Optima Express
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Optima Express
Optima is a Humanist sans-serif, humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf and released by the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, West Germany in 1958. Though classified as a sans-serif, Optima has a subtle swelling at the terminals suggesting a glyphic serif. Optima was inspired by Roman square capitals, classical Roman capitals and the stonecarving on Renaissance-period tombstones Zapf saw in Florence on a 1950 holiday to Italy. Zapf intended Optima to be a typeface that could serve for both body text and titling. To prove its versatility, Zapf set his entire book ''About Alphabets'' in the regular weight. Zapf retained an interest in the design, collaborating on variants and expansions into his eighties. History Interested in calligraphy and the history of Italian printing and lettering, Zapf first visited Italy in 1950. While in Florence, Zapf was particularly interested in the design of the lettering in tombstones of the cemetery of the Basilica of Santa Croce ...
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Sans-serif
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 typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than serif typefaces. They are often used to convey simplicity and Modern typography, modernity or minimalism. For the purposes of type classification, sans-serif designs are usually divided into these major groups: , , , , and . Sans-serif typefaces have become the most prevalent for display of text on computer screens. On lower-resolution digital displays, fine details like serifs may disappear or appear too large. The term comes from the French word , meaning "without" and "serif" of uncertain origin, possibly from the Dutch word meaning "line" or pen-stroke. In printed media, they are more commonly used for Display typeface, display use and less for body text. Before the term "sans-serif" became standard in English typography, a number of ...
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