FF Meta

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Category	Sans-serif
Classification	Humanist sans-serif
Designer(s)	Erik Spiekermann
Foundry	FSI FontShop International

FF Meta is a humanist sans-serif typeface family designed by Erik Spiekermann for the FontFont Library. It was originally developed in 1986 as a commission for a corporate typeface for the Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Post), but was never adopted for use.

Meta was designed to be a readable, sturdy, basic sans serif typeface, working on the postage stamp scale, but also as livery for post boxes and Deutsche Bundespost vehicles. Attention was paid to creating a face that was easily readable from an angle, and in smaller point sizes. In 1989 it was digitised again using Fontographer in the Macintosh, and three styles were made by Just van Rossum. In the period 1991 to 1998 a larger typeface family was developed, adding small capitals.

In 2001 a Cyrillic version was developed by Tagir Safayev and Olga Chayeva.^[1]

A serif companion, entitled FF Meta Serif, was completed in 2007.

Contents 1 Uses 2 Notes 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Uses

• It is the typeface used by Connex in the Stockholm Metro. In the US it has been used for I.D. and Reason magazines.
• In Australia, the ANZ Bank has adopted the font as its corporate type, as has the Queensland Government.
• It is also the official print typeface for Imperial College London^[2] and for all publications for the U.K.'s Environment Agency.^[3]
• It is the typeface used by the Mozilla Foundation.^[4]
• It is the typeface used by Second Life.
• It is the typeface used in the logo of The University of Windsor.
• Il seems to be the face used by European Commission for Tempus Program.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ParaType Fonts. "FF Meta at ParaType". http://www.paratype.com/pstore/fonts/FF-Meta.htm. 
2. ^ Imperial College London. "Using the right Font". Graphic identity toolkit. http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/graphicidentity/applyingthegraphicidentity/usingtherightfont. 
3. ^ The Environment Agency. "Home page". http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk. 
4. ^ Logo fonts for Mozilla projects, mozillaZine

[edit] See also

• Esseltub - older typeface used in the Stockholm Metro
• Johnston (typeface) - used by London Transport and Transport for London
• Parisine - used for the Paris Metro
• Reason - magazine

[edit] References

• Blackwell, Lewis (2004). 20th Century Type. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10073-6. 
• Fiedl, Frederich; Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein (1998). Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 1-57912-023-7. 
• Macmillan, Neil (2006). An A–Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.