Readymag Design Almanac: Typography

1. Proportions

While very different in appearance, the faces do share some things — relatively large x-height and the similar length of the extenders. In all else, they differ significantly. Century's capitals are taller and narrower than Sweet's. Century tends to bunch its hanging elements, while Sweet lets them fall freely. Century's ascenders are the height of its capitals. Sweet's are taller.

Century and Sweet's capitals differ in width but are very similar in their proportions – both are regularly proportioned types. Century tends to frame its capitals in a narrow rectangle (with sides in an approximate relationship of 2x3), while Sweet's capitals tend to squareness.

In the lowercases, both typefaces carry forward the intention announced in the capitals. Century seeks maximum compactness, while Sweet lounges comfortably across space. At the same time, unlike Sweet, whose lowercase letters are relatively equal in width, Century's lowercase letters include several notable exceptions: the letters -e- and -s- are wider than the others by just enough to stand apart distinctively in text-sizes.

Despite their important differences, both faces work very well as text type. Sweet has everything that a sans serif needs for comfortable reading. On the other hand, it is best to go with as large a Century as possible, for the Century image is not well adapted for showing on screens.

2. Details

Century Old Style is consistent in mixing a late-19th-century typeface with elements of letterforms from a century and more before. It does not draw the elements from a single model but blends elements from many. Sweet Sans, unlikeCentury, is a typeface with a direct connection to its prototypes — the engraving-likescripts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.