Optima (font)
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| font | Optima |
| category | Sans serif |
| Font designer | Hermann Zapf |
| Type foundry | D. stamp |
| Creation | 1952 |
| Variations | Optima Nova, URWClassico |
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Optima is the name of a font . According to DIN 16518 , it is classified in the class of Antiqua variants , but is basically a Renaissance Antiqua without serifs . It was designed in 1952 by Hermann Zapf for D. Stempel AG ( Frankfurt am Main ) and appeared in 1958.
The naming took place in the advertising department of Stempel AG, Zapf himself found it too presumptuous. The first sketches for the font were made in Florence in 1950 on a 1000 lire note, as Zapf did not have writing paper to hand to draw inscriptions in Santa Croce . The letters are based on the principle of the golden ratio .
Its filigree and clear typeface made it a success in the typography business. In particular, it became the darling of advertising - often used to bring noble fragrances and exclusive goods to men. The Optima was also used for the inscriptions on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial .
Like other Zapf fonts, the Optima is highly valued, but it is also often imitated. It can be found in SoftMaker's font collection as Flare O801 . The Bitstream font collection includes the Zapf Humanist legally licensed by Zapf . An independent variant of the Optima was created in the GDR by Karl-Heinz Lange (VEB Typografie) under the name Publica .
Revised by Hermann Zapf himself in 2002, it is now at Linotype as Optima Nova in the seven weights of Light, Regular, Medium, Demi, Bold, Heavy and Black, each with a matching italic font , and the first five weights with a condensed sub-row available. There are also additional sets for small caps and old style figures .
