Papyrus (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Papyrus is a widely available typeface
designed by Chris Costello, a graphic designer
, illustrator
, and web design
er.
. It was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy
pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language
texts would have looked like if written on papyrus
2000 years ago. Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC
, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy."
is Papyrus EF Alternatives (or Papyrus EF Regular), providing a slight variation to Costello's font. Its differences include a shorter, sharper capital P, a capital E with a top bar longer than the middle bar, and a swash
A.
As has been the case with Comic Sans
, Papyrus is often criticized by graphic designers, including Chris Costello, for being overused.
Mac OS X
includes Papyrus font as part of its basic installation (starting from version 10.3 Panther, released in 2003).
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
designed by Chris Costello, a graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
er.
History and overview
The font was created in 1982 and released the next year to foundry LetrasetLetraset
Letraset is a company based in the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate in Ashford, Kent, UK.It is known mainly for manufacturing sheets of artwork elements which can be transferred to artwork being prepared. The name Letraset was often used to refer generically to sheets of dry transferrable lettering of...
. It was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
texts would have looked like if written on papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
2000 years ago. Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC
International Typeface Corporation
The International Typeface Corporation was a type manufacturer founded in New York in 1970 by Aaron Burns, Herb Lubalin, and Edward Rondthaler. The company was one of the world's first type foundries to have no history in the production of metal type...
, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy."
Variants
An alternative font published by Elsner+FlakeElsner+Flake
Elsner+Flake is a trademark used by German type foundry originally called EF Designstudios but later renamed Elsner+Flake Type Consulting GmbH and is currently based in Hamburg...
is Papyrus EF Alternatives (or Papyrus EF Regular), providing a slight variation to Costello's font. Its differences include a shorter, sharper capital P, a capital E with a top bar longer than the middle bar, and a swash
Swash (typography)
A swash is a typographical flourish on a glyph, like an exaggerated serif.Capital swash characters, which extended to the left, were historically often used to begin sentences. There were also minuscule swash characters, which came either extending to the left, to begin words, or to the right to...
A.
Use
Papyrus is often used where antique look is desired, such as a coffee shop or church flyer.As has been the case with Comic Sans
Comic Sans
Comic Sans MS is a casual script typeface modeled on fonts used in American comic books for several decades. Sans is short for sans-serif. The modern Comic Sans was designed by Vincent Connare and released in 1994 by Microsoft Corporation...
, Papyrus is often criticized by graphic designers, including Chris Costello, for being overused.
Examples of use
- The subtitles that appear in James CameronJames CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's 2009 movie Avatar and the logo of the movie itself - The title of the television program The Crocodile HunterThe Crocodile HunterThe Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
- Bottles of AriZonaAriZona Beverage CompanyAriZona Beverages USA is a producer of various flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails and energy drinks from the United States, based in Woodbury, New York....
brand iced tea - All of the album covers of the band Lamb of GodLamb of God (band)Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
(excluding their premiere album, Burn the PriestBurn the Priest (album)- Epic reissue :On Mar 22, 2005, it was re-released by Epic Records. The album has been remixed by Colin Richardson, remastered by Mark Wilder and features new liner notes by original producer Steve Austin . The cover art was changed in order to be store friendly, but retains the original artwork...
and 2009 studio album, Wrath) and much of the band's merchandise - In the title credits of the television program MediumMedium- Communication :* Medium , storage and/or transmission tools used to store and deliver information or data* Transmission medium, in physics and telecommunications, any material substance which can propagate waves or energy...
Availability
Papyrus has been included in many Microsoft programs for Windows.Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
includes Papyrus font as part of its basic installation (starting from version 10.3 Panther, released in 2003).
External links
- Chris Costello's official web site
- Linotype's Papyrus page featuring samples of commercial use of the font
- ITC's Papyrus Page
- Fonts.com
- Linotype.com