Papyrus (typeface)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 typeface designed by Chris Costello, a prolific graphic designer, illustrator, and web designer, in 1982 and released the next year to foundry Letraset. It was originally 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 vernacular would have looked like if written on papyrus 2000 years ago.[1] Papyrus has a number of distinctive human touches, 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]
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] Usage
The font face is used for the title of the television program The Crocodile Hunter, on bottles of AriZona iced tea, and on all of the album covers and much of the merchandise of the band Lamb of God. Papyrus is often used anywhere a somewhat antique look might be desired, such as health store or church flyer.[3]
As has been the case with Comic Sans, Papyrus is often criticized by graphic designers and others[4] for being overused or used incorrectly in various media. Interviewed in 2007, the typeface's creator, Chris Costello, agreed that Papyrus had become overused.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Costello Website
- ^ Type Gallery - Papyrus
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://xkcd.com/590/
[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
