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Trajan (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Trajan is an old style serif
typeface
designed in 1989 by Carol Twombly
for Adobe
. The design is based on the letterforms of capitalis monumentalis or Roman square capitals
, as used for the inscription at the base of Trajan's Column
from which the typeface takes its name. Since the inscription and its writing form manifests in only one case, Trajan is an all-capitals typeface. Instead, small caps
are commonly used, and a more complete set of glyphs contained in Trajan Pro (a 2001 update of the original typeface) includes a lower case of small caps.
Although Twombly was the first to do a very literal translation of the Trajan inscription into type, a number of interpretations (with added lowercase alphabets) predate Twombly's, particularly Emil Rudolf Weiss' "Weiss" of 1926, Frederic Goudy
's 1930 "Goudy Trajan," while Warren Chappell
's "Trajanus" of 1939, while having similar forms for capitals has a markedly medieval lowercase. There are also numerous prominent typefaces that are not revivals, but owe a very clear debt to the Trajan letterforms, most notably Hermann Zapf
's 1955 Optima
.
version of the Type 1 Trajan fonts. Lower case letters are included in the form of small caps. OpenType features include proportional lining figures, small caps. It supports Adobe CE, Adobe Western 2 character sets.
s, television
shows and book covers. For example, Trajan Bold was used for the film poster for Titanic
, and in posters and promotional material for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
. Trajan Pro Bold is used in the titles and captions for The West Wing, for the credits of several films like Interview with the Vampire
and Goya's Ghosts
, and the covers of many John Grisham
paperbacks. The typeface was adopted in 2000 by Canada's second largest political party, the Canadian Alliance
and used until the party's dissolution in 2003. Trajan is also used in the logo of the British
accoutrement firm Toye, Kenning and Spencer
. In 2010, the font was used on Coronation Street
.
Trajan is also the official font of Columbia University
, Rice University
, University of Bologna
, University of the District of Columbia
, University of Kansas
and the University of Rhode Island
. The typeface in the logos of Lawrence University
, Ball State University
, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the John Paul the Great Catholic University
, SUNY Albany
, and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
is Trajan.
Given its statesman-like characteristics, Trajan is also used on political websites, including the personal website of Australian politician Malcolm Turnbull
.
Trajan was used in the campaign logo for Chris Dodd, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut
, during his presidential campaign in 2008 and most recently by former Governor of Minnesota
Tim Pawlenty
in a 2011 ad "Courage to Stand" , advertising his presidential campaign
. The font was also used by Mitt Romney
, former Governor of Massachusetts
in his logo for his presidential exploratory committee
for the 2012 American presidential election
. Some Barack Obama
campaign
memorabilia from the 2008 campaign
also featured the font.
Trajan is also used for the Assassin's Creed
franchise wording. The game was produced by Ubisoft
Montreal.
Trajan is also used in advertisements for Trojan Condoms.
Trajan was used in the Pixar Animation Studios logo, pre 19??.
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
typeface
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 in 1989 by Carol Twombly
Carol Twombly
Carol Twombly is an American calligrapher and typeface designer who has designed many typefaces, including Trajan, Myriad and Adobe Caslon. She worked as a type designer at Adobe Systems from 1988 through 1999, during which time she designed, or contributed to the design of, many typefaces...
for Adobe
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
. The design is based on the letterforms of capitalis monumentalis or Roman square capitals
Roman square capitals
Roman square capitals, also called capitalis monumentalis, inscriptional capitals, elegant capitals and quadrata, are an ancient Roman form of writing, and the basis for modern capital letters....
, as used for the inscription at the base of Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
from which the typeface takes its name. Since the inscription and its writing form manifests in only one case, Trajan is an all-capitals typeface. Instead, small caps
Small caps
In typography, small capitals are uppercase characters set at the same height and weight as surrounding lowercase letters or text figures...
are commonly used, and a more complete set of glyphs contained in Trajan Pro (a 2001 update of the original typeface) includes a lower case of small caps.
Although Twombly was the first to do a very literal translation of the Trajan inscription into type, a number of interpretations (with added lowercase alphabets) predate Twombly's, particularly Emil Rudolf Weiss' "Weiss" of 1926, Frederic Goudy
Frederic Goudy
Frederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
's 1930 "Goudy Trajan," while Warren Chappell
Warren Chappell
Warren Chappell was an American illustrator, book and type designer, and author.-Education:...
's "Trajanus" of 1939, while having similar forms for capitals has a markedly medieval lowercase. There are also numerous prominent typefaces that are not revivals, but owe a very clear debt to the Trajan letterforms, most notably Hermann Zapf
Hermann Zapf
Hermann Zapf is a German typeface designer who lives in Darmstadt, Germany. He is married to calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf von Hesse....
's 1955 Optima
Optima
Optima is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf between 1952 and 1955 for the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, Germany.-Characteristics:...
.
Trajan Pro (2001)
Trajan Pro is an OpenTypeOpenType
OpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. It was built on its predecessor TrueType, retaining TrueType's basic structure and adding many intricate data structures for prescribing typographic behavior...
version of the Type 1 Trajan fonts. Lower case letters are included in the form of small caps. OpenType features include proportional lining figures, small caps. It supports Adobe CE, Adobe Western 2 character sets.
Usage
Twombly's cut of Trajan has become very popular, as seen in its nearly constant presence on American movie posterMovie poster
A movie poster is a poster used to advertise a film. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors. Prior to the 1990s,...
s, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows and book covers. For example, Trajan Bold was used for the film poster for Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, and in posters and promotional material for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 black comedy film directed by Brad Silberling. It is an adaptation of the The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window, being the first three books in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket...
. Trajan Pro Bold is used in the titles and captions for The West Wing, for the credits of several films like Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire is a vampire novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976. It was the first novel to feature the enigmatic vampire Lestat, and was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles...
and Goya's Ghosts
Goya's Ghosts
Goya's Ghosts is a 2006 Spanish/American film directed by Miloš Forman, and produced by Xuxa Producciones and by Saul Zaentz, and written by Miloš Forman and Jean-Claude Carrière. The film stars Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, and Stellan Skarsgård, and was filmed on location in Spain during late...
, and the covers of many John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
paperbacks. The typeface was adopted in 2000 by Canada's second largest political party, the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
and used until the party's dissolution in 2003. Trajan is also used in the logo of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
accoutrement firm Toye, Kenning and Spencer
Toye, Kenning and Spencer
Toye, Kenning & Spencer plc is a British jewellery and clothing manufacturer base in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, Covent Garden, London and Bedworth England. Founded in 1685, the company remains family run by members of the Toye family....
. In 2010, the font was used on Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
Trajan is also the official font of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, University of the District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. UDC is one of only a few urban land-grant universities in the country and a member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
. The typeface in the logos of Lawrence University
Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
, Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the John Paul the Great Catholic University
John Paul the Great Catholic University
John Paul the Great Catholic University is located in San Diego, California. It currently offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Communications Media and Business, each with two or more concentrations offered...
, SUNY Albany
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
, and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government with the stated mission to:...
is Trajan.
Given its statesman-like characteristics, Trajan is also used on political websites, including the personal website of Australian politician Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
.
Trajan was used in the campaign logo for Chris Dodd, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, during his presidential campaign in 2008 and most recently by former Governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
Tim Pawlenty
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
in a 2011 ad "Courage to Stand" , advertising his presidential campaign
Tim Pawlenty presidential campaign, 2012
Former Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota began a movement for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States shortly after the 2010 midterm elections....
. The font was also used by Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, former Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
in his logo for his presidential exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
for the 2012 American presidential election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
. Some Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
memorabilia from the 2008 campaign
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
also featured the font.
Trajan is also used for the Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
franchise wording. The game was produced by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
Montreal.
Trajan is also used in advertisements for Trojan Condoms.
Trajan was used in the Pixar Animation Studios logo, pre 19??.
External links
- Goudy Trajan, myfonts.com, The drawings of the Trajan letters in Goudy's book The Capitals From the Trajan Column At Rome were used as the source.
- Typowiki: Trajan
- Trajan's Column, including detail of the capitalis monumentalis inscription.
- Etched in Stone, a humorous animation regarding the use (or overuse) of Trajan in film titles.
- Trajan is the Movie Font, a satirical video poking fun at the omnipresence of Trajan in the movie world.
- Adobe-Fonts: Trajan
- Adobe-Fonts: Trajan Pro