Project: Monotype Grotesque Type Specimen
Course: Typographic Design
Assignment: Type Specimen
Focus: Typographic history, macro and micro typography
University: Politecnico di Milano
When: Autumn 2022
Monotype Grotesque, designed by Frank Piermont at Monotype Imaging in 1926, is among the earliest families of sans-serif typefaces produced for hot metal typesetting. The large family consists of a collection of fonts, ranging from very bold, condensed to extended. Most popular were the pairing of its series 215 regular and 216 bold.
During the first decade of its release, MT Grotesque was overshadowed by the arrival of other popular sans-serifs. Kabel, Futura and Gill Sans were perceived as cleaner and with a more geometric appearance, which made them dominate the world of graphic design in the 1930’s. However, the Monotype Grotesque family was a steady seller, and had a strong comeback in the postwar period. During this time it was frequently used in avant-garde printing in western and central Europe, with one of its most famous appearances being in Herbert Spencer’s journal Typographica.
Frank Hinman Pierpont (1860-1937) was an American engineer and typeface designer working primarily for the Monotype Corporation in England. It was during his time at The Lanston Monotype Machine Company, later known as Monotype Imaging, in England that he would spend the most important years of his professional career. From 1899 to 1936 he established his role as both factory manager and later board member of the British branch of the American company. He administered the reproduction of classic type designs and developed new designs such as Times New Roman and Rockwell.
Monotype Imaging is an American company, specializing in typesetting and design of typefaces for electronics devices. Its first typeface, Modern Condensed was released in 1896 alongside its patent of the first hot metal typesetting machine, which became its first of many important contributions to printing technology. Monotype was central in the design and production of popular typefaces during the 20th century, and have developed many of the most widely used designs, including Arial, Times New Roman and Gill Sans.
Mid-page poster
The variations light, light italic, regular, italic and bold share a lot of similarities in design. However, as the font family expanded in production, it did so with a disregard for the unity of the design among variations. Characteristics of both grotesque and neo-grotesque typefaces are apparent thoughout the family, but with lacking consistency. Here are some examples of type inconsistencies within the typeface.
