Papyrus (typeface)
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| Category | Fantasy |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Chris Costello |
| Foundry | Letraset |
| Date created | 1982 |
| Date released | 1983 |
| Re-issuing foundries | Linotype ITC |
| Shown here | Papyrus EF Alternatives |
Papyrus is a widely available typeface designed by Chris Costello, a graphic designer, illustrator, and web designer.
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[edit] History and overview
The font was created in 1982 and released the next year to foundry Letraset. It was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language texts would have looked like if written on papyrus 2000 years ago.[1] Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy."[2]
[edit] Variants
An alternative font published by Elsner+Flake is Papyrus EF Alternatives (or Papyrus EF Regular), providing a slight variation to Costello's font. Its differences include a shorter, sharper capital P, a capital E with a top bar longer than the middle bar, and a swash A.
[edit] Use
Papyrus is often used where an antique look is desired, such as a coffee shop[3] or church flyer.[4]
As has been the case with Comic Sans, Papyrus is often criticized by graphic designers, including Chris Costello, for being overused.[4]
[edit] Examples of use
- The subtitles that appear in James Cameron's 2009 movie Avatar and the logo of the movie itself[5]
- The title of the television program The Crocodile Hunter
- Bottles of AriZona brand iced tea
- All of the album covers of the band Lamb of God (excluding their premiere album, Burn the Priest and 2009 studio album, Wrath) and much of the band's merchandise
- In the title credits of the television program Medium
[edit] Availability
Papyrus has been included in many Microsoft programs for Windows.[6] Mac OS X includes Papyrus font as part of its basic installation (starting from version 10.3 Panther, released in 2003).[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Costello Website
- ^ Type Gallery - Papyrus
- ^ Sightings from Australia!". Papyrus Watch. 2009-12-17.
- ^ a b Estvold, Travis (2008-06-25). "F is for Font". Boise Weekly. http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A314974. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "Avatar is Papyrus?". Papyrus Watch. 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Microsoft Typography: Papyrus – Version 1.11". Microsoft Corporation.
- ^ "Mac OS X 10.3: Fonts list". Apple Inc. Last updated 2008-07-24.
[edit] External links
- Chris Costello's official web site
- Linotype's Papyrus page featuring samples of commercial use of the font
- ITC's Papyrus Page
- Fonts.com
- Linotype.com
