Bodoni, Giambattista

Giambattista Bodoni was an Italian printer and typographer born in Saluzzo, Italy in 1740. He is most renowned for designing a typeface now known as Bodoni (see fig 1). Both his father and grandfather were printers, and his first apprenticeship was one of a high standard — Propaganda Fire, the Vatican's printing house in Rome. He finished his apprenticeship and thanks to his dedication, enthusiasm and skill attained management at the Royal Press, the press of the Duke of Parma. The printing house was a great success, and it was not long before his own works made an appearance. The success lead to the Duke allowing Bodoni to open a printing house of his own, the Officina Bodoni, with which he produced more than 300 typefaces. The Bodoni typeface is characterised by its contrast of the thick main body of the letterform and the thin, sharp serifs (the short lines at the ends of the strokes of the letter). This contrast makes the font look delicate and fragile yet still evokes an edginess, qualities which many designers seek to obtain. Bodoni's typeface has had a huge impact on contemporary typography with Bodoni-esque font being used widely within all aspects of design.

Bibliography
Books
Cleland, T.M, (1916) Giambattista Bodoni of Parma, Society of Printers, Boston.
Internet
B-net. 2009. Giambattista Bodoni: King of typographer, typographer of kings. [Online] Available at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3992/is_200107/ai_n8978403/ [Accessed 27 October 2009]
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2009. Giambattista Bodoni. [Online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/71084/Giambattista-Bodoni [Accessed on 27 October 2009]

Scott English