Overture

For what feels like eons ago, I released a typeface in the spirit of Bodoni, with less contrast and a more compact footprint. Its name was Donatora. It took some chances, had less than desirable numerals, and I was proud of it—especially since I had only been designing typefaces for a couple of years. A few months later, an Emigre magazine crossed my path, and I discovered Filosofia by Zuzana Licko for the first time (remember, there was a time before social media when we didn’t know the minute something new dropped). I was floored and embarrassed at what I had created. Hers was a masterpiece, quirky and clean, adherent to the idea of Giambattista Bodoni’s masterwork but wholly new. In my eyes, this latest type experiment of Donatora was an abject failure, and I removed it from circulation as fast as I could. One, because it couldn’t compare to the work of someone I genuinely admired; and two, because I couldn't live with the comparisons of such a sophomoric attempt. I did promise myself I would try again, later.

Later came 24 years, um, later. I did feel I had an attempt in me left for a unique take on Bodoni. I started with the Donatora failure; it became the iterative onion skin that I would draw upon to reimagine the good ideas and avoid the bad ones, to be honest. I went back often to review the Manuale Tipografico. As the new typeface evolved, one thing continued to stick out to me: Bodoni’s flexibility with the various italics drawn. So many variations, so many angles, so many use cases. For me, I struggled to settle on just one and ultimately took inspiration from 3 different italic variations at 8, 12, and 16 degrees. Each had its own speed to them. It was that connotation I set for the speed of the italics that ultimately influenced the name of the typeface, Overture. Each weight and optical size would be accompanied with three italics, at three speeds: Adagio, Andante, and Allegro. An homage of sorts to my love of classical music. As a unique bit of trivia, I almost exclusively listened to pieces by Debussy while working on this typeface—a fitting accompaniment, in my opinion.

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