What is the Classic Grotesque™ font?
Classic Grotesque by Rod McDonald: a traditional font with a modern face.
The growing popularity of grotesque typefaces meant that many new sans serif analogues were published in the early 20th century. Setting machines were not compatible with each other but all foundries wanted to offer up-to-date fonts, and as a result numerous different typeface families appeared that seem almost identical at first glance and yet go their separate ways with regard to details. One of the first fonts created with automatic typesetting in mind was Monotype Grotesque®. Although this typeface that was designed and published by Frank Hinman Pierpont in 1926 has since been digitalised, it has never achieved the status of other grotesque fonts of this period. But Monotype Grotesque was always one of designer Rod McDonald’s favourites, and he was overjoyed when he finally got the go-ahead from Monotype in 2008 to update this “hidden treasure”. More…
The design process lasted four years, with regular interruptions due to the need to complete projects for other clients. In retrospect, McDonald admits that he had no idea at the beginning of just how challenging and complex a task it would be to create Classic Grotesque™. It took him considerable time before he found the right approach. In his initial drafts, he tried to develop Monotype Grotesque only to find that the result was almost identical with Arial®, a typeface that is also derived in many respects from Monotype Grotesque. It was only when he went back a stage, and incorporated elements of Bauer Font’s Venus™ and Ideal Grotesk by the Julius Klinkhardt foundry into the design process, that he found the way forward. Both these typefaces had served as the original inspiration for Monotype Grotesque.
The name says it all: Classic Grotesque has all the attributes of the early grotesque fonts of the 20th century: The slightly artificial nature gives the characters a formal appearance. There are very few and only minor variations in line width. The tittles of the ‘i’ and ‘j’, the umlaut diacritic and other diacritic marks are rectangular. Interestingly, it is among the uppercase letters that certain variations from the standard pattern can be found, and it is these that enliven the typeface. Hence the horizontal bars of the “E”, “F” and “L” have bevelled terminals. The chamfered terminal of the bow of the “J” has a particular flamboyance, while the slightly curved descender of the “Q” provides for additional dynamism. The character alternatives available through the OpenType option provide the designer with a wealth of opportunities. These include a closed “a”, a double-counter “g” and an “e” in which the transverse bar deviates slightly from the horizontal.
The seven different weights also extend the scope of uses of Classic Grotesque. These range from the delicate Light to the super thick Extrabold. There are genuine italic versions of each weight; these are not only slightly narrower than their counterparts, but also have variant shapes. The “a” is closed, the “f” has a semi-descender while the “e” is rounded.
Its neutral appearance and excellent features mean that Classic Grotesque is suitable for use in nearly all imaginable applications. Even during the design phase, McDonald used his new font to set books and in promotional projects. However, he would be pleased to learn of possible applications that he himself has not yet considered. Classic Grotesque, which has its own individual character despite its neutral and restrained appearance, is the ideal partner for your print and web project.
Classic Grotesque™ Font families
The Classic Grotesque™ font includes the following font families:
- Classic Grotesque Pro Light
- Classic Grotesque Pro Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Book
- Classic Grotesque Pro Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Regular
- Classic Grotesque Pro Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Medium
- Classic Grotesque Pro Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Light
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Book
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Medium
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Condensed Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Light
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Book
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Medium
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Compressed Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Light
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Book
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Medium
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Pro Extended Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Light
- Classic Grotesque Std Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Book
- Classic Grotesque Std Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Regular
- Classic Grotesque Std Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Medium
- Classic Grotesque Std Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Light
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Book
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Medium
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Condensed Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Light
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Book
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Medium
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Compressed Extra Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Light
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Light Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Book
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Book Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Medium
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Medium Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Semi Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Semi Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Bold Italic
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Extra Bold
- Classic Grotesque Std Extended Extra Bold Italic
Classic Grotesque™ Preview
Here is a preview of how Classic Grotesque™ will look. For more previews using your own text as an example, click here.
