Type Trading Cards: Garth Graphic/MundoSans

Garth Graphic

A first look at Garth Graphic shows the influence of pen and ink: its cupped serifs, diagonal weight stress, sheared terminals and flowing curves all suggest that this is a face conceived and drawn by a master calligrapher. A closer look, however, reveals a precise and carefully constructed substructure on which the letters are built.

Garth Graphic’s serifs have somewhat of a dual personality. In text sizes, they appear to be sheared, and a single stroke. In larger sizes, however, it becomes apparent that they are actually clipped at two angles. This unusual detail reinforces the broad-edged quality of Garth Graphic in small sizes, and helps create a strong graphic texture when the face is set large in display applications.

Mundo Sans

Mundo Sans, from Carl Crossgrove, was drawn over ten years of on-and-off development. Crossgrove says that the typeface isn't meant to be revolutionary. It doesn’t shout “new and different,” yet it has a quite distinction that separates from other Humanistic sans. Several typefaces served as inspiration for the family. Crossgrove also gives credit to hand-lettered signage as the inspiration for the heavy weights. With seven weights and a complementary suite of cursive italics, there is little outside the range of the Mundo Sans family.

Carl Crossgrove is a Senior Designer for Monotype Imaging, working out of the company’s west coast office.

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.