Type Trading Cards: Baskerville/Linex Sans

Baskerville

Modern Baskerville fonts are based on the type of John Baskerville, the distinguished eighteenth-century English printer and type founder. His original type was based somewhat on Caslon, but is a more precise design with more contrast in character stroke thickness. Weight stress is vertical in Baskerville’s design, making his fonts the first “Transitional” designs between Old Styles typified by Caslon and Garamond and “Neo Classical” designs like Bodoni or Didot.

Monotype’s Baskerville was first cut in 1923 under the direction of Stanley Morison and is based on the “Great Primer” (18-point) size of Baskerville’s original.

While contemporary printers scorned Baskerville’s typefaces as being too light in weight and hard to read, his designs were a catalyst that changed the course of typographic development. Today the Baskerville design is a mainstay of graphic communication and one of the most popular serif typefaces in use.

Linex Sans

Albert Boton designed Linex Sans in 2003. A mix of crisp angles and soft shapes, this new addition to the extended Linex family is both inviting and elegant. The subtle calligraphic overtones also distinguish the design from more traditional sans serif designs. A three-weight family with complementary italics, Linex Sans is a versatile communications tool in both text and display sizes.

Boton began his professional career as carpenter. Fortunately for designers and typographers, he quickly turned from pounding nails to hammering out graphic design and constructing great letterforms as a profession. In his long career, he has created hundreds of distinctive, highly useful and award-winning designs. And even though he is now retired from active business, Boton continues to create fresh, new typeface designs.

Download the Type Trading Card here (PDF)

• Allan Haley is Director of Words & Letters at Monotype Imaging. Here he is responsible for strategic planning and creative implementation of just about everything related to typeface designs. He is also responsible for editorial content for the company’s type libraries and Web sites.
• Prior to working for Monotype, Mr. Haley was Principal of Resolution, a consulting firm with expertise in fonts, font technology, type and typographic communication. He was also executive vice president of International Typeface Corporation.
• Mr. Haley is ex officio Chairman of the Board of the Society of Typographic Aficionados, and past President of the New York Type Directors Club. He is highly regarded as an educator and is a frequently requested speaker at national computer and design conferences.
• Mr. Haley is also a prolific writer, with five books on type and graphic communication and hundreds of articles for graphic design publications to his credit.