Publisher: Canada TypePhilip Bouwsma is concerned about the survival of calligraphy in the computer age. The last time there was a technology shift of this magnitude, in Gutenberg's day, the metal workers carried out the scribes and set their own stamp on type design, relegating calligraphy to a niche role where it still languishes. Now we are faced with another crisis, surely our last chance to incorporate the classical broad pen method into mainstream typography; but this time we have the tools to convey the subtlety of the finest calligraphy. The device does not simply make a snapshot or a still-life of the calligrapher's expression; it has now become the tool that can inspire and assist the designer with the job on hand.
Bouwsma has invested the last few years establishing a theory of digitizing official historic and modern calligraphic designs, mixing them into a seamless web like the hands themselves. His overall plan is to recreate historic calligraphy as it would have evolved if it had not been hindered by technnological limitations, wars, persecutions and human frailty. With a little imagination and an educated procedure with several tiers, a designer has in truth many ways to bring the old magnificence to calligraphy.
One of those methods is as easy as taking one vital element of meaningful calligraphy and making it mobile, removable, attachable, or as approximate as the user wishes it to be. That aspect is just the most looked for amongst calligraphic font users for lots of years now: the flourish. Bouwsma's idea of snap-on flourishes is not a totally new or previously unknown typographical principle (some typefaces boast word ending snap-ons), but on the scribe circuit it's definitely bound to raise some eyebrows with its simpleness as a service to inanimate calligraphy. Think of two or three ranges on the very same pen stroke, which you can connect to the a, e, g, k, or just as seamlessly to any other letter, depending upon what your task requires.
At about the exact same time Bouwsma idea of the snap-on flourishes, he was taking a look at his 1990s calligraphy and typefaces in the light of his newly conducted experiments. He chose that his a few of his classic faces now seemed somehow incomplete, and could use an as soon as- or twice-over. The 2 concepts assembled, and the symptom of this merging is the new Alexia family in all its fresh brand-new and flexible glory.
While the initial 1992 Alexia has always been a broad ben classic, this brand-new variation presents a brand-new set of calligraphic skills that have been refined and enhanced over the past 14 years. The new Alexia is the work of an experienced scribe with enough self-confidence to blend the expressions of classicism and carnival calligraphy, sobriety and friendliness, craft and humor, into the same typeface. The new Alexia goes above and beyond the call of typical calligraphic fonts.
The new Alexia is a 4-style calligraphic family with character sets covering more than 80 Latin-based languages, including Eastern European, Turkish, Baltic, Celtic, Esperanto, Maltese, amongst many numerous others. Snap-on flourishes can be found in 2 weights, to accommodate the stroke width of the Alexia fonts. These flourishes can be simply put on typeset letters to give them an immediate swashy and elaborate appearance. They can be extended or tightened, angled or turned, and so on. Unlimited immediate possibilities are readily available for those with an imagination and a talent for making words look gorgeous. Seamless borders likewise can be found in 2 weights and variety in background from standard calligraphic and Celtic to South American. The border font styles can likewise be used to build textures and background patterns. The original Alexia is likewise available as part of the family, as Alexia Classic.
Finally a word from Philip Bouwsma about his massive reworking and expansion of his this timeless typeface:
." The original Alexia was among my very first fonts, which I digitized in 1992 carefully following an alphabet composed with a broad pen. A typeface is normally considered a fixed style, imperishable after its creation; however handwriting is a living thing which changes with the minute and grows with the individual. Alexia has actually grown with me into the computer age; the new variation frequents the digital universe, no longer regretful that it is not ‘‘ genuine' calligraphy. A few of the old childlike spontaneity has actually been sacrificed; however I hope the liveliness of my early work will complement this more tempered version, which will always progress."
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