typeface identification: it begins – and ends – with the letter a

Take this quiz: Of the b’s shown in this palette, how many do you know? If you’re a true typophile, you fared respectably.

But when attempting to identify a typeface, is the b the Rosetta stone that links feature to name? Probably not. While the lower case f and g say a lot, the a tells the whole story; but why so?

I would simply suggest that the lower case a is the most visually interesting and complex letter in the alphabet. There is so much room for variation in the overhang and bowl; indeed, while one can do only so much with the strokes of the other letters, it seems that those of the a can assume myriad forms.

In Counterpunch, Fred Smeijers begins with some support for this idea: “Why would the punchcutter make three [a’s]? Maybe because this is a weak punch that breaks easily? I do not think so...I think the reason could be this: the punchcutter just liked to make these a’s. Just as these days a young type designer might love to draw an a in idle moments....”

Take the quiz again; same typefaces, same order. How’d you do this time?

Answers (left to right):
Avenir
ITC New Baskerville
Berling
Centaur
Century Schoolbook
Courier New
Dante
Ehrhardt
Simoncini Garamond
Gill Sans
Linotype Janson Text
Joanna
Linotype Syntax
Meta
Minion
PMN Caecilia
Perpetua
Linotype Sabon
Scala Sans
Times New Roman

20-September 2002