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Best fonts of 2005 (Jan-Jun): Typographica

The Golden Globe Awards of type design, nominated by regulars at Stephen Coles' Typographica, a selection from the ground up. I feel these are the true winners---unlike all those awards for which one has to apply, pay a fee and be subject to the scrutiny of a "selection committee". Masterfully brought to you by Stephen Coles---bravo! As Stephen himself notes this year (2005), there are three trends: (1) Gone are the days when large commercial outfits put out the bulk of serious type. Nine of the 14 top selections come from one-man studios. Meanwhile, several of the big boys (ITC, Linotype, Monotype, URW) are absent. (2) Nearly every featured font is available in OpenType, and many exclusively so. (3) Xavier Dupré: the Cambodia-based Frenchman is perhaps todays most productive single source of creative type design, rivaled only by Christian Schwartz. Drumrolls:

• Lisboa (Ricardo Santos): Hrant Papazian writes: Lisboa harbors the sagacity to merely vie for — and thereby achieve — a simple Iberian warmth, something especially difficult in a sans. In the severely over-crowded field of humanist sans-serifs, Lisboa distinguishes itself through completeness (including expert characters and two numeral styles) and technical sophistication (as in its trapping), but mostly by providing two subtly varied cuts: one that helps exhibit the design's particular character; and another that eschews detail for maximal clarity in small sizes.
• Freight (Joshua Darden). Dyana Weissman: While we move out of the era of the antiseptic sans-serifs, Freight offers refreshing anomalies that warm up the design.[...] This family is insane. Not only because of the 100 styles, but also because of its charming little quirks.
• Ministry Script (Alejandro Paul). Paul Hunt comments: How do you convey sexiness with type? Use a sultry script face. The only thing more typographically titillating might be a set of canoodling ligatures.
• Garamond Premier Pro (Robert Slimbach).
• Deréon (Jean-François Porchez). Chris Rugen writes: When I see Déreon, I see a Whitman and Dalliance mix (two of my favorites) creating something unique. Like Whitman, Deréon gets its body from the Scotch Didone Caledonia.
• Proxima Nova (Mark Simonson). Kyle Hildebrant: It nestles neatly in a place between the geometric, grotesque, and gothic. Its generous x-height, thoughtfully balanced color, and expert typographic features (small caps, text figures, lining figures, etc.) position it as a prime candidate for extended textual setting.
• Zingha (Xavier Dupré, Font Bureau). Norbert Florendo comments: Reviewing Zingha is as delightful as discovering several long lost cases of unreleased ATF hot metal typefaces.
• Vista Sans (Xavier Dupré). Stephen Coles: With its friendly quirks, Vista Sans is a lot like Tarzana — another Emigre font — but succeeds everywhere Tarzana fails. The more distinctive glyphs feel harmonious with the rest of the font, never jarring. Gentle swashes and a large x-height make for a friendly sans that would work just right in so many settings.
• Cézanne Pro (James Grieshaber).
• FF Maiola (Veronika Burian). Dan Reynolds drools: Just when you thought your collection's text categories were set, Veronika Burian burst the stable doors open, reviving the Czech genre and its warm idiosyncrasies. A “warm” typeface? FF Maiola solves this puzzle using discrete play of irregularity and multiple angles, hearkening back to Menhart and Preissig's approaches.
• Maple (Eric Olson). Mark Simonson: Other type designers have mined the 19th century English grotesque, but Eric Olson gives it an energetic crispness which makes earlier attempts seem a bit stuffy. Maple captures the exuberant quirkiness of the grots without slavishly imitating them.
• Garda (Mario Feliciano). William Berkson notes: With great elegance and style—and alternative characters and ligatures—the set offers superb alternatives to Trajan, Optima, and Futura for titling.
• Litteratra (Karsten Lücke). Yippie! Keep it up, Karsten! Joshua Lurie-Terrell: It's a sort of roman amalgam of textura and Schwabacher, channeling the expressionist spirit of Vojtech Preissig. [...] It's an entire historical movement.
• Relato (Eduardo Manso). My compatriot Yves Peters: Emtype Relato combines Dutch purposefulness with Latin sensuality. Its serifs are constructed following a clever principle, and the typefaces look simply gorgeous.

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Best fonts of 2005 (Jan-Jun): Typographica
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INTERNAL LINKS
Choice of fonts ⦿ Modern style [Bodoni, Didot, Walbaum, Thorowgood, Computer Modern, etc.] ⦿ Bastarda / Bâtarde / Schwabacher ⦿ Textura ⦿ Garalde or Garamond typefaces ⦿ Eric Gill and his typefaces ⦿ Bembo ⦿