Adobe Jenson
Encyclopedia
Adobe Jenson is an old style serif typeface
drawn for Adobe Systems
by type designer Robert Slimbach
. Its Roman styles are based on a Venetian oldstyle text face cut by Nicolas Jenson
in 1470, and its italics are based on those by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi
. The result is an organic, somewhat idiosyncratic font, with a low x-height, and inconsistencies that help differentiate letters to make it a highly readable typeface appropriate for large amounts of text.
Adobe Jenson was first released in 1996 as a multiple master
Postscript font, and is now sold as an OpenType
font under the name Adobe Jenson Pro. The multiple master version included weight and optical size axes.
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
drawn for Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
by type designer Robert Slimbach
Robert Slimbach
Robert Slimbach is a type designer, who has worked at Adobe Systems since 1987. He has won many awards for his digital typeface designs, including the rarely-awarded Charles Peignot Award from the Association Typographique Internationale, and repeated TDC2 awards from the Type Directors Club.-...
. Its Roman styles are based on a Venetian oldstyle text face cut by Nicolas Jenson
Nicolas Jenson
Nicolas Jenson was a French engraver, pioneer printer and type designer who carried out most of his work in Venice. Jenson acted as Master of the French Royal Mint at Tours, and is accredited with being the creator of the first model roman type...
in 1470, and its italics are based on those by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi
Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi
Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi was a papal scribe, and type designer in Renaissance Italy.Very little is known of the circumstances of his life. He may have started his career as a writing master in Venice, although this has been disputed....
. The result is an organic, somewhat idiosyncratic font, with a low x-height, and inconsistencies that help differentiate letters to make it a highly readable typeface appropriate for large amounts of text.
Adobe Jenson was first released in 1996 as a multiple master
Multiple master fonts
Multiple master fonts are an extension to Adobe Systems' Type 1 PostScript fonts, now mostly superseded by the advent of OpenType...
Postscript font, and is now sold as an OpenType
OpenType
OpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. It was built on its predecessor TrueType, retaining TrueType's basic structure and adding many intricate data structures for prescribing typographic behavior...
font under the name Adobe Jenson Pro. The multiple master version included weight and optical size axes.
Adobe Jenson Pro
Adobe Jenson Pro is an OpenType update of the original family. The font family supports Adobe CE, ISO-Adobe (later Adobe Western 2), dingbat character sets. The family comes with 4 weights each in roman and italic, and 4 optical sizes. Supported OpenType features include Stylistic alternates, ligatures, proportional numbers, old style figures, small caps, subscripts and superscripts, ordinals, and swashes (italic fonts only).| Optical sizes | Caption | Regular | Subhead | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intended point sizes | 6–9 | 9–13.4 | 13.4–21.9 | 21.9–72 |