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Kabel (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Kabel is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by German typeface designer Rudolf Koch
, and released by the Klingspor foundry in 1927. The face was named to honor the newly completed trans-Atlantic telephone cable. Today the typeface is licensed by the Elsner+Flake GbR foundry.
Like its contemporary Futura
it bears influence of two earlier geometric sans-serif typefaces; the 1919 Feder Schrift, drawn by Jakob Erbar
, and more so his 1922 design called Erbar
. Still, Kabel comes less out of the influences of German modernism, but more German expressionism. Stroke weights are more varied than most geometric sans-serifs, and the terminus of vertical strokes are cut to a near eight-degree angle. This has the effect of not quite sitting on the baseline and making for a more animated, less static feeling than Futura. Uppercase characters are broad and show influence of monumental roman capitals. The capital W is splayed and the G has no terminal. Lowercase characters a, e, and g show a link with Carolingian script. Also their use of text in white in lettering in the Kabel font for the credits. Let's Boogie also used the font for its credits.
Victor Caruso's 1975 revival, licensed by D Stempel AG, for the International Typeface Corporation
follows the formulary ITC approach of a dramatically increased x-height accompanied by multiple weights from Book to Ultra.
Rudolf Koch
thumb|250px|[[Fraktur]] fonts by Rudolf KochRudolf Koch was a leading German calligrapher, typographic artist and teacher, born in Nuremberg. He was primarily a calligrapher with the Gebr. Klingspor foundry. He created several typefaces, in both fraktur and roman styles...
, and released by the Klingspor foundry in 1927. The face was named to honor the newly completed trans-Atlantic telephone cable. Today the typeface is licensed by the Elsner+Flake GbR foundry.
Like its contemporary Futura
Futura (typeface)
In typography, Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. It is based on geometric shapes that became representative visual elements of the Bauhaus design style of 1919–1933...
it bears influence of two earlier geometric sans-serif typefaces; the 1919 Feder Schrift, drawn by Jakob Erbar
Jakob Erbar
Jakob Erbar was a German professor of graphic design and type designer. Trained as a typesetter for the Dumont-Schauberg Printing Works, before studying under Fritz Helmut Ehmcke and Anna Simons. Erbar went on to teach in 1908 at the Städtischen Berufsschule and from 1919 to his death at the...
, and more so his 1922 design called Erbar
Erbar (typeface)
In typography, Erbar or Erbar-Grotesk was the first geometric sans-serif typeface ever created. Designer Jakob Erbar's aim was to design a printing type which would be free of all individual characteristics, possess thoroughly legible letter forms, and be a purely typographic creation...
. Still, Kabel comes less out of the influences of German modernism, but more German expressionism. Stroke weights are more varied than most geometric sans-serifs, and the terminus of vertical strokes are cut to a near eight-degree angle. This has the effect of not quite sitting on the baseline and making for a more animated, less static feeling than Futura. Uppercase characters are broad and show influence of monumental roman capitals. The capital W is splayed and the G has no terminal. Lowercase characters a, e, and g show a link with Carolingian script. Also their use of text in white in lettering in the Kabel font for the credits. Let's Boogie also used the font for its credits.
Victor Caruso's 1975 revival, licensed by D Stempel AG, for the International Typeface Corporation
International Typeface Corporation
The International Typeface Corporation was a type manufacturer founded in New York in 1970 by Aaron Burns, Herb Lubalin, and Edward Rondthaler. The company was one of the world's first type foundries to have no history in the production of metal type...
follows the formulary ITC approach of a dramatically increased x-height accompanied by multiple weights from Book to Ultra.
Prominent usage
- NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's logotypes are in Kabel, and a heavyweight Kabel was also used for NBC SportsNBC SportsNBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
' on screen graphics from 1985-89. - A shadowed bold weight version of Kabel was used for many years on MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
as the typeface in the opening/closing Lower third creditsMotion picture credits-Opening credits:Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture, or video game, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in...
of music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s (which was used the same font used for Sesame Songs Videos, most notably Rock and RollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and Count It Higher). - A modified use of Kabel is used for the L'eggs Pantyhose logo.
- A lower-case Kabel font is used as the typeface in the logo and other promotional materials for supermarketSupermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain Piggly WigglyPiggly WigglyPiggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire.... - The typeface was used extensively in the credits and on-screen lyrics for the movie, Yellow Submarine.
- My Bloody Valentine's albums LovelessLoveless (album)Loveless is the second studio album by alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. Released on 4 November 1991, Loveless was recorded over a two-year period between 1989 and 1991 in nineteen recording studios...
and Isn't AnythingIsn't AnythingIsn't Anything is the debut full-length studio album by My Bloody Valentine, released in November 1988 on Creation Records after three years of issuing extended plays, singles, and mini-LPs.-Background:...
used the typeface, in its heavy and regular weights respectively. The band's main songwriter, Kevin ShieldsKevin ShieldsKevin Patrick Shields is an American-born, Irish vocalist, guitarist, and producer of alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine....
, also wrote songs for the soundtrack of the Sofia CoppolaSofia CoppolaSofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
film Lost in TranslationLost in Translation (film)Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
, which used a heavy weight version of the typeface for its titles. - Kabel is used at the typeface for the SelfSelf (band)Self is an American alternative pop/rock band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and largely the brainchild of writer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Matt Mahaffey....
album Breakfast with GirlsBreakfast with GirlsBreakfast with Girls is the fourth album by alternative pop/rock band Self, released in 1999. The album was highly anticipated, being the first Self album released on a major label since their debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives.-Production:...
. - Kabel is used in the opening and closing credits of Saved by the BellSaved by the BellSaved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
. - The ultra version Kabel is used in the opening/closing credits of The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirThe Fresh Prince of Bel-AirThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
. - The typeface was used in the titling of the TV series JoeyJoey (TV series)Joey is an American sitcom, which stars Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani from the sitcom Friends. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m...
. The typeface was used in its book weight. - Kabel Black was also used in the opening episode titles of the Disney's Cartoon Series, "DuckTales," "Chip N'Dale Rescue Rangers," "Talespin" and "Darkwing Duck."
- Kabel is used in the popular board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
. - Kabel is used for the cast aluminum lettering on most buildings around Cornell University's Ithaca, New York campus.
- Kabel is used in the logo of the Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey club. - ITC Kabel Medium is the font used for the Georgia Times logo.
- Kabel Ultra is the typeface favored by the hate groupHate groupA hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
Westboro Baptist ChurchWestboro Baptist ChurchThe Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
for use in its picket signs. - The K Desktop EnvironmentKDEKDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
uses Kabel in its logo and related artwork. - Kabel is used in the O RLY?O RLY?O RLY? is an Internet phenomenon, typically presented as an image macro featuring a Snowy Owl. The phrase "O RLY?", an abbreviated form of "Oh, really?", is popularly used in Internet forums in a sarcastic manner, often in response to an obvious, predictable, or blatantly false statement...
internet memeInternet memeThe term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
image. - Kabel was used in the first season of The Cosby ShowThe Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
- Kabel is used in some The Sims 3The Sims 3The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
logotypes. - Kabel is used in the KDEKDEKDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
logo.