Geneva (typeface)

Last updated
GenevaSpecimen.svg
Category Sans-serif
Classification Grotesque sans-serif
Designer(s) Susan Kare
Foundry Apple Computer

Geneva is a neo-grotesque or "industrial" sans-serif typeface designed by Susan Kare for Apple Computer. It is one of the oldest fonts shipped with Macintosh operating systems. The original version was a bitmap font, but later versions were converted to TrueType when that technology became available on the Macintosh platform. Because this Macintosh font is not commonly available on other platforms, many users find Verdana, Microsoft Sans Serif or Arial to be an acceptable substitute.

Geneva was originally a redesigned version of the famous Linotype typeface Helvetica; the TrueType version of the font is somewhat different. Helvetica is named after the Latin name for Switzerland, home country of its original designer Max Miedinger; Geneva is Switzerland's second-largest city.

The bitmap version varied by appearance in different sizes; in smaller sizes, the lowercase i, j and l had serifs on the top, the lowercase y was parallel, the centre vertex of the uppercase M was much higher, and the 3 had a flat top. Larger sizes of the font depicted said characters as they appear in the TrueType version. From Mac OS 8.5 onwards, the bitmap version removed said serifs from the lowercase i, j and l and the lowercase y became angled like in the TrueType version, but the 3 kept the flat top. The bitmap designs are still available on newer versions of the Terminal app.

Geneva's long s and R rotunda, both descended from traditions in medieval writing. Geneva font features.png
Geneva's long s and R rotunda, both descended from traditions in medieval writing.

Unusually for neo-grotesque faces, later versions of Geneva include a basic set of ligatures and the archaic long s and R rotunda as alternates.

A slightly modified version of Geneva, called Simple, was included in the Apple Newton operating system.

Osaka, a default Japanese gothic typeface for Mac OS, also derived from Geneva typeface.

Related Research Articles

Verdana Humanist sans-serif font

Verdana is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft Corporation, with hand-hinting done by Thomas Rickner, then at Monotype. Demand for such a typeface was recognized by Virginia Howlett of Microsoft's typography group and commissioned by Steve Ballmer. The name "Verdana" is based on verdant, and Ana.

Sans-serif Typeface classification for letterforms without serifs

In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif fonts tend to have less stroke width variation than serif fonts. They are often used to convey simplicity and modernity or minimalism.

Helvetica 1957 sans-serif typeface developed by Max Miedinger

Helvetica or Neue Haas Grotesk is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with input from Eduard Hoffmann.

Arial A sans-serif, neo-grotesque typeface serving as a free alternative to Helvetica

Arial, sometimes marketed or displayed in software as Arial MT, is a sans-serif typeface and set of computer fonts in the neo-grotesque style. Fonts from the Arial family are packaged with all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 3.1 onwards, some other Microsoft software applications, Apple's macOS and many PostScript 3 computer printers. The typeface was designed in 1982, by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, for Monotype Typography. It was created to be metrically identical to the popular typeface Helvetica, with all character widths identical, so that a document designed in Helvetica could be displayed and printed correctly without having to pay for a Helvetica license.

Univers

Univers is the name of a large sans-serif typeface family designed by Adrian Frutiger and released by his employer Deberny & Peignot in 1957. Classified as a neo-grotesque sans-serif, one based on the model of nineteenth-century German typefaces such as Akzidenz-Grotesk, it was notable for its availability from the moment of its launch in a comprehensive range of weights and widths. The original marketing for Univers deliberately referenced the periodic table to emphasise its scope.

Tahoma (typeface) Humanist sans-serif font

Tahoma is a humanist sans-serif typeface that Matthew Carter designed for Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft first distributed it, along with Carter's Verdana, as a standard font in the initial release of Windows 95.

Chicago (typeface)

Chicago is a sans-serif typeface designed by Susan Kare for Apple Computer. It was used in the Macintosh operating system user interface between 1984 and 1997 and was an important part of Apple’s brand identity. It is also used in early versions of the iPod user interface. Chicago was initially a bitmap font; as the Apple OS’s capabilities improved, Apple commissioned the type foundry Bigelow & Holmes to create a vector-based TrueType version. The typeface is named after the U.S. city of Chicago, following the theme of original Macintosh fonts being named after major world cities.

Typography of Apple Inc. Overview of typography of Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. uses a large variety of typefaces in its marketing, operating systems, and industrial design with each product cycle. These change throughout the years with Apple's change of style in their products. This is evident in the design and marketing of the company.

Lucida Grande

Lucida Grande is a humanist sans-serif typeface. It is a member of the Lucida family of typefaces designed by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes. It’s best known for its implementation throughout the macOS user interface from 1999 to 2014, as well as in other Apple software like Safari for Windows. As of OS X Yosemite, the system font was changed from Lucida Grande to Helvetica Neue. In OS X El Capitan the system font changed again, this time to San Francisco.

Counter (typography)

In typography, a counter is the area of a letter that is entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol. The stroke that creates such a space is known as a "bowl". Letters containing closed counters include A, B, D, O, P, Q, R, a, b, d, e, g, o, p, and q. Letters containing open counters include c, f, h, s etc. The digits 0, 4, 6, 8, and 9 also possess a counter. An aperture is the opening between an open counter and the outside of the letter.

Roboto Neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface family developed by Google

Roboto is a neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface family developed by Google as the system font for its mobile operating system Android, and released in 2011 for Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich".

Monaco (typeface)

Monaco is a monospaced sans-serif typeface designed by Susan Kare and Kris Holmes. It ships with macOS and was already present with all previous versions of the Mac operating system. Characters are distinct, and it is difficult to confuse 0 and O, or 1, |, I and l. A unique feature of the font is the high curvature of its parentheses as well as the width of its square brackets, the result of these being that an empty pair of parentheses or square brackets will strongly resemble a circle or square, respectively.

New York (1983 typeface)

New York is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1983 for the Macintosh computer by Susan Kare, and re-worked in 1988 by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes. The typeface was the standard bitmap serif font for the early Macintosh operating systems. Originally titled “Ardmore”, it was renamed to New York before its initial release as part of the "World Class Cities" naming scheme by Apple Computer cofounder Steve Jobs.

Apple's Macintosh computer supports a wide variety of fonts. This support was one of the features that initially distinguished it from other systems.

Microsoft Sans Serif

Microsoft Sans Serif is a TrueType font introduced with Windows 2000. It is a successor of MS Sans Serif, a proportional raster font introduced in Windows 1.0. Both fonts are very similar in design to Arial and Helvetica. This font was made to match the MS Sans bitmap included in the early releases of Microsoft Windows.

Ascender Corporation is a digital typeface foundry and software development company located in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, Illinois in the United States. It was founded in 2004 by a team of software developers, typographers and font-industry veterans who had previously been involved in developing fonts used widely in computers, inkjet printers, phones and other digital technology devices. On December 8, 2010, Ascender Corp. was acquired by Monotype Imaging.

San Francisco (sans-serif typeface) Neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface

San Francisco is an American neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface made by Apple Inc. It was first released to developers on November 18, 2014. It is the first new typeface designed at Apple in nearly 20 years and has been inspired by Helvetica and DIN.

New York (2019 typeface)

New York is a transitional serif typeface created by Apple Inc. It was released to developers in June 2019. It is released by Apple freely but solely for use in developing or creating mock-ups of software on Apple platforms.

References