Ancient monumental type with a modern flair
A typeface of classic Roman shapes and proportions but without serifs, Optima’s
graceful lines and uniquely flared strokes evoke the past and future at the same time.
At
Reflecting Absence,
Optima is set in caps and small caps and widely letterspaced;
the extra spacing slows reading, imparting both gravity and serenity. The prime-style
apostrophe (left) is not a mistake; it’s been part of Optima’s design since 1958.
   
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Optima, the Roman sans-serif
Although technically a sans-serif, Optima belongs to a class of type called Romans,
which have full, wide proportions, medium thick-thin strokes, and serifs. Descended
from antiquity, Romans project the air and warmth of hand-craftsmanship.
Optima
Subtle
curves
“Open”
ends
Wide
Narrow
Subtle
curves
“Open”
ends
Garamond
Wide
Narrow
Cupped
“Full” stance
Thick-thins
Cupped
“Full” stance
Thick-thins
(Above) Shared characteristics
Optima’s classification as Roman type is easy to see when compared side-by-side with Adobe Garamond,
a true Roman. In contrast, common, sans-serif construction is quite different (below).
Flat strokes
Similar widths
Helvetica Neue
A common sans-serif typeface,
Helvetica Neue has closed, rectangular
shapes and uniform character widths
and stroke weights. Excellent for
many applications but not this one,
its mechanized construction is cold,
industrial, impersonal.
“Closed”
ends
Flat ends
Tight stance
One line weight
   
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Capital and small-capital letters
Because
Reflecting Absence
is both a national memorial and a personal one, its
type must play two roles. To do so, its names are set formally in full capital letters
plus small caps, which soften and humanize without the informality of lowercase.
Optima
Graceful
thin-to-thick
strokes
g r a v i t a s
Straight, angular capital letters present the grandeur of formality. It takes
time
to inscribe stone or wood, and this time is experienced by the viewer as
weightiness, power, authority. Capital letters are also ancient, existing long
before lowercase. Lowercase type is descended from handwriting — quick,
light, curvy, unsculpted, informal. Both have their uses.
Barely-there
curves
Classic
Roman
proportions
amy O’DOherty
Use all caps to convey power, authority, formality.
Gentle flares
suggest serifs
without
having any.
Amy O’Doherty
Use lowercase to lighten, soften, add readability and accessibility.
Cupped
Almost no truly
straight lines
amy O ’ Dohert y
Use caps and small caps to retain formality while softening the
presentation. Wide letterspacing adds visual silence.
   
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A versatile typeface
Optima is beautifully adaptable. It mixes well with any serif typeface and
many sans-serifs, and can be set either tight or loose. Its subtle curves are best
in print — in books, on posters, stationery — and national monuments.
AngelO r mOrAles
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Another national memorial that similarly conveys both grief
and honor, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is engraved
with Optima all caps, tightly spaced. At left, highly polished
granite reflects the Washington Memorial. Less obviously, it
also reflects those who gaze upon its names, a subtle but
deliberate juxtaposition that forms, as it were, a symbolic
connection between the living and the dead, as well as an
impenetrable veil. The all-caps setting, as well as the dense
spacing, conveys power befitting the military; as a practical
matter, it also allows the over 58,000 names to fit the space.
Designed in the 1950s by typographer Hermann Zapf,
Optima was inspired by letters cut into an ancient Roman
gravestone at the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.
The beauty of Optima is that it can represent the dead with
both nobility and hope, without a trace of morbidity, senti-
ment, or pretense.
(Optima Nova, released in 2002, includes a true cursive, con-
densed and titling versions, old-style numerals, a full range of
weights, and the small caps seen on the 9/11 memorial.)
   
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