Typefaces; Pein's All-Time Favorites
Worth Buying...For Real.

There are lots of 'free' fonts out there on the trendy novelty sites for you to download. I know them ALL. Freebies are fine. However, there are a few typefaces that, in my personal opinion, every graphic designer should own, or at least have an intimate knowledge of. Although they can be quite pricey, over the years I have legitimately purchased a handful of timeless classics that have certainly paid for themselves by now and were worth every dime. Here are a few that I couldn't live without...EVER:

Neue Helvetica™ Pro 33 Thin Extended

Helvetica™ Neue Extended 1 Volume

In 1983, D. Stempel AG redesigned the famous Helvetica typeface for the digital age, creating Neue Helvetica for Linotype: a self-contained font family. Today, this family consists of 51 different font weights.

Note From Pein: Timeless, modern, sophisticated, and a PERFECT, high-end visual value. By 'value' I mean the fundamentals and principals of design, and how this typeface lays on a page, whether it's for a swanky headline or body text, it's smooth as a baby's butt.

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ITC Garamond Complete Volume

ITC Garamond is based on the types of Claude Garamond, cut in the sixteenth century, and on the version produced by the American Type Founders company in the early part of the twentieth century. The ITC Garamond font family has an enlarged x-height, close letter spacing and a wide range of weights and widths. ITC Garamond is a very popular typeface in advertising, for catalogs, brochures and packaging. ITC Garamond Condensed has a larger x-height to maintain legibility while conserving space.

Note From Pein: I have been so in love with this typeface family since college. The Condensed Volume Pack contains, of course, the condensed typeface design, which holds a very smooth, even value on a page with a lot of body copy! Because the letter forms are condensed, you can fit A LOT MORE text into a layout and still have it look refined and balanced. We carefully chose this typeface and 'font family' at Motorola for all the product user guides for it's classic appearance and readability while fitting a lot of text.

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ITC Kabel™ Volume

Traditionally, German foundries have been more energetic in soliciting new designs from artists who are not specialist typographers. An example of this tradition was the career of Rudolf Koch, who designed Kabel in 1926, and which was named after the first trans-Atlantic cable. Kabel is a sans serif design of peculiar characteristics, suitable for short texts. It produces a striking effect on the page, providing modernistic feel. Although in many respects it resembles the simplicity of Futura, the unique shapes should help to identify Kabel from any other sans serif. The design was redrawn by ITC in 1975 under license from the Stempel foundry to create the ITC Kabel font family. Kabel™ is a trademark of Linotype Corp. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions in the name of Linotype Corp. or its licensee Linotype GmbH.

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EF Ballantines Script CE 1 Volume

I haven't found much background on this typeface/font, but I'm wondering if it might have been inspired by a single malt Scotch whisky with the same name?

Note From Pein: Script typefaces are tough. I get nervous when beginning designers start to dink around with them. A well-designed script typeface is structured so that every letter connects and a visual rhythm flows like liquid. Readability and style are a MAJOR consideration when selecting a script, as some are based on calligraphy, some on penmanship, etc. I like to work with Ballantine when I need something "swooshy" but NOT Puffy-Sleeve Bridesmaid Dress-Sswooshy. Ballantine hints at the classic 'Coca-Cola' logo letter style. It's a script with a hint of funk, yet very solid, balanced, and readable from its lightest family member to its heaviest. I wouldn't use it for an orchestra performance program, but I might for an upcoming Valentine's Day ad layout headline or something more 'commercially".

Bembo®

The origins of Bembo font goes back to one of the most famous printers of the Renaissance, Aldus Manutius in 1496. This very typeface would eventually be of such importance that the development of print typefaces is unthinkable without it. The Monotype Corporation in London used this roman face as the model for a 1929 project of Stanley Morison which resulted in a font called Bembo. Morison made a number of changes to the 15th century forms. Bembo is an old face type of unusual legibility. Its timeless classical character makes it suitable for almost any application.


Frutiger™ Pro 45 Light

Frutiger's goal was to create a sans serif typeface with the rationality and cleanliness of Univers, but with the organic and proportional aspects of Gill Sans. The result is that Frutiger is a distinctive and legible typeface. The letter properties were suited to the needs of Charles De Gaulle – modern appearance and legibility at various angles, sizes, and distances. Ascenders and descenders are very prominent, and apertures are wide to easily distinguish letters from each other.

Note From Pein: The above description mentions Universe and Gill Sans, both typefaces I thoroughly respect and use regularly. Frutiger is, however, the sans serif face I have used the most over the years. In the san serif type category, the Frutiger family of type is my ALL-TIME favorite! Use it with confidence!