Emailing with Indra about iconic pre-digital sans serifs
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CJ Dunn <cj@##########>
Mon, Feb 2, 2015, 11:30 AM
to Indra
… –Do you think Kabel got more use than Erbar in their time? To me, Kabel seems more iconic than Erbar, but perhaps that's just because ITC Kabel was made (and not ITC Erbar). What do you think?
Thanks again!
Indra Kupferschmid <indra@##########>
Mon, Feb 2, 2015, 3:00 PM
to CJ
… Kabel probably was more popular than Erbar later than their initial release date. I’m not sure how it was in the 1930s and it was definitely different in Germany and the US. Erbar got used quite a bit here. Why I included it is that it was the first in the surge of “geometric” sans-serifs, before Futura, but largely overlooked and not much seen today. Now this is because there is still no digital version of it. …
CJ Dunn <cj@##########>
Attachments
Feb 2, 2015, 4:18 PM
to Indra
…I might try drawing the regular weight, then depending on how it goes I could try the fette and kursiv versions.
Do you have a high res scan of the regular weight base characters (see attached)? Sounds like a fun challenge. …
CJ Dunn <cj@##########>
Feb 2, 2015, 7:45 PM
to Indra
… I especially like the open aperature of the /a and /g, the /G is still circular like Futura but the /M is straight sided and /N isn't pointy. Could be fun to draw enough prototype characters to make test words and see if it's worth pursuing further.
You've got me inspired now.