Comments on: Type Trends: Erbar ‘a’

By: MonokromTypeFoundry (@monokromfonts)

MonokromTypeFoundry (@monokromfonts) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:36:46 +0000

Thank you for mentioning Telefon. It will very soon be released. It has to be said, though, that the lower case has nothing at all to do with Fasting’s lettering, but designed by me. It is however influenced by Jakob Erbar’s grotesque and to some extent by Oslo’s old street signs.

Sindre Bremnes, Monokrom

By: Frode Bo Helland

Frode Bo Helland — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:12:41 +0000

Even though I took the image, Telefon is designed by Sindre Bremnes.

By: Pablo Impallari (@pabloimpallari)

Pablo Impallari (@pabloimpallari) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:02:23 +0000

Add Verlag to the list…

By: Jack N. Mohr

Jack N. Mohr — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:12:35 +0000

There was no “West Berlin” street sign typography in 1930. East and West Berlin are results of WWII, which is when the west kept the highly legible typography while the east turned to a very difficult condensed type. As most street signs were unchanged after the reunification, the typography is a good indicator to tell on which side of Berlin you are.

By: Lucas Sharp

Lucas Sharp — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:53:49 +0000

Thats a good point Nick, I think the definitive aspect of this particular move is the acuteness of that angle which is a byproduct of an overall symmetry along the horizontal axis of the bowl. Without that acuteness, you endup with something more like the Gotham a.

The “Erbar a” is awesome cause you can have a 2-story a as well as a perfect bowl shape to rhyme with your b,d,p, q, & etc. – works great in geo sans! Platform is dope!

By: Nick Sherman

Nick Sherman — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:15:51 +0000

Glad to see you making a formal identification of this trend, David. I’ve similarly noticed an increased presence of this rotund form, and have been referring to it as the “potbelly a”.

As you pointed out, there are a notable batch of newer typefaces that incorporate this form, but I also think an increased *usage* of such typefaces is just as responsible for its recent prominence. In particular, I’ve noticed it more and more in the realm of art books that employ what some people refer to as an “anti-design” style (see trendlist.org for examples). It’s hard to say whether the new usage is due to more typefaces with the form being released, or the other way around. I guess it’s a bit of a chicken vs. egg situation.

In addition to the round shape of the bowl (and its counter) that you mentioned, another indicator to look for that is less subjective is the angle at which the upper stroke of the bowl meets the vertical stem. That angle is notably acute in all of the examples I can think of, certainly in the examples you’ve shown here.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:06:53 +0000

Brilliant observation. I’d love to explore some of the pre-Erbar types further. Verena and platform “a” are works of art

By: Richard Taylor

Richard Taylor — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:00:45 +0000

Nice idea for a piece. I’d have liked to see a bit more historical detail — a date or two wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Other examples which spring to mind:
Kabel
Nudista by Suitcase
Semplicita, like Recta an Italian revival by Canada Type

(Semplicita is known as the ‘Italian Futura’, while Recta is the ‘Italian Helvetica’ — both fonts feature an ‘Erbar’ /a/, unlike their more famous German/Swiss counterparts.)