Giambattista Bondoni

Giambattista Bondoni

Giambattista Bondoni was an engraver, type designer, printer, and a publisher. He was a leader in originating classical typeface. He was called the king of printers. Many believe that Bondoni produced some of the best "modern" style types. Being a type designer and a printer was in his blood. His dad was also a printer. In 1768 he was asked to run the printing house, Regia Parma. This is where he began to print Valuable editions. In 1771 he established his own typography. He took characters of a rare perfection and printed different editions. Bondoni printed classical Greek, Latin, Italian, and French editions. His books were made to be admired for the typeface and layout, not to be studied or read.

In 1751 is he designed his first font, Bondoni. Bondoni is a serif typeface. It is a contrast between heavy and thin lines. Although today you will not find a single typeface designed called Bondoni. There is just a range of adoption. Some people say that the text suffered from a particular kind of legibility known as "dazzle." This is caused by thick vertical lines. There is an extreme contrast between hairline and main stroke. With Bondoni some of the text sizes like hairlines seem to almost disappear visually, making it very hard to read. This family has a high contrast and vertical stress typical.

Morris Fuller Benton from American Typefounders created a new version of the Bondoni between 1907-1911. The original look is still there but they say that some of the finer details of the original Bodoni types are missing. Benton just made it more clear and up to date. Now that it has been redone it gets good use for good headlines, logos, advertising, and text. "The Bondoni types are both romantic and elegant, with a presence that adds tasteful sparkle to headlines and advertising".