0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGN

FOR,ATINSCRIPTTEXTFACES

*6ICTOR'AULTNEY
$ISSERTATIONSUBMITTEDINPARTIALFULLMENTOFTHEREQUIREMENTSFOR
THE-ASTEROF!RTSIN4YPEFACE$ESIGN5NIVERSITYOF2EADING
 4! " , %  / &  # / . 4 % . 4 3

  )NTRODUCTION
  $ENITIONORIGINANDCLASSICATION
  $ESIGNCHALLENGES
  0ROBLEM!SYMMETRY
  0ROBLEM7IDTHHARMONY
  0ROBLEM6ERTICALSPACING
  0ROBLEM#APITALS
  0ROBLEM#ULTURALPREFERENCES
  4HEBUSINESSOFDIACRITICS
  4HEPATHFORWARD
  !PPENDIX3UMMARYOFDIACRITICFEATURES
  "IBLIOGRAPHY
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

,QWURGXFWLRQ
%ARLYINTHEDEVELOPMENTOFTHE,ATINSCRIPTSPECIALMARKSSEPARATEINNATURE
FROMTHEBASICLETTERSBEGANTOBEUSED3INCETHEINNOVATIONOFMOVABLETYPE
THESEDIACRITICSORACCENTSHAVEBEENASPECIALCHALLENGEFORTHETYPEDESIGNER
4HEIR SIZE SPACING AND DESIGN CAN BE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE READER BUT
CAN ALSO CAUSE MANY PROBLEMSWITH LETTER T AND LINE SPACING IN PARTICULAR
4HEDESIGNOFTHESEADDITIONALMARKSANDTHEIRHARMONYWITHTHERESTOFTHE
TYPEFACEISIMPORTANTTOSUCCESS
4HIS ESSAY FOCUSES ON THESE PROBLEMS AND THE TECHNIQUES DESIGNERS HAVE
USEDTOADDRESSTHEM!FTERAREVIEWOFTHEDENITIONORIGINANDCLASSICATION
OFDIACRITICSEACHMAJORPROBLEMISIDENTIEDANDANALYSEDWITHANEMPHASIS
ON HOW THEY HAVE BEEN OR COULD BE OVERCOME 4HE ANALYSIS CONCLUDES WITH
A REVIEW OF REMAINING PROBLEMS SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE TYPE DESIGN
COMMUNITYANDCOMMENTSONTHEFUTUREOFDIACRITICDESIGN

6RXUFHV
!NY STUDY OF THIS SORT IS POTENTIALLY PRONE TO DICULTIES WITH SOURCES AND
ASSUMPTIONS 6ERY LITTLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN ON THE DESIGN OF DIACRITICS !LBERT
+APR IN HIS  PAGE TOME ON 4HE ART OF LETTERING DISMISSED DISCUSSION OF DIA
CRITICS)TWOULDTAKEUSTOOFARIFWEWEREALSOTODISCUSSITALICLETTERSUMLAUT
ACCENTS SIGNS AND GURES INDIVIDUALLY 4HE MAIN BODY OF GUIDANCE CAN BE
FOUNDINTWODOCUMENTSONEOFWHICHREMAINSUNAVAILABLETOTHEPUBLIC
-ICROSOFTS#HARACTERDESIGNSTANDARDSISTHEONLYPUBLICLYAVAILABLEGUIDETO
THEDEVELOPMENTOFBASICDIACRITICS)TISINTENDEDTOSTATETHEGENERALRULES
FORCHARACTERSHAPESIN,ATINBASEDLANGUAGESANDCOVERSGLYPHSHAPESFORTHE
MOSTCOMMON,ATINCHARACTERS4HESECTIONONDIACRITICSISSHORTANDDOESNOT
TRYTOADDRESSTHEDESIGNOFDIACRITICSBUTPROVIDESUSEFULINFORMATIONONDIA
CRITICPLACEMENT
! MORE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO DIACRITIC DESIGN HAS BEEN UNDER DEVELOP
MENT AT !'&! #ORPORATION NOW !GFA -ONOTYPE #ORPORATION  FOR OVER TEN
YEARS AS PART OF A LARGER MANUAL ENTITLED 4YPE DESIGN STANDARDS $ESIGNERS AT
THIS RM AND ITS PARENT COMPANIES HAVE DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO BOTH
4IBOR3ZNT,ANGUAGES GENERAL AND SPECIC DESIGN ISSUES BUT HAVE YET TO COMPLETE AND PUBLISH THIS
ANDTYPEFACES-ONOTYPE.EWS
LETTER P
INTERNALMANUALFORAPUBLICAUDIENCE-ANYTHANKSAREDUETOTHEMFORSHAR
!LBERT+APR4HEARTOF INGTHEIRWORKANDALLOWINGITTOBENOTEDHERE
LETTERINGTRANSBY)DA+IMBER "OTH OF THESE DOCUMENTS GIVE VALUABLE HELP REGARDING THE DESIGN OF SPE
-UNICH+'3AUR P
6INCENT#ONNARE CIC DIACRITICS THOUGH THEY ARE MOSTLY FOCUSED ON %UROPEAN USAGE 4HEY DO
#HARACTERDESIGNSTANDARDS NOT HOWEVER GIVE DESIGNERS BROAD GUIDANCE ON DICULT DESIGN PROBLEMS AS
HTTPWWWMICROSOFTCOM
TYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERS ATTEMPTED IN THIS ESSAY $ESPITE THIS BOTH ARE EXCELLENT AND WELL RESEARCHED
FDSSPEC*ULY SOURCESESPECIALLYFORINFORMATIONONINDIVIDUALACCENTS
!GFA#ORPORATION4YPE
DESIGNSTANDARDS7ILMINGTON "ECAUSEOFTHELACKOFBREADTHOFSOURCESREGARDINGDIACRITICDESIGNMUCH
-ASS!GFA#ORPORATION  OFTHEANALYSISISBASEDUPONDIRECTSTUDYOFTHETYPEFACESTHEMSELVES4HISCAN
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

BE MISLEADING 4HE TEMPTATION IS GREAT TO ASSUME THAT EVERY UNIQUE FEATURE
HAS A SPECIC PURPOSE THAT EVERY DIERENTIATION IS INTENTIONAL )N REALITY
SOMEOFTHESECHARACTERISTICSAREJUSTASLIKELYTOBEMISTAKESORTHERESULTOF
ADESIGNERSIGNORANCE4HISISESPECIALLYTRUEWHENDIACRITICSAREASUBSEQUENT
ADDITIONTOANALREADYEXISTINGTYPEFACEORWHENTHEYAREADDEDBYSOMEONE
OTHERTHANTHEORIGINALDESIGNER
4O AVOID MAKING FALSE ASSUMPTIONS THE ANALYSIS IS LIMITED TO DESIGN FEA
TURES THAT ARE EITHER DOCUMENTED TO BE INTENTIONAL OR THAT CLEARLY ADDRESS A
PARTICULARDESIGNPROBLEM)NTHELATTERCASETHEREMAYWELLBESOMEFEATURES
THAT WERE NOT SPECICALLY ADDED TO SOLVE A CERTAIN PROBLEM BUT NEVERTHELESS
HAVETHATEECT7HETHERINTENTIONALORNOTTHESESOLUTIONSCANBEAVALUABLE
MODELFORCONTEMPORARYDESIGNERSANDSOAREDISCUSSEDHERE

/LPLWDWLRQV
4HISESSAYISLIMITEDINSCOPETO,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACESANDPARTICULARLYTHOSE
INTENDED FOR TEXT SETTING 4HE DESIGN OF NON ,ATIN DIACRITICS IS JUST AS WORTHY
OFSTUDYBUTWOULDREQUIREADIERENTANALYTICALSTRATEGY4YPEFACESDESIGNED
STRICTLYFORDISPLAYUSEORFORSPECIALEECTARENOTCONSIDEREDASTHEDESIGN
OFTHEIRDIACRITICSCANBEECLECTICANDRELATEDMORETOGRAPHICDESIGNTHANTEXT
TYPOGRAPHY)TALICANDBOLDFACESTHOUGHIMPORTANTARENOTFULLYCOVEREDDUE
TOLIMITATIONSOFRESEARCHTIMEANDDISSERTATIONLENGTH&INALLYTHISESSAYDOES
NOT ATTEMPT TO BE AN EXHAUSTIVE STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL DIACRITICS NOR GIVE PRE
SCRIPTIVERECOMMENDATIONSONTHEIRDESIGN

'HILQLWLRQRULJLQDQGFODVVLILFDWLRQ
$IACRITICSAREMARKSADDEDTOGLYPHSTOCHANGETHEIRMEANINGORPRONUNCIATION
4HEYAREALSOCOMMONLYCALLEDACCENTSORDIACRITICALMARKS4HESEMARKSCANBE

MADEABOVEBELOWTHROUGHORANYWHEREAROUNDTHELETTER4HENAMECOMES

FROMTHE'REEKWORDMEANINGTHATDISTINGUISHES
!LTHOUGHMOSTDIACRITICSARESEPARATEFROMTHEBASELETTERSOMECONNECTTO
&IGURE%XAMPLESOFLETTERSWITH THEBASE4HISRAISESTHEQUESTIONOFWHETHERSUCHMARKSARETRULYDIACRITICSOR
DIACRITICS
IFTHENEWCOMBINATIONISSIMPLYANEWEXTENDED,ATINGLYPH&OREXAMPLEIS
ANINDEPENDENTLETTERORSHOULDITBETHOUGHTOFASACOMBINATIONOFCANDs
!LTHOUGHMOSTPEOPLECONSIDERITANINDEPENDENTLETTERTHISESSAYWILLDISCUSS
ITASACOMBINATIONASTHEDESIGNPROBLEMSARETHESAMEANDSOLUTIONSAPPLI
CABLETOCANALSOBEAPPLIEDTOAND

2ULJLQ
4HEORIGINOF,ATINSCRIPTDIACRITICSISEVOLUTIONARY4HEYHAVEBEENANINTEGRAL
PARTOFTHESCRIPTSINCEITSEARLIESTDAYS2OBERT%STIENNEISCREDITEDWITHINTRO
DUCINGACCENTMARKSFOR&RENCHINHIS$ICTIONARIUMOFBUTTHEHISTORYGOES
&LORIAN#OULMAS4HE"LACK BACKMUCHFURTHER
WELLENCYCLOPEDIAOFWRITINGSYSTEMS
/XFORD"ASIL"LACKWELL  !SIGNSIMILARTOANACUTEACCENTWASUSEDIN2OMANINSCRIPTIONSTOINDICATE
P ADOUBLEDCONSONANT4HEDOTONITHEMOSTCOMMON,ATINSCRIPTDIACRITICIS
2!$OWNIE,ANGUAGES
OFTHEWORLDTHATCANBESETON
POSSIBLY A CARRYOVER OF THIS FOR WORDS SUCH AS LII AND WAS USED IN MEDIEVAL
-ONOTYPEMACHINES-ONOTYPE
2ECORDER P
,AWRENCE+EPPIE5NDER
STANDING2OMANINSCRIPTIONS
,ONDON"ATSFORD P
*ANET"ACKHOUSE4HE
ILLUMINATEDPAGE,ONDON4HE
"RITISH,IBRARY P
$ONALD-!NDERSON#ALLIGRAPHY &IGURE4WOENLARGEDIMAGESOFTHEDOTTEDIFROMMEDIEVALMANUSCRIPTSONEOFTHEEARLIESTUSESFROMATH
THEARTOFWRITTENFORMS.EW9ORK CENTURY0SALTER0ARIS2OYAL-3"IIF"RITISH,IBRARYANDALATEREXAMPLEFROMTHE-ETZ0ONTICAL&ITZWILLIAM
$OVER P -USEUM#AMBRIDGE
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&IGURE%ARLYEXAMPLESOFTYPEWITHTHEDOTTEDIFROMTHEWORKSHOPOF*OHANNES&USTAND0ETER3CHER-AINZ
FROM*OHANNES3CHNSPERGERSWORKSHOPBOTHENLARGED

MANUSCRIPTS AS EARLY AS THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY 7ITH THE ADVENT OF PRINTING
THE MARK BECAME COMMON .OT ONLY DID IT HAVE LINGUISTIC MEANING BUT MAY
HAVE BEEN A MEANS TO SAVE SPACE AND DISTINGUISH THE LETTER WITHIN THE DENSE
GOTHICTEXTURE
)NRECENTCENTURIESDIACRITICSHAVEBEENUSEDTOAPPLYTHE,ATINALPHABETTO
AWIDERRANGEOFLANGUAGES#OULMASEXPLAINSTHISNEED
FOR MANY LANGUAGES THE 2OMAN 'REEK OR #YRILLIC ALPHABETS ARE TOO
RESTRICTED AND REQUIRE SUBSTANTIAL AUGMENTATION WITH SPECIAL CHARAC
TERS AND DIACRITICS 6OWELS VOWEL QUALITY TONES AND SUPRASEGMENTAL
FEATURESSUCHASSTRESSANDINTONATIONESPECIALLYAREPOORLYREPRESENTED
BY ALPHABETIC SCRIPTS AND THEREFORE LANGUAGES IN WHICH THESE FEATURES
ARENUMEROUSANDPHONEMICUSUALLYPOSEPROBLEMSFORTHECREATIONOFA
SUITABLEORTHOGRAPHY
4HE )NTERNATIONAL 0HONETIC !SSOCIATION HAS ALWAYS PREFERRED NEW LETTERS
OVERUSEOFDIACRITICSFORTHESEADDITIONALNEEDSBUTHASGIVENACCENTSLIMITED
*AN4SCHICHOLD4REASURYOF
ALPHABETSANDLETTERINGTRANSBY ACCEPTANCE IN RECENT YEARS 4HE EASY AVAILABILITY OF ACCENTS ON TYPEWRITERS
7OLFVON%CKARDT.EW9ORK AND THE LACK OF TYPEWRITERS WITH NEW UNIQUE LETTERS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED
2EINHOLD PP
2ICHARD!&IRMAGE4HE THEUSEOFDIACRITICSINTHELASTCENTURY7HENTHEREWEREMULTIPLEOPTIONSFOR
ALPHABETABECEDARIUM"OSTON WRITING .AVAHO FOR EXAMPLE THE ONE MOST EASILY PRODUCED ON A TYPEWRITER
'ODINE PP
'EORGE,#AMPBELL
WONOUT
(ANDBOOKOFSCRIPTSANDALPHABETS
,ONDON2OUTLEDGE P &ODVVLILFDWLRQ

&LORIAN#OULMAS4HEWRI &ORMANYYEARSESPECIALLYINMOSTDIGITALFONTSDIACRITICSWERELIMITEDTOTHE
TINGSYSTEMSOFTHEWORLD/XFORD MOST COMMON ACCENTS ACUTE GRAVE CIRCUMEX DIERESIS AND TILDE "UT WITH A
"ASIL"LACKWELL P
)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC GROWING NUMBER OF DIACRITICS IN USE THERE IS A NEED FOR A BETTER UNDERSTAND
!SSOCIATION(ANDBOOKOFTHE INGOFDIACRITICFEATURESTHEASPECTSOFTHEMARKSTHATAECTTHEIRDESIGNAND
)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC!SSOCIATION
#AMBRIDGE#AMBRIDGE5NI PLACEMENT4HESEFEATURESAREVISUALNOTLINGUISTICANDCANHELPCLASSIFYTHE
VERSITY0RESS P INCREASINGLYBROADRANGEOFDIACRITICSINUSE
'EOREY+0ULLUMAND7ILLIAM
!,ADUSAW0HONETICSYMBOLGUIDE
4HE 5NICODE 3TANDARD  HAS  SEPARATE DIACRITICS ASSIGNED TO THE #OMBIN
#HICAGO5NIVERSITYOF#HICAGO ING $IACRITICAL -ARKS RANGE 55&  4HESE CHARACTERS ARE INTENDED
0RESS PXX TO REPRESENT DIACRITICS THAT COULD BE USED WITH A VARIETY OF BASE CHARACTERS
2OBERT79OUNG7RITTEN
.AVAHOABRIEFHISTORYIN!D &OR EXAMPLE THE #/-").).' 4),$% 5  IS COMMONLY COMBINED WITH N
VANCESINTHECREATIONANDREVISION TOFORMFOR3PANISHAND0ORTUGUESE)TCANHOWEVERALSOBECOMBINEDWITH
OFWRITINGSYSTEMSEDBY*OSHUA
!&ISHMAN4HE(AGUE-OUTON VOWELSTOSIGNIFYNASALISATION5NICODETREATSVERSIONSOFDIACRITICSTHATAPPEAR
 PP ABOVELETTERSASDIERENTFROMTHOSEAPPEARINGBELOWORTHROUGHSOTHEREARE
4HE5NICODE#ONSORTIUM
4HE5NICODESTANDARDVERSION THREECOMBININGTILDESABOVEBELOWANDTHROUGH
2EADING-ASS!DDISON 7ESLEY 7ITHTHEEXCEPTIONOFFOUR'REEKCOMBININGMARKSTHESEDIACRITICSAREIN
 PP
/NEOFTHE'REEKMARKS
TENDEDPRIMARILYFORUSEWITH,ATINLETTERS4HEYCANALSOBEUSEDWITHOTHER
THE#/-").).''2%%+90/'% SCRIPTSSUCHAS#YRILLIC4HISISNOTHOWEVERTHEFULLINVENTORYOF,ATINACCENTS
'2!--%.)5 ORIOTA 4HEREAREAFEWDIACRITICSINUSETHATHAVEYETTOBEADDEDTO4HE5NICODE3TAND
SUBSCRIPTISACTUALLYUSEDFOR
SOME,ATIN BASEDALPHABETSIN ARD&OREASEOFDISCUSSIONTHESEWILLNOTBECONSIDEREDHERE
.ORTH!MERICA $IACRITICS CAN BE CLASSIED ACCORDING TO THEIR HORIZONTAL FEATURES AND VER
4WODEPRECATEDDIACRITICS
ORIGINALLYINTENDEDFOR6IETNAM TICALPOSITIONINGASOUTLINEDINTABLE!SWITH5NICODEMULTIPLEVERSIONSOF
ESE55 WILLALSOBE DIACRITICS WITH DIERENT VERTICAL POSITIONING ARE TREATED SEPARATELYBECAUSE
OMITTEDFROMDISCUSSION4HE
GENERALISSUEOF6IETNAMESEDIA THEY POSE DIERENT DESIGN CHALLENGES .OTE ALSO THAT THESE FEATURES ARE NOT
CRITICSISCOVEREDLATER PRESCRIPTIVE ! CIRCUMEX WHILE USUALLY SYMMETRIC MAY HAVE AN ASYMMETRIC
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

(ORIZONTALFEATURES
3YMMETRICDIACRITICISMIRROREDFROM !SYMMETRICDIACRITICISDIERENTONLEFTANDRIGHTSIDESANDMAY
LEFTTORIGHTALONGACLEARAXIS NOTHAVEASIMPLEOPTICALCENTRE

#ENTRED /SET 6ARIABLE 2IGHT

OPTICALCENTREOFDIACRITICISALIGNED OPTICALCENTRES ALIGNMENT DIACRITICIS
WITHTHATOFTHEBASEGLYPH OFBASEAND CHANGES ALIGNEDTOTHE
DIACRITICARENOT ACCORDING RIGHTOFTHE
ALIGNED TOBASE BASEGLYPH

OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OO OO

OOOOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOO NN OO
OOOOOOOOOOO OOOO OO
OOOOOOOOOO OOO
6ERTICALPOSITIONING
!BOVEDIACRITICRESTSOVERBASEGLYPH
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
4OP2IGHTDIACRITICCONNECTSTOUPPER
RIGHTCORNEROFBASE O
4HROUGHDIACRITICISVERTICALLYCENTRED
THROUGHMIDDLEOFBASE OOOOO
"ELOWDIACRITICSITSBELOWBASE
OOOOOOOOONNOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
4ABLE#LASSICATIONOFDIACRITICSBYHORIZONTALFEATURESANDVERTICALPOSITIONING

DESIGN4HISISMERELYANATTEMPTTOCLASSIFYBASICCHARACTERISTICSFORDISCUSSION
PURPOSES4HEAPPENDIXGIVESASUMMARYOFTHISINFORMATIONFOREACHDIACRITIC
4HE PROCESS OF DIACRITIC DESIGN CENTRES AROUND DECISIONS MADE REGARDING
THESE FEATURES $ESIGN PROBLEMS WITH A SINGLE DIACRITIC OFTEN HAVE SOLUTIONS
THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER ACCENTS WITH SIMILAR FEATURES $ESIGNERS CAN FEEL
OVERWHELMEDBYTHETASKOFDRAWINGAFULLRANGEOF5NICODEDIACRITICSBUTWITH
SOMESTUDYOFTHESEFEATURESTHEWORKLOADCANBESIGNICANTLYREDUCED

'HVLJQFKDOOHQJHV
A TYPEFACE THAT IS SUITABLE FOR PRINTING A NON ACCENTED LANGUAGE MAY
LOOKQUITEWRONGWHENACCENTSAREADDEDTOITWHICHCANNOTBEBROUGHT
INTOCOMPLETEHARMONYWITHTHEORIGINALCHARACTEROFTHETYPEFACE
)FALLDIACRITICSWERESIMPLEINSHAPESUCHASAPERFECTLYCIRCULARDOTANDIFALL
BASE GLYPHS WERE LOWERCASE SYMMETRICAL AND HAD UNCHANGING STROKE WEIGHT
THEDESIGNANDPOSITIONINGOFDIACRITICSWOULDBETRIVIAL4HATISHOWEVERNOT
THECASE4YPEDESIGNERSFACEAMYRIADOFCHALLENGESASTHEYATTEMPTTODESIGN
ACCENTSTHATARECLEARHARMONISEDWITHBASEGLYPHSBUTYETDONOTCAUSEDIF
3ZNTP CULTIESWITHTHESPACINGOFLETTERSANDLINES
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

4HESECHALLENGESORPROBLEMSAREARESULTOFTHEDISTINCTIVENATUREOFMANY

DIACRITICS AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE LETTERS AROUND THEM 4HE FOLLOWING
SECTIONSFOCUSONVEDIERENTPROBLEMSTHATDESIGNERSMUSTOVERCOMETOCRE
ATESUCCESSFULDIACRITICSASYMMETRYWIDTHHARMONYVERTICALSPACINGCAPITALS
ANDCULTURALPREFERENCES

3UREOHP$V\PPHWU\
"ALANCEISIMPORTANTINTYPEDESIGN4HEUPPERRIGHTTERMINALOFANSMUSTBE

OO O
&IGURE%VENSLIGHTMISALIGNMENT
OFDIACRITICTOBASECANLOOKWRONG
BALANCED WITH THE LOWER LEFT TERMINAL OR THE SHAPE LOOKS EITHER TOP HEAVY OR
WEIGHEDDOWN)FTHEALIGNMENTOFTHETERMINALSWHICHALSODEPENDSONTHEIR
SHAPE ISMISBALANCEDTHELETTERSEEMSREADYTOTOPPLEOVERTOONESIDEORTHE
OTHER)TISASIMILARSITUATIONWITHDIACRITICS
&IRSTOFALLTHESIZEANDWEIGHTOFTHEDIACRITICMUSTBALANCEWITHTHEBASE
ANDBEDISTRACTINGTOTHEREADER GLYPHSWITHWHICHITISUSEDATOPICFORALATERSECTION4HEHORIZONTALALIGN
MENT OF DIACRITIC TO BASE MUST ALSO BE SUCH THAT THE TWO LOOK BALANCED &OR
SYMMETRICCENTREDDIACRITICSWITHSYMMETRICBASEGLYPHSITISSUCIENTTOALIGN
THE CENTRE OF THE DIACRITIC BOUNDING BOX WITH THAT OF THE BASE )F HOWEVER
EITHER IS ASYMMETRIC THEN SOME OTHER MEASURE MUST BE USED 4HERE ARE EVEN
INSTANCESWHEREAPPARENTMISALIGNMENTISDESIRABLEASWILLBEDESCRIBEDLATER

2SWLFDODOLJQPHQW
$AVID+INDERSLEYALETTERCARVERWHOSTUDIEDWITH%RIC'ILLWASAPPALLEDATTHE
SPACINGOFLETTERSUSEDONSIGNSFORSTREETNAMES3OHEBEGANALONGQUESTFOR
A MEANS TO AUTOMATICALLY SPACE LETTERS !S AN EXPERIENCED CARVER HE KNEW
WHATGOODSPACINGOUGHTTOLOOKLIKEBUTWANTEDTOQUANTIFYITINSOMEWAY!
CRITICALPARTOFHISSTRATEGYINVOLVEDNDINGALETTERSOPTICALCENTRE
(EBELIEVEDTHATTHEKEYTOALIGNINGALETTERINITSSPACETHEAREAINCLUDING
&IGURE6ARIOUSCENTRESOF#FROM
LEFTTORIGHTAREARSTMOMENT THE WHITESPACE BETWEEN LETTERS  WAS TO ALIGN THE OPTICAL CENTRE OF THE LETTER
GRAVITY SECONDMOMENTINERTIA  WITH THE MATHEMATICAL CENTRE OF THE SPACE "UT HOW COULD THE OPTICAL CENTRE
THIRDMOMENTSPECULATEDTOBETRUE
OPTICALCENTRE MATHEMATICAL BEFOUND(EUSEDGRAPHPAPERTOMEASUREAREAATRSTBUTSOONMOVEDONTO

O O
CREATE OPTICAL MACHINES THAT MEASURED THE LIGHT VALUES IN A SIMILAR WAY AND
EVENTUALLYBEGANTOUSECOMPUTERSFORHISMEASUREMENTS
! LETTER COULD HAVE MANY CENTRES WITH MOST OF THEM DETERMINED MATHE
MATICALLYGURE (EGUESSEDTHATTHEOPTICALCENTREFELLSOMEWHEREBETWEEN
THECENTREOFTHEBOUNDINGBOXANDTHECENTREACCORDINGTOAREA(EIMAGINED
THE LETTER PLACED ON A FULCRUM AND MOVED LEFT AND RIGHT UNTIL BALANCED 4HE
BALANCEPOINTWOULDBEONORNEARTHEOPTICALCENTRE(ETHENUSEDTHATINFOR
MATIONINHISSPACINGCALCULATIONS
&IGURE7ITHASYMMETRICALDIA
CRITICSITISNOTENOUGHTOALIGN !LTHOUGHHEWASGENERALLYSUCCESSFULINHISENDEAVOURITWOULDBEDICULT
CENTRESOFBOUNDINGBOXESLEFT  TO DIRECTLY APPLY HIS TOOLS FOR SPACING TODAY 4HEY ARE TOO COMPLICATED AND
4HEDIACRITICAPPEARSTOBETOOFAR
TOTHERIGHT/PTICALALIGNMENT HAVENEVERBEENBUILTINTOMODERNFONTDEVELOPMENTTOOLS(ISWORKONOPTI
RIGHT ISMUCHBETTER CALCENTRESTHOUGHCANBEVERYHELPFULFORDIACRITICALIGNMENTEVENWITHOUT
OBJECTIVEMEASUREMENTS
7ITH HIS CONCEPT OF BALANCE IN MIND IT CAN BE RELATIVELY EASY TO GUESS AT
4HEBOUNDINGBOXOFA
THE OPTICAL CENTRE OF ANY LETTER OR DIACRITIC (ORIZONTAL POSITIONING THEN OF
GLYPHISTHERECTANGLEFORMEDBY ASYMMETRICCENTREDDIACRITICSINVOLVESALIGNINGTHEESTIMATEDOPTICALCENTRESOF
THELEFTRIGHTUPPERANDLOWER BOTHDIACRITICANDBASEWITHONEANOTHERASINGURE
EXTREMESOFAGLYPHSOUTLINE
NOTINCLUDINGANYINTERCHARACTER 4HEREISHOWEVERANOTHERWAYTODETERMINETHEOPTICALCENTRE4HOUGHNOT
SPACE FORMALLY ARTICULATED IN PRINT IT FOLLOWS ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES IN TYPE DESIGN
$AVID+INDERSLEY/PTICAL
LETTERSPACINGFORNEWPRINTING BY CONSIDERING THE SHAPE OF THE COUNTER 3OME LETTERS DUE TO ASCENDERS AND
SYSTEMSNDREVEDN,ONDON DESCENDERS HAVE COUNTERS THAT ARE OSET FROM THE +INDERSLEY OPTICAL CENTRE
4HE7YNKYNDE7ORDE3OCIETY
  SUCHASBDHPQ&ORTHESELETTERSABETTERCENTREISFOUNDBYUSINGTHEOPTICAL
P CENTREOFTHECOUNTERRATHERTHANTHEGLYPHASAWHOLEGURE 
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&IGURE4HREEDIERENTMEASURESOFOPTICALCENTRETHEMATHEMATICALCENTREOFTHEBOUNDINGBOX THEESTIMATED
+INDERSLEYOPTICALCENTREANDTHEOPTICALCENTREBASEDUPONTHECOUNTERS+INDERSLEYCENTRE4HEMATHEMATICAL
CENTREMAYBEACCEPTABLEBUTTHENORMAL+INDERSLEYCENTREISCLEARLYNOT4HENALOPTIONGIVESTHEBESTINITIAL
ALIGNMENTBUTMAYNEEDFURTHERVISUALADJUSTMENT

%DVHJO\SKDV\PPHWU\
/PTICALALIGNMENTSTRATEGIESHOWEVERDONOTAPPLYINSOMECASES!SYMMETRIC
RIGHTDIACRITICSAREALIGNEDACCORDINGTOTHERIGHTEDGEOFALETTER!SYMMETRIC
VARIABLEONESCONNECTTOTHEIRBASEGLYPHSANDCHANGETHEPLACEOFCONNECTION
&IGURE4HEOGONEKUSEDFOR
DEPENDENTONTHEBASEGLYPHGURE 
0OLISH,ITHUANIANANDOTHERLAN %VEN SYMMETRICCENTRED DIACRITICS NEED TO DEPART FROM STANDARD ALIGNMENT
GUAGESISONEOFTHEASYMMETIC ATTIMESPARTICULARLYWHENTHEBASEGLYPHISASYMMETRIC&IGURESHOWSTWO
VARIABLEDIACRITICS$ETAILED
INFORMATIONONITSDESIGNAND EXAMPLES OF THIS USING PRECOMPOSED BASEDIACRITIC COMBINATIONS ENCODED
ALIGNMENTHASBEENPREPARED IN 5NICODE 4HE RST ,!4). 3-!,, ,%44%2 $ 7)4( $/4 !"/6% 5%$ 
BY!DAM4WARDOCH
WORKSNEITHERWITHSIMPLEBOUNDINGBOXNOROPTICALALIGNMENT4HEDOTNEEDS
TO BE FURTHER TO THE LEFT TO AVOID THE ASCENDER 4HE DESIGNERS OF !RIAL5NICODE
-3CHOSETOAVOIDTHEPROBLEMBYRAISINGTHEDIACRITICBUTTHATSOLUTIONWOULD
NOTWORKVERYWELLINLONGPARAGRAPHSOFTEXTITWOULDREQUIRETOOMUCHLINE
SPACING

&IGURE%XAMPLESOFALIGNMENTOPTIONSBOTHSUCCESSFULANDNOT&ROM'ENTIUMAND!RIAL5NICODE-3

4HE NEXT ,!4). 3-!,, ,%44%2 2 7)4( $/4 "%,/7 !.$ -!#2/.
!DAM4WARDOCH0OLISH 5%$  ILLUSTRATES ANOTHER ISSUE )N SOME CASES ABOVE AND BELOW DIACRITICS
DIACRITICSHOWTOOGONEKHTTP MAYREQUIREDIERENTALIGNMENTSTRATEGIES)FBOTHMACRONANDDOTAREALIGNED
STUDWEBEUV FRANKFURT ODE
TWARDOCHFENTYPOOGONEK
OPTICALLYWITHTHERTHEDOTSEEMSMISALIGNEDBUTIFTHEYAREBOTHALIGNEDWITH
OGONEKHTML!UGUST THESTEMOFTHERTHEMACRONISCLEARLYWRONG4HEBESTSOLUTIONSEEMSTOBETO
4HE5NICODE#ONSORTIUM ALIGNTHEMACRONWITHTHETOPHALFOFTHEBASEANDTHEDOTWITHTHELOWERHALF
P
$ETAILSABOUTTYPEFACES !RIAL5NICODE-3 SEEMS TO ATTEMPT AN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT FOR BOTH BUT WITH AN
USEDINILLUSTRATIONSARELISTED UNSATISFACTORYRESULT
FOLLOWINGTHE"IBLIOGRAPHY
*OHN(UDSON7INDOWS $ESIGNERS CAN BE THANKFUL THAT SITUATIONS LIKE THIS ARE RARE -ODERN TECH
'LYPH0ROCESSINGHTTP NOLOGIES SUCH AS /PEN4YPE HOWEVER INCREASE THE POSSIBILITIES FOR DIACRITIC
WWWMICROSOFTCOM
TYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERS POSITIONING4HEYALSOREQUIREMODERNDESIGNERSTOTHINKTHROUGHEVENTHESE
OPENTYPE.OVEMBER RARERSITUATIONS
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

$FXWH JUDYH
4HERE ARE EVEN SOME COMMON SITUATIONS THAT CAN BE CHALLENGING %VERY DE
SIGNEROFMODERNFONTSEVENFORBASIC7ESTERN%UROPEANLANGUAGESHASHADTO
CHOOSETHEDESIGNANDPOSITIONOFTHEACUTEANDGRAVE!LTHOUGHTHISESSAYDOES
NOTATTEMPTTOGIVEDETAILEDDISCUSSIONONINDIVIDUALDIACRITICSTHESEACCENTS
DESERVE SPECIAL ATTENTION .OT ONLY ARE THEY COMMON BUT VERY TROUBLESOME
ANDHAVEALONGHISTORYOFDESIGN
4HESE TWO ACCENTS ARE THE MOST WELL KNOWN EXAMPLES OF ASYMMETRICOSET
DIACRITICS !LL MEMBERS OF THIS FAMILY ARE NORMALLY NOT ALIGNED WITH THE BASE
CHARACTER EITHER SIMPLY OR OPTICALLY 4HEY ARE INTENTIONALLY MISALIGNED FOR
BOTHHISTORICANDAESTHETICREASONS
$ESIGNERSDONOTHOWEVERAGREEONTHEIRDESIGNORALIGNMENT-ICROSOFTS
#HARACTER DESIGN STANDARDS DESCRIBES TWO DIERENT ALIGNMENT STRATEGIES "OTH
METHODS BEGIN WITH AN IMAGINARY LINE THROUGH THE VISUAL CENTRE OF THE BASE
GLYPHHERECALLEDTHEOPTICALCENTRE
4HE RST STRATEGY PLACES THE FRONTTHE LOWER TYPICALLY THINNER ENDOF
THE ACUTE AND GRAVE JUST THROUGH THE LINE 4HE SECOND STRATEGY USED AT BOTH
-ONOTYPE AND -ERGENTHALER ,INOTYPE IS MUCH MORE OBJECTIVE )T PLACES THE
FRONTONE THIRDONONESIDEOFTHECENTRELEAVINGTHEOTHERTWO THIRDSONTHE
OTHERSIDE)FNECESSARYFURTHERVISUALADJUSTMENTISMADE4HERESULTSCANBE
VERYDIERENTASILLUSTRATEDINGURE
4YPEDESIGNSTANDARDSCONTAINSALENGTHYSECTIONONTHESEGLYPHSWITHMANY
&IGURE4WOMETHODSOFALIGNING
THEACUTEACCENT EXAMPLES 4HOUGH NOT DOGMATIC IN INTENT IT PROVIDES SOME HELPFUL HINTS FOR
THOSELOOKINGFORASTARTINGPOINTFORTHEIRDESIGN&ORAQUICKAPPROXIMATION
THEAUTHORSSUGGESTSTARTINGWITHAMARKROUGHLYTOPERCENTOFTHEWIDTH
OF THE LOWERCASE O AT AN ANGLE OF ROUGHLY  DEGREES FROM THE HORIZONTAL
WITHLATERADJUSTMENTIFNEEDED)TISLESSSPECICABOUTHORIZONTALALIGNMENT
4OPOSITIONTHEACCENTSHORIZONTALLYSHIFTTHEMTOTHELEFTANDRIGHTOVER
THELOWERCASELETTERSREQUIRINGACCENTSUNTILYOUNDACCEPTABLEPOSITIONS
4HEACCENTSSHOULDAPPEARTOBALANCEOVERTHELETTERSTHEACUTEEXTENDING
SLIGHTLYTOTHERIGHTINRELATIONSHIPTOTHEOPTICALCENTEROFEACHLETTERTHE
GRAVEEXTENDINGSLIGHTLYTOTHELEFT
4HEAUTHORSTHENCONTINUEWITHFURTHERGUIDANCEONHOWTHEDESIGNANDALIGN
MENTCOULDBERENED4HEIRMETHODRECOGNISESTHATALIGNMENTISTRULYVISUAL
)TWILLVERYLIKELYDIERBETWEENFONTSOREVENBETWEENGLYPHSFROMTHESAME
FONT)NDEEDTHEEXAMPLESTHEYCITESHOWAWIDEVARIATION4HISCOMBINATION
OFTECHNIQUEANDEXAMPLECANBEVERYHELPFULANDCOULDBEVALUABLEFOROTHER

OO
&IGURE!LIGNMENTISDEPENDENT
ONSLOPE
DIACRITICSASWELL
4HEANGLEOFSLOPEALSOAECTSTHEALIGNMENT!HIGHLYVERTICALSLOPELENDS
ITSELFWELLTOAHIGHLYOSETALIGNMENT4HESAMEALIGNMENTLOOKSUNBALANCED
WHEN THE SLOPE IS REDUCED SO A MORE CENTRED ONE IS NEEDED GURE   4HIS
RAISESAQUESTION)STHEREANOPTIMALSLOPE!FULLINVESTIGATIONOFTHISTOPICIS
BEYONDTHESCOPEOFTHISESSAY4HEREISHOWEVERAHISTORICPATTERNTHATOUGHT
TOBECONSIDEREDWHENDESIGNINGTHESEACCENTS
4HROUGHOUTTHERSTFOURHUNDREDYEARSOFPRINTINGTHEACUTEWASDISTINCTLY
VERTICALINNATUREGURE ASWASTHEGRAVE4HEYWEREALSOSIGNICANTLYO
6INCENT#ONNARE
$IACRITICSDESIGNSTANDARDSFOR SETFROMTHECENTREALTHOUGHTHISVARIEDWIDELY4HISREMAINEDTHECASEEVEN
,ATINBASEDLANGUAGES HTTP WITHTHEEARLYHOTMETALDESIGNSOFTHETWENTIETHCENTURY
WWWMICROSOFTCOM
TYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERS .EW TECHNOLOGY HOWEVER INSPIRED NEW DESIGNS AND THERE BEGAN TO BE A
FDSSPECDIACRITICSHTM CHANGE 4HESE NEW FACES STARTED TO HAVE ACCENTS THAT WERE MORE HORIZONTAL
3EPTEMBER
!GFA#ORPORATIONP ANDALIGNEDMORECENTRALLY4HISWASESPECIALLYTRUEOFSOMEOFTHETYPEFACES
P DESIGNEDFORPHOTOTYPESETTINGSUCHAS-ONOPHOTO0HOTINAGURE !SNOTED
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

'UYOT


'ARAMOND


'ARAMOND


6ANDEN+EERE





'RANDJEAN

&LEISCHMAN

&OURNIER



3ANLECQUE

,UCE




!MORETTI

&!$IDOT

$E"ERNY


'OUET

&IGURE%XAMPLESOFACUTEFROMBEFORE

BYTHEAUTHORSOF4YPEDESIGNSTANDARDSANGLESLESSTHANmARENOWMORECOM
MONANDARETREATEDBYMANYASANORMALSTARTINGPOINTFORDESIGNERS
-ANY FONTS THAT ORIGINALLY HAD STEEP ACCENTS WERE EVEN MODIED FOR THE
NEWSTYLE#ALEDONIAINHOTMETALFORMHADASTEEPOSETACUTE0HOTOSETTING
VERSIONSHADASIMILARANGLEASDID-ONOTYPESRSTDIGITALRENDERING)N,INO
&IGURE!CCENTSFROM TYPESLATERDIGITALVERSIONTHEACUTEBECAMELIKE0HOTINAGURE 
-ONOPHOTO0HOTINA
$ESPITETHESEDISTINCTIVECHANGESTHEREHASBEENNOSUDDENABANDONMENT
OFTHEVERTICALFORM)TWASAGRADUALCHANGEINTASTEANDSTYLE#ONTEMPORARY
TYPEFACES SHOW A MIX OF ANGLES 2EVIVALS AND HISTORICALLY INSPIRED TYPEFACES
HAVEBEGUNTORETURNTOMOREVERTICALSTYLESBUTMANYDESIGNERSSTILLCHOOSE
THEATTERFORM

$XWRPDWHGVROXWLRQV
&IGURE4HREEVERSIONSOF !S IS CLEAR FROM THESE EXAMPLES THE ASYMMETRY OF DIACRITICS AND THEIR BASE
#ALEDONIAORIGINALMETALEARLY
DIGITAL-ONOTYPE LATERDIGITAL GLYPHS CAN BE A CHALLENGE TO THE DESIGNER .O SINGLE ALIGNMENT STRATEGY IS AL
,INOTYPE  WAYSAPPROPRIATEEVENFORTHESAMEDIACRITIC!LIGNMENTALSODEPENDSONTHE
NATUREOFBASEGLYPHSANDISDIERENTFORVARIOUSLETTERS
$ESPITE THE SUBJECTIVE NATURE OF DIACRITIC DESIGN AND ALIGNMENT NEW TECH
NOLOGIESCANHAVEAUSEFULROLEINTHEPROCESS4HEDESIGNITSELFREMAINSINTHE
HANDS OF THE DESIGNER BUT ALGORITHMS CAN BE DEVELOPED FOR ALIGNMENT USING
THECONCEPTSOFFEATURESANDOPTICALALIGNMENT
-ODERN FONT TOOLS SUCH AS 2OBO&OG AND &ONT,AB SUPPORT THE SCRIPT
ING PROGRAMMING  OF ACTIONS WITH THE 0YTHON LANGUAGE 4HIS CAN BE USED
TOMEASUREBOUNDINGBOXESANDEVENGUESSATOPTICALCENTRES/NCETHESEARE
SETANDADJUSTEDMANUALLYIFNECESSARY ASCRIPTCANAUTOMATICALLYCREATENEW
COMPOSITEGLYPHSUSINGTHEDATA
3UCH TOOLS ALSO SUPPORT ATTACHMENT POINTS ALSO CALLED ANCHORS 4HESE ARE
EXTRAPOINTSADDEDTOTHEGLYPHDATATHATDENEHOWDIACRITICSOUGHTTOATTACH
TO BASE GLYPHS &OR EXAMPLE THE ALIGNMENT OF AN ACUTE OVER VOWELS COULD BE
DENEDBYADDINGANATTACHATPOINTONEACHVOWELANDANATTACHWITHPOINT
ONTHEACUTE!SCRIPTCOULDTHENAUTOMATICALLYCREATEALLNEEDEDCOMBINATIONS
BYMOVINGTHEACUTEUNTILITSATTACHWITHPOINTHASTHESAMECOORDINATESAS

($,6ERVLIET3IXTEENTH CENTURYPRINTINGTYPESOFTHELOWCOUNTRIESTRANSBY(ARRY#ARTER!MSTERDAM-ENNO(ERTZBERGER P

($,6ERVLIETAND(ARRY#ARTER4YPESPECIMENFACSIMILIES)),ONDON4HE"ODLEY(EAD P)BID6ERVLIET3IXTEENTH CENTURYPRINTING
TYPESOFTHELOWCOUNTRIESP$ANIEL"ERKELEY5PDIKE0RINTINGTYPESRDEDNVOLS,ONDON/XFORD5NIVERSITY0RESS )FACINGP
'EOREY$OWDING!NINTRODUCTIONTOTHEHISTORYOFPRINTINGTYPES,ONDON7ACE PP5PDIKE)FACINGP$OWDINGP
'ERARD5NGER4HETYPESOF&RANOIS !MBROSE$IDOTAND0IERRE ,OUIS6AARD!FURTHERINVESTIGATIONINTOTHEORIGINSOFTHE$IDONES
1UAERENDO P 5PDIKE))FACINGPFACINGP0*ANNET3PCIMENDESNOVEAUXCHARACTRESDESTINLIMPRESSIONDE
LA"IBLIOTHQUE%LZVIRIENNESUIVIDUPLANDELACOLLECTION0ARIS*ANNET 
(UGH7ILLIAMSON-ETHODSOFBOOKDESIGNRDEDN.EW(AVEN9ALE5NIVERSITY0RESS P
7!$WIGGINS#ALEDONIATYPESPECIMEN ,ONDON,INOTYPE P-ONOTYPE4YPOGRAPHY-ONOTYPEQUALITYDIGITISEDTYPOGRAPHY2EDHILL
-ONOTYPE ,INOTYPE!',INO4YPE#OLLECTION&RANKFURT,INOTYPE 
0ETRVAN"LOKLANDETAL2OBO&OGHTTPWWWPETRCOMROBOFOG
9URI9ARMOLAETAL&ONT,ABFOR7INDOWSHTTPWWWFONTLABCOM
'UIDOVAN2OSSUM0YTHONHTTPWWWPYTHONORG
&ONT,AB,TD&ONT,ABFOR7INDOWS5SER-ANUAL P
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&IGURE#OMBINING!WITHOGONEKUSINGANCHORSIN&ONT,AB

THEATTACHATFOREACHVOWEL4HISDOESNOTREMOVEDESIGNRESPONSIBILITYFROM
THE DESIGNERTHE ATTACHMENT POINTS STILL NEED TO BE DENEDBUT CAN MAKE
THE PROCESS OF CREATING COMPOSITE GLYPHS MUCH MORE ECIENT AND LESS ERROR
PRONE/PEN4YPEFONTTECHNOLOGYCANEVENUSETHESEPOINTSTOALIGNACCENTS
AUTOMATICALLYWITHOUTPRIORCREATIONOFCOMPOSITES

3UREOHP:LGWKKDUPRQ\
%VEN IF DIACRITICS ARE SATISFACTORILY ALIGNED WITH CORRESPONDING BASE GLYPHS
THERECANBEPROBLEMSWITHOTHERGLYPHS4HESIMPLESTEXAMPLEOFTHISISTHE
 LIGATURE  (ERE THE DOT ON THE I OFTEN CONICTS WITH THE HOOK OF THE F /NE
SOLUTIONISTODESIGNANEWGLYPHWHERETHEDOTISREMOVEDANDTHEHOOKEX
TENDEDINTOTHESPACEABOVETHE!NOTHERISTODESIGNTHEFSOTHATITDOESNOT
CONICT *EAN &RANOIS 0ORCHEZ FOUND A CREATIVE SOLUTION FOR HIS 0ARISINE TYPE
FACEHISLIGATURERETAINSTHEDOTBUTSHORTENSTHEHOOKGURE 
&IGURE,IGATURESFROM0ARISINE "UT WHAT IF THE I HAS TWO DOTS  )N MOST 7ESTERN %UROPEAN LANGUAGES
THERE IS NO PROBLEM &RENCH USES  BUT ONLY TO SEPARATE VOWELS THAT SHOULD
NOTPRODUCEADIPHTHONGASINNAVETSOATROUBLESOMECOMBINATIONSUCHAS
FWOULDNOTAPPEAR4HISCANNOTBEASSUMEDTHOUGHASMANYOTHERLANGUAGES
USE THE DIAERESIS )T IS NOT LIMITED TO THE  EITHERCONSIDER THE 4URKISH WORD
KF4HESEAREALLPROBLEMSSPECICTOTHEFBUTAREMADEMUCHWORSEBECAUSE
THEDIAERESISANDCIRCUMEXAREOFTENWIDERTHANTHEI
4HISTYPEOFINTERACTIONBECOMESANEVENGREATERPROBLEMINBOLDFACESAND
IS NOT LIMITED TO THE FGURE   3ANS SERIF FACES ALSO FACE CHALLENGES DUE TO
THELACKOFSPACENORMALLYALLOWEDFORSERIFS!LTHOUGHTHEDIAERESISISTHEMOST
OBVIOUS TROUBLEMAKER THESE INTERACTIONS CAN ALSO BE FOUND WITH OTHER WIDE
5NICODECONTAINSOVER DIACRITICSEGTHETILDE 
SEPARATEBASEDIACRITIC
COMBINATIONSINITSVARIOUS,ATIN

ECGwEGwEDB
RANGESADAUNTINGNUMBERTO
BECREATEDMANUALLY
!DOBE3YSTEMS)NCORPO
RATED/PEN4YPESPECICATION
'0/34HEGLYPHPOSITIONINGTABLE

HxFK{IGwE
HTTPPARTNERSADOBECOM
ASNDEVELOPEROPENTYPE
GPOSHTML!UGUST
*EAN &RANOIS0ORCHEZ
3PCIMENDECHARACTRESVIGNETTES
TYPOGRAPHIQUES0ARIS0ORCHEZ &IGURE4HEPROBLEMATICI DIAERESISCOMBINATIONINVARIOUSBOLDWEIGHTSOFTYPEFACES!DOBE#ASLON0RO)4#
4YPOFONDERIE P #HARTER(OEER4EXT0OPPL ,AUDATIO'ILL3ANS(ELVETICA.EUE4REBUCHET-3
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

2ECOGNITIONOFTHISPROBLEMGOESBACKTOTHEEARLYTYPEFOUNDERS!LTHOUGH
OTHERS UNDOUBTEDLY UNDERSTOOD THE SITUATION BEFORE HIM &OURNIER WAS THE
RST TO ARTICULATE THIS PROBLEM OF SETTING WIDE DIACRITICS OVER THIN LETTERS (E
WROTE SPECICALLY INRELATION TO 'REEK TYPES ALTHOUGHHEALSO MENTIONEDITS
APPLICABILITYTOOTHERSCRIPTS 
THE ROUGH OR SMOOTH BREATHING IS SET AS THIN AS POSSIBLE ON A SHANK
OF PRECISELY THE SAME THICKNESS THE WIDER ONES SUCH AS THESE        
AREKERNEDONTHETOPSIDEINSOFARASTHEYEXCEEDTHETHICKNESSOFTHE
SHANK
(ESAWTHATTECHNICALADJUSTMENTSWERENEEDEDTOALLOWDIACRITICSTOTWITH
MOSTVOWELSPARTICULARLYTHEIOTA4HISWASIMPERATIVEWITHTECHNOLOGIESTHAT
DIDNOTALLOWKERNING
4HE GENERAL PROBLEM IS A MISMATCH BETWEEN THE WIDTHS OF DIACRITICS AND
BASECHARACTERS7HENTHEDIACRITICISWIDERTHANTHEBASEITHASTHEPOTENTIAL
TOCOLLIDEWITHOTHERGLYPHSINTHEVICINITYANDNEEDSSOMESORTOFADJUSTMENT

6WUDWHJLHV
$ESIGNERSHAVEBEENVERYCLEVERINTHEIRATTEMPTSTOHARMONIZETHEWIDTHSOF
DIACRITICSANDBASEGLYPHS4HISHARMONISATIONDOESNOTJUSTREDUCECOLLISIONS
)TAECTSTHEWHOLEBALANCEANDRELATIONSHIPBETWEENDIACRITICSANDTHENORMAL
 m m m
ALPHABETICLETTERS
!SALREADYMENTIONEDTHISCAREFULATTITUDETOTHEDESIGNOFDIACRITICSBEGAN
EARLY 0IETRO "EMBOS FAMOUS DIALOGUE $E !ETNA PUBLISHED BY !LDUS IN 
USES A TYPE THAT ILLUSTRATES A HARMONISED APPROACH TO DIACRITIC DESIGN 4HE
ACUTEACCENTSUSEDINTHEPUBLICATIONSHOWANEORTTOMAKETHEANGLESTEEPER
FOR THINNER LETTERS GURE   4HESE DIACRITICBASE COMBINATIONS WOULD HAVE
BEEN CUT AS SINGLE PIECES OF TYPE WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE IT MORE NATURAL TO
ALTERTHESHAPEFOREACHLETTER'RANTEDACAREFULREVIEWOFTHEPUBLICATIONWILL
&IGURE2EPRESENTATIVEDIACRITICS
FROM$E!ETNAENLARGED WITHTHE SHOW GREAT VARIANCE IN THE ANGLES DUE TO THE INACCURACIES OF PUNCHCUTTING
ANGLESOFTHEIRSLOPE 4HEGENERALTENDENCYHOWEVERISTHATTHEANGLEFORIISNOTICEABLYSTEEPERTHAN
THATFORWIDERCHARACTERSSUCHASTHEU
4HIS PRIMARY STRATEGYREDESIGNING DIACRITICS SPECICALLY FOR CERTAIN BASE
GLYPHSREMAINSTHEMOSTCOMMONTECHNIQUEUSEDTOTHISDAY(ERMANN:APF S
-ELIORHASVARYINGACUTEDESIGNS$ANTEAHANDSOMEFACEDESIGNEDBY'IOVANNI
-ARDERSTEIGANDCUTBY#HARLES-ALINALSOSHOWSATHOUGHTFULAPPROACH4HE
CIRCUMEXONTHEISCOMPRESSEDHORIZONTALLYGIVINGITABETTERVISUALBALANCE
GURE 
&IGURE!CCENTSFROM-ELIOR !PPLIEDTOTHEDIAERESISTHISCOMPRESSIONCANBEACCOMPLISHEDBYREDUCING
ANDPOINT$ANTEENLARGED 
THESPACEBETWEENTHEDOTS)FTHATISNOTSUCIENTORIFAREDUCTIONINSPACEIS
NOTWANTEDTHEDOTSMAYBEREDUCEDINSIZE4HISSEEMSTOBESTANDARDPRAC
TICE ALTHOUGH EXTREME REDUCTION CAN LEAD TO A GLARING MISMATCH BETWEEN IT
ANDTHEDOTONTHEI)NVERYBOLDORCONDENSEDTYPESTHISMAYBEUNAVOIDABLE
4HEADJUSTMENTOFDIACRITICDESIGNTOBASEGLYPHWIDTHOUGHTTOBECARRIED
ONESTEPFURTHERFORTHEMACRON&ONTSTHATCONTAINTHISDIACRITICNORMALLYHAVE
ONLY ONE DESIGN )T MAY T WELL OVER THE O BUT CAN LOOK TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL
WITHOTHERLETTERS"ECAUSEOFOPTICALILLUSIONSTHESAMEMACRONCANSEEMTO
BETOOSHORTOVERANANDTOOLONGOVERANI4HEBESTSOLUTIONTHOUGHNOT
&IGURE-ACRONSOFTHESAMESIZE IMPLEMENTEDINANYMAJORFONTSWOULDBETOHAVETHELENGTHVARYWITHEACH
THENMATCHEDWITHBASEWIDTH TYPEOFBASEGLYPHGURE 

0IERRE 3IMON&OURNIER&OURNIERONTYPEFOUNDINGTRANSBY(ARRY#ARTER.EW9ORK,ENOX(ILL PP

0IETRO"EMBO$EAETNA6ENICE!LDUS-ANUTIUS FROMTHECOLLECTIONOFTHE0LANTIN -ORETUS-USEUM
(ERMANN:APF!BOUTALPHABETSSOMEMARGINALNOTESONTYPEDESIGN#AMBRIDGE-ASS-)40RESS P
*OHN$REYFUS'IOVANNI-ARDERSTEIGSWORKASATYPEDESIGNERIN)NTO0RINT,ONDON4HE"RITISH,IBRARY P
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

OlOsOLOwO|OO &IGURE$ESIGNSFORTHEDIAERESISFROMVARIOUSTYPES
-ATTHEW#ARTERS)4##HARTERUSESSLIGHTREDUCTION

OlOsOLOwO|OO (ISDESIGNFOR'EORGIAUSESLESSREDUCTIONBUTADDS

SLIGHTREDUCTIONOFSPACEBETWEENTHEDOTS

LLLILLLL 5NIVERS"OLDUSESASIMILARAPPROACHANDKEEPS

THEDOTSSQUAREWHILETHEDOTONIHASBECOMERECTANGULAR

SpSwSPS{SSS &UTURA%XTRA"OLD#ONDENSEDPUSHESALLTECHNIQUESTO
THEEXTREMEANDGOESABITTOOFAR

LLLILLLL 2OTIS3ANS3ERIFACTUALLYENLARGESTHEDIAERESIS
HOPEFULLYJUSTANOVERSIGHTANDNOTANINTENDEDFEATURE

SpSwSPS{SSS /PTIMAILLUSTRATESANELEGANTBALANCE

.HUQLQJ
4HE MOST SIMPLE SOLUTION TO DIACRITICGLYPH COLLISIONS IS KERNING 4HIS CANBE
MANDBLE USEFULBUTDOESNOTREALLYADDRESSTHEUNDERLYINGPROBLEMTHEDIACRITICBASE
WIDTHMISMATCH+ERNINGISINHERENTLYLANGUAGE DEPENDENTASITISIMPRACTICAL
MANDBLE TOADDKERNPAIRSFOREVERYCONCEIVABLECOMBINATIONACROSSLANGUAGEFAMILIES
MANDIBLE %VEN WITH CLASS BASED KERNING RST INTRODUCED BY !PPLE IN THEIR '8 TECHNOL
OGY THIS WOULD BE DICULT +ERNING CAN ALSO SEVERELY UPSET LETTERSPACING
&IGURE)N0OPPL ,AUDATIO
KERNINGFORISNEEDEDBUTPAINFUL GURE /VERDEPENDENCEONITANDLESSCONCERNFORMATCHINGWIDTHSINTHE
DESIGNCANBEASHORT TERMXBUTNOTALONG TERMSOLUTION

3UREOHP9HUWLFDOVSDFLQJ
!CAREFULREVIEWOFGUREREVEALSANOTHERISSUEINTHEDESIGNOFDIACRITICS
VERTICAL SPACING )N SOME FONTS /PTIMA FOR INSTANCE  THERE IS LITTLE OR NO DIF
FERENCEBETWEENTHEHEIGHTOFTHEI DOTANDTHEDIAERESIS)NMOSTFACESTHOUGH
THEREISAHEIGHTDIERENCE!TTIMESTHISSEEMSPURPOSEFUL)4#'ALLIARDHASA
HIGHI DOTAPPROPRIATEFORITSLIVELYDESIGN2AISINGTHEDIAERESISTOTHESAMELEV
ELMIGHTCAUSETOOMUCHVERTICALSEPARATIONANDLOOKODD-OREOFTENTHOUGH
SUCHANOTICEABLEDIERENCESEEMSTOHAVENODESIGNMERITANDMAYBEAMIS
TAKE)NTHECASEOFTHE'ILL3ANSFAMILYALLCONSISTENCYISABANDONEDEVENTHE
SHAPEOFTHEI DOTCHANGES

LLLILLLL &IGURE(EIGHTDIERENCESBETWEENI DOTANDDIAERESIS

)4#'ALLIARDSHOWSANINTENTIONALDIERENCE

PmPtPMPxP}PP 'ILL3ANS,IGHTISTYPICALSHOWINGALOWERHEIGHTFORTHE

DIAERESISBUTWITHADISTURBINGDIERENCEINDESIGN

PmPtPMPxP}PP 'ILL3ANS2EGULARREVERSESTHEHEIGHTS

PmPtPMPxP}PP 'ILL3ANS"OLDCHOOSESAMIDDLEGROUNDBUTCOULDEASILY

BENETFROMAUNIEDHEIGHTBETWEENTHETWODIACRITICS

4HIS LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN THE I DOT AND DIAERESIS MAY SEEM STRANGE
3OMEDESIGNERSHOWEVERCONSIDERTHEI DOTTOBEASPECIALDIACRITICONLYUSED
FORTHEIANDJTHATHASLITTLECORRESPONDENCETOOTHERACCENTS4HISISPARTICU
LARLYTRUEFORTYPEFACESTHATARECALLIGRAPHICALLYINSPIRED
!PPLE#OMPUTER4HE
KERNTABLEIN4RUE4YPE2EFERENCE
-ANUALHTTPDEVELOPERAPPLE
COMFONTS442EF-AN2-
#HAPKERNHTML.OVEMBER
JLOwNHJLOwNGILKGILK
 &IGURE$IACRITICSFROM!PPLE#HANCERY#AISCH3CRIPT0RO,UCIDA(ANDWRITING0OETICA3ANVITO
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

)N A MORE GENERAL SENSE THERE ARE TWO PHILOSOPHIES TOWARD THE VERTICAL

jikmln ALIGNMENTOFDIACRITICS/NEMETHODISTOALIGNTHEBOTTOMSOFALLDIACRITICS
WITHTHATOFTHEACUTEANDGRAVE4HISISSEENMOSTLYBUTNOTEXCLUSIVELYINSANS 
SERIFFACES-ONOTYPES4IMES.EW2OMANISTHECLEARESTEXAMPLEOFTHISMETHOD
jikmln FORSERIEDFONTS)TISINTERESTINGTONOTETHAT,INOTYPESVERSIONOF4IMESDOES
NOTFOLLOWTHESAMEPHILOSOPHY

!SECONDMORECOMMONMETHODISTOALIGNTHEMACCORDINGTOTHEIRVERTI

CALCENTRESASCANBESEENIN0ALATINO,INOTYPE!REASONABLEMIXOFTHESETWO

jikmln
METHODS CAN BE SEEN IN )4##HARTER WHERE SHORTER DIACRITICS SUCH AS THE TILDE
ANDDIAERESISARECENTREDBUTLARGERONESAREBOTTOMALIGNEDGURE 
&IGURE$IACRITICSFROM!RIAL 0XOWLSOHGLDFULWLFV
4IMES.EW2OMAN0ALATINO
,INOTYPEAND)4##HARTER 4HEREISALSOTHEPROBLEMOFMULTIPLEDIACRITICS3OMELANGUAGESUSEUPTOTWO
OR THREE PER LETTER WITH ONE STACKED ABOVE THE OTHER 4HIS CAN CAUSE TYPO
GRAPHICDICULTIESASTHELINESPACINGREQUIREDTOMANAGETHESESTACKSOFDIA
CRITICSCANGETEXTREME4HISHASNOTBEENAGREATPROBLEMFORMOSTDESIGNERS
IN THE PAST BECAUSE FEW PEOPLE WERE INTERESTED IN TYPESETTING THESE UNUSUAL
LANGUAGES 7ITH INCREASED APPRECIATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF NON %UROPEAN
CULTURESANDINCREASINGCOMPUTERUSAGEINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIESTHESEISSUES
HAVEBECOMEMOREIMPORTANTFORTYPEDESIGNERSOFTODAY

LLL
4HERE ARE FOUR DIERENT STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED TO REDUCE THE PROB
LEMSOFMULTIPLEDIACRITICS4HERSTISTOENSURETHATTHEREISGENEROUSSPACE
BETWEENTHEX HEIGHTANDTOPSOFTHEASCENDERSINORDERTOMAKETHESECOND
LEVELOFDIACRITICSSEEMLESSSEPARATEDFROMTHELINE&ACESSUCHAS2OTISWOULD

MMM
NOT BE GOOD CANDIDATES FOR MULTIPLE DIACRITIC USE WHEREAS 'ARAMOND DESIGNS
HAVEMOREROOMGURE )FMULTIPLEDIACRITICUSEISIMPORTANTITSHOULDBE
CONSIDEREDFROMTHEVERYBEGINNINGOFTHETYPEFACEDESIGNPROCESS
4HE SECOND TECHNIQUE IS TO CHANGE THE DESIGN OF THE DIACRITICS TO TAKE UP
&IGURE2OTIS3ERIFHASLESS LESSVERTICALSPACE&OREXAMPLETHEACUTEGRAVEANDCIRCUMEXCANHAVEAWIDE
SPACEFORDIACRITICSTHAN!DOBE VARIETYOFSLOPE7HENUSEDFORLANGUAGESWITHMULTIPLEDIACRITICSTHEDESIGN
'ARAMOND
OFTHOSEACCENTSCANBECOMEMOREHORIZONTAL4HEAUTHORS'ENTIUMFONTFAMILY
INCLUDESTWOSETSOFSOMEDIACRITICSSPECICALLYFORUSEINSUCHSITUATIONS

LILLILLLILLIL
IIIIIIIII
&IGURE-ULTIPLEDIACRITICSFROM'ENTIUMSHOWINGNORMALANDALTERNATEDIACRITICDESIGNSANDALIGNMENT

3PACINGCANALSOBEENHANCEDBYALTERINGTHEVERTICALALIGNMENTOFDIACRIT
ICSTOUSEAMORECOMPACTSTRUCTURE4HISISILLUSTRATEDIN'ENTIUMWHERETHE
ALTERNATESETUSESREDUCEDSPACEBETWEENBASEANDDIACRITICASWELLASTIGHTER
VERTICALSPACINGBETWEENDIACRITICS
4HENALTECHNIQUEISTOREDESIGNSPECICDIACRITICCOMBINATIONSANDTREAT
THEM AS A SINGLE MARK 4HE 6IETNAMESE WRITING SYSTEM USES MANY DIACRITIC
COMBINATIONSANDTYPOGRAPHICHISTORYHASSHAPEDTHEMINTONEWFORMSSPE
CICTOTHATLANGUAGEBUTWITHSOMEVARIATIONINDESIGN4HESEFORMSTAKEUP
LESSVERTICALSPACESOLINESCANBESETCLOSERTOGETHERGURE 

#ONNARE$IACRITICS$ESIGN &UHDWLYHVROXWLRQV

3TANDARDS
4HE4ICUNALANGUAGEOF 3OMEISSUESOFVERTICALSPACINGHAVEFEWIFANYPRECEDENTS&OREXAMPLEWHAT
0ERUCONTAINSWORDSLIKENX SHOULDBEDONEWITHBELOWDIACRITICS-ANYOFTHESAMEISSUESOFVERTICALSPAC
*6ICTOR'AULTNEY'ENTIUM
ATYPEFACEFORTHENATIONS2EADING INGFORABOVEDIACRITICSCANAPPLYTOBELOWONES3HOULDTHEYBEVERTICALLYCEN
 P TREDORALLALIGNATTHETOP(OWSHOULDTHEYRELATETODESCENDERLENGTH
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

bbbbbbbbb &IGURE6IETNAMESEDIACRITICSFROM6TOPIA
BASEDON5TOPIA 

0ALATINO,INOTYPE

IIIIIIIII 'ENTIUMAND

!RIAL5NICODE-3

4HEPLACEMENTOFBELOWDIACRITICSNEEDSTOBALANCETHATOFTHEIRABOVEEQUIV

LOGO ALENTSBUTTHEIRDESIGNNEEDNOTBETHESAMEGURE )NSOMECASESABELOW

HASADIERENTPHONETICMEANINGTHANTHEEQUIVALENTABOVE)NTHISSITUATION
CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS HAVE GREAT FREEDOM TO INNOVATE AND ND SOLUTIONS
THATWORK
! MODEL FOR INNOVATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE WORK OF ,ADISLAS -ANDEL (E
&IGURE"ELOWVERSIONSOF
DIACRITICSCANBEDIERENTFROM HASDESIGNEDMANYBITMAPTYPEFACESFORTELEPHONEDIRECTORIESANDHASSHOWN
ABOVEONES(ERETHESHAPEIS GREAT CREATIVITY IN HIS WORK (IS #LOTTES&RANCE  TYPEFACE NEEDED DIACRITICS IN
AECTEDBYDESCENDERLENGTH
CLUDINGTHEI DOT THATWERECLEARDESPITETHEVERYSMALLBODYSIZEGURE 

&IGURE-ANDELSDESIGNFOR#LOTTES
&RANCE ENLARGEDANDACTUALSIZE

-ANDELKNEWITWOULDBEIMPOSSIBLETOSHRINKTHEDIACRITICSANDSTILLMAKE
THEM NOTICEABLE SO HE SHRUNK THE BASE GLYPHS .OTE THE SHORTENED E WHEN
USEDWITHDIAERESIS%VENTHEBASEOFTHEIISREDUCEDINSIZE!LTHOUGHTHEYLOOK
ODDWHENENLARGEDTHESEINNOVATIONSWORKWELLATTHEIRINTENDEDSIZE&INALLY
HEUSEDTHESAMETECHNIQUEFORWHICHLEADSTOTHENEXTCHALLENGECAPITALS

3UREOHP&DSLWDOV
!SWITHSTACKEDACCENTSDIACRITICSFORCAPITALLETTERSFACETHECHALLENGEOFLINE
SPACING3OMETHINGOFTENHASTOBEADJUSTEDFORACCENTEDCAPITALSTOWORKWELL
)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC IN TEXTEITHER THE DIACRITIC THE CAPITAL OR BOTH 9ANNIS (ARALAMBOUS WHEN
!SSOCIATIONP DISCUSSINGAPROJECTTOPROVIDEAMULTIPLE SCRIPTFONTFORTHETYPESETTINGSYS
/LIVIER.INEUIL,ADISLAS
-ANDELEXPLORATEURDELATYPO
TEMWROTE
FRANAISETAPESGRAPHIQUES
 P  ITISQUITENATURALTOASSUMETHATPLACINGDIACRITICSDOESNOTAECTTHE
9ANNIS(ARALAMBOUSAND SHAPES OF EITHER THE BASE CHARACTER OR THE DIACRITIC ITSELF /FTEN THIS IS
*OHN0LAICE4HEDESIGNANDUSE
OFAMULTIPLE ALPHABETFONTWITH
TRUE BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN TYPOGRAPHICAL QUALITY REQUIRES SPECIAL
IN%LECTRONICPUBLISHINGARTISTIC SHAPES
IMAGINGANDDIGITALTYPOGRAPHY
EDBY2OGER$(ERSCH*ACQUES (EISCORRECTTHATRESHAPINGISNOTNECESSARYINMANYCASESPARTICULARLYIF
!NDRAND(EATHER"ROWN
"ERLIN3PRINGER 6ERLAG  CAPITALS ARE SHORT AND ACCENTS SOMEWHAT AT )N THE MAJORITY OF DIGITAL FONTS
PPP  THEREISNODIERENCEBETWEENTHECIRCUMEXUSEDFORCAPITALSANDTHATUSEDFOR
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

SMALLERLETTERS4ECHNOLOGIESTHATALLOWEDUSEOFASINGLESHAPEFORBOTHCAPITAL
AND LOWERCASE DIACRITICS ENCOURAGED SUCH DESIGNS 4HIS UNITY OF SHAPES WAS
HOWEVERNOTNECESSARILYTHEDEFAULTPRIORTOTHEDIGITALAGE)NADDITIONTOTHIS
RESHAPINGMAYNOTBENECESSARYINMANYCASESBUTITMAYBEDESIRABLEBECAUSE
ITALLOWSMOREFREEDOMINDESIGN)TALSOALLOWSTEXTFORACCENTEDLANGUAGESTO
BESETINAMORECOMPACTMANNERAGREATVIRTUE

5HVKDSLQJDFFHQWV

)FTHEDESIGNERSEESANEEDFORRESHAPINGTHEQUESTIONBECOMESWHATTOCHANGE
4HEDIACRITICISTHEMOSTMALLEABLESOITISCOMMONLYTHERSTCANDIDATE
!S NOTED EARLIER METAL TYPES HAD ACCENTS THAT WERE MORE VERTICAL THAN
HORIZONTAL)FTHOSELONGTALLACCENTSWEREPLACEDABOVECAPITALSTHEBODYSIZE
WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO BE MUCH LARGER /NCE DIACRITICS BEGAN TO BE USED WITH

123 CAPITALSTHOSEACCENTSSOMETIMESHADTHEIRSLOPEREDUCEDANDCOULDBESHORT

ENED AS WELL %VEN TODAY THE DIGITAL TYPES THAT USE THIS TECHNIQUE ARE OFTEN
THOSEDESIGNSTHATHEARKENBACKTOCLASSICFORMSGURE 
&IGURE#APITALANDLOWERCASE
DIACRITICSFROM!DOBE'ARAMOND 4HISRESHAPINGWASACTUALLYTHENORMFORMETALTYPES)TCANBESEENINBOTH
-INIONAND0ALATINO,INOTYPE
SERIF AND SANS SERIF STYLES AND FROM VARIOUS ERAS )N THE TRANSITION TO PHOTO
TYPESANDDIGITALTHEREWASASHARPSHIFTAWAYTOWARDHAVINGCAPITALACCENTS
IDENTICAL TO THOSE USED FOR LOWERCASE LETTERS 4HIS COINCIDED WITH THE OVERALL
CHANGESINDIACRITICSLOPENOTEDINTYPESSUCHAS#ALEDONIA3ABONASDESIGNED
INITIALLY FOR METAL TYPE HAD VERY VERTICAL ACCENTS THAT WERE RADICALLY ALTERED
FORCAPITALS$IGITALVERSIONSFROM!DOBEAND-ONOTYPEHOWEVERUSEASINGLE
DESIGNFORBOTHCASESGURE 
3OWHICHISCORRECT)TCOULDBEARGUEDTHATTHEFREEDOMFROMTHEBODYSIZE
RESTRICTIONSINMETALFONTSALLOWEDDESIGNERSTONALLYGETWHATTHEYMAYHAVE
&IGURE!CCENTSFROMORIGINAL WANTEDALLALONGTHEABILITYTOPUTFULL SIZEDDIACRITICSONTOPOFCAPITALS/N
METALPOINT3ABONENLARGED  THEOTHERHANDTHESAMECOULDHAVEBEENACCOMPLISHEDINEARLIERTECHNOLOGIES
ANDDIGITALVERSIONSFROM!DOBEAND
-ONOTYPE BYUSINGALARGERBODYSIZE4HEPOST METALCHANGEISMORELIKELYTOBEARESULT
OF MISUSED TECHNOLOGY !CCENTED BASEDIACRITIC COMBINATIONS IN PHOTOSETTING
AND DIGITAL SYSTEMS WERE COMMONLY CONSTRUCTED OUT OF OATING COMPONENTS
!LTHOUGHITWASPOSSIBLETOUSEASEPARATECOMPONENTFORCAPITALSITWASSIM
PLYEASIERTOUSEASINGLEONEFORALLUSESWHICHALSOSAVEDSPACEINTHEFONT
&IGURE!LTEREDCAPITALSFROM )TREMAINSUNKNOWNWHETHERTHEREDUCTIONINTHEVERTICALSIZEOFDIACRITICS
3CHADOW !NTIQUASCHMALFETT SEENINMETALTYPESWASANINTENTIONALDESIGNCHOICEORJUSTANACKNOWLEDGE
ENLARGED 
MENTOFTHELIMITSOFTECHNOLOGY4HEMOTIVATIONSOFTHOSEWHOORIGINALLYMAN
AGED THE TRANSITION TO PHOTO AND DIGITAL TYPES IS EQUALLY OPAQUE )N ANY CASE

cccc
&IGURE! RINGIN4IMES.EW
THEUSEOFREDUCEDDIACRITICSWASANDREMAINSAVIABLEOPTIONFORCONTEMPO
RARYDESIGNERS

2OMAN'EORGIA!RIAL6ERDANA 2WKHURSWLRQV

/NRAREOCCASIONSSUCHASWITH-ANDELSTELEPHONEDIRECTORYFONTSGURE 
AND'EORG4RUMPS3CHADOW !NTIQUASCHMALFETTGURE THECAPITALWASALSO
REDUCEDINSIZE)NSTEADOFRESORTINGTOTHISHIGHLYNOTICEABLECHANGEMOSTDE
SIGNERSREDUCEDTHESPACEBETWEENTHEACCENTANDCAPITAL4HISISNOWNORMAL
PRACTICE
&IGURE!CCENTEDCAPITALSFROM )NEXTREMESITUATIONSTHEDIACRITICCANEVENBEATTACHEDTOTHECAPITAL4HIS
!NTIQUE/LIVEENLARGED 
ISCOMMONWITHTHE|!BOUTHALFOFTHETEXTTYPEFAMILIESINTHE&ONT&ONT#ATA
3ABON !NTIQUA;TYPE LOGUEARETHISWAYASWELLASFOUROFTHEMOSTCOMMONTYPESINUSETODAY
SPECIMEN=&RANKFURT,INOTYPE  GURE 4HEACUTEANDOTHERACCENTSCANALSOBECONNECTEDASIN%XCOONS
3CHADOW !NTIQUA;TYPE
SPECIMEN=3TUTTGART#% !NTIQUE/LIVEGURE 
7EBER  4HEMOSTINTERESTINGCASESTUDYOFRESHAPINGISTHEDIAERESISORWHENUSED
#ONNARE$IACRITICSDESIGN
STANDARDS FOR 'ERMAN THE UMLAUT #APITALS WITH DIACRITICS IN GENERAL HAVE BEEN PROB
+APRP LEMATICFORPRINTERSTHEEXTRAPROTRUSIONSABOVETHECAPHEIGHTCOULDREQUIRE
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

KERNING ABOVE THE BODY -OVING THE DOTS OF THE DIAERESIS AS TO NO LONGER REST
ABOVETHELETTERSORONLYSLIGHTLYABOVE XESTHEPROBLEM
4YPICALLY THE DOTS ARE MOVED OUT TO THE SIDES AND DOWN FOR ! AND / AND
TOGETHERANDDOWNFOR54HEORIGINALDESIGNSFOR(ERMANN:APF S/PTIMAAND
-ELIORSHOWTHISADJUSTMENTGURE "YTHISTIMETHEREWASLITTLETECHNICAL
NEEDTOMOVEDOWNTHEDOTSTHOSEONHAVENOTCHANGEDFOREXAMPLE SOTHE
MOTIVATIONFORTHEDESIGNWASAESTHETICNOTTECHNICAL
&IGURE5MLAUTSFROMORIGINAL &ORMANYDECADESTHEREWASASTRONG'ERMANMOVEMENTTOWARDTHECREA
DRAFTSOF/PTIMAAND-ELIOR TIVEDESIGNOFTHEUMLAUT!DIRECTDESCENDANTFROM'OTHICSCRIPTFORMSITWAS
DIERENTINMEANINGBUTNOTNECESSARILYINDESIGNFROMTHEDIAERESISUSEDFOR
&RENCH 4HE UMLAUT CHANGED THE QUALITY OF VOWELS WHEREAS THE DIAERESIS SEPA
RATEDTHEM3OTHEUMLAUTHADADISTINCTPURPOSEUNIQUETO'ERMAN
4HISCULTURALATTITUDECANBESEENINFONTSFROM'ERMANFOUNDRIES&IGURE
GIVESASAMPLINGOFSOMECAPITALUMLAUTDESIGNSFROM'ERMANCOMPANIESOPER
ATINGDURINGTHEMIDDLEOFTHETWENTIETHCENTURY.OTETHEUNIQUETREATMENT
OFTHEDOTSFOREACHLETTER)TISCLEARTHATTHEREISANUMLAUTTHEREEVENIFTHE
ALIGNMENTANDORIENTATIONOFTHEDOTSISDIERENT

&IGURE%XAMPLESOFRESHAPEDUMLAUTSIN'ERMANFONTSENLARGED 0ALATINO3TEMPEL 4RUMP -EDIVAL

 'ARAMOND !NTIQUA 3CHADOW &UTURA "UCHSCHRIFT 3UPER 'ROTESK 

4HESURPRISINGFACTISTHATWHENTHESEFONTSWERERELEASEDOUTSIDE'ERMANY
THE DESIGN OF THE UMLAUT OFTEN CHANGED TO THE MORE INTERNATIONAL SHAPE AND
ALIGNMENT -ODERN DIGITAL VERSIONS CONSISTENTLY USE ONLY THE INTERNATIONAL
FORMS 7ITHOUT SMART RENDERING TECHNOLOGIES A DIGITAL FONT CAN ONLY INCLUDE
ONEVERSIONORTHEOTHERANDTHEINTERNATIONALFORMSWERECHOSENGURE 
4HESEHAVENOWBECOMETHESTANDARDEVENIN'ERMANY

[t4&4fklglm
&IGURE#APITALSWITHDIAERESIS
UMLAUTFROMPOINT&UTURA
&IGURE$IGITALVERSIONSOFUPPERCASEUMLAUTS0ALATINO,INOTYPE4RUMP-EDIAEVAL/PTIMAAND&UTURA
4HIS CHANGE WAS NOT LIMITED TO PHOTOTYPESETTING AND DIGITAL FONTS 'ER
MANFOUNDRIESHAVEHADTOCATERTOMARKETSOUTSIDE'ERMANYFORMANYYEARS
!  SPECIMEN OF  POINT &UTURA INCLUDES BOTH 'ERMAN AND INTERNATIONAL
FORMSGURE 
4HEPOINTOFSUCHDETAILHEREISTOSHOWTHATTHERESHAPINGOFDIACRITICSCAN
 ENLARGED/NLYONEVERSION
OFWASINCLUDEDINTHESAMPLE BEMOTIVATEDBYBOTHTECHNICALANDCULTURALPURPOSES)TISALSOAREMINDEROF
THECREATIVEPOSSIBILITIESFORSOLVINGDIACRITICDESIGNPROBLEMS

,UCIAN!LPHONSE,EGROSAND*OHN#AMERON'RANT4YPOGRAPHICALPRINTING SURFACES,ONDON,ONGMANS'REENAND#O PP

:APFP
2OBERT"RINGHURST4HEELEMENTSOFTYPOGRAPHICSTYLENDEDN0OINT2OBERTS7!(ARTLEY-ARKS P
+APRP
4HISEVENHAPPENEDWITHIN'ERMANYWHEREATYPESPECIMENFOR/PTIMAINTENDEDFORA'ERMANAUDIENCEUSEDTHEINTERNATIONALFORMS
4YPORELLO/PTIMA !NTIQUA&RANKFURT3TEMPEL 
#HRISTOPHER"URKE0AUL2ENNER,ONDON(YPHEN0RESS P
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

6KRUWHUFDSLWDOV
)F NONE OF THE VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR RESHAPING DIACRITICS IS DESIRABLE IT IS POS
SIBLE TO MINIMISE OR ELIMINATE IT ALTOGETHERTHROUGH USE OF SMALLER CAPITALS
THROUGHOUT THE FONT )N A SENSE THIS IS ALSO A TYPE OF RESHAPING BUT A GLOBAL
RATHERTHANALOCALONE3HORTERCAPITALSRESULTINMORESPACEFORDIACRITICS
,ARGE CAPITALS DRAWN STRAIGHT FROM INSCRIPTIONAL FORMS AND FOUND COM
MONLY IN TYPES OF EARLIER CENTURIES ARE SEEN LESS AND LESS IN CONTEMPORARY
FONTS4HERESEEMSTOBEAHEALTHYTRENDTOWARDDIACRITIC FRIENDLYCAPITALS4HIS
ISPARTICULARLYTRUEOFFONTSPRODUCEDIN%UROPEWHEREACCENTEDCAPITALSAREA
NECESSITY 0AUL 2ENNER DELIBERATELY DESIGNED THE CAPITALS OF &UTURA TO WORK
WELLWITHTHE'ERMANLANGUAGENOTNECESSARILYBECAUSEOFDIACRITICSBUTDUE
TOTHEFREQUENTUSEOFCAPITALSIN'ERMANTEXT

3UREOHP&XOWXUDOSUHIHUHQFHV
%ACH OF THE PROBLEMS SO FAR HAS A LINGUISTICCULTURAL DIMENSION 4HE DESIGN
AND ALIGNMENT OF THE OGONEKDEPENDS ON WHETHER THE LANGUAGE BEING TYPESET
IS0OLISHOR,ITHUANIAN7IDTHISSUESAREAECTEDBYTHEFREQUENCYOFLETTER
PAIRS IN THE LANGUAGE4HESTACKINGOF CIRCUMEXWITHACUTEIS DIERENT FOR6I
ETNAMESETHANFOR!FRICANLANGUAGES#APITALACCENTSHAVESTRONGCULTURALPAT
TERNSANDINUENCES
4HEREISANATURALTENDENCYFORADESIGNERTOSPECIALISEINTHOSEFEATURESOF
FONTSTHATAREMOSTIMPORTANTTOTHELINGUISTICENVIRONMENTINWHICHTHEYLIVE
3UCH TENDENCIES ARE NOT ALWAYS CONSCIOUS 4HEY CAN GROW FROM A PREFERENCE
RATHERTHANACALCULATEDDECISION4HISISNOTATALLBAD)TISVALUABLEFORADE
SIGNTOSPRINGFROMINNERRESOURCESANDNOTJUSTFROMREASON!NUNDERSTAND
INGOFTHESECULTURALPREFERENCESCANHELPADESIGNERCREATEFONTSTHATAREUSE
FULTOAWIDERAUDIENCE)TCANBEDICULTTHOUGHTOBALANCETHESEPREFERENCES
ANDDESIGNFONTSTHATMEETTHENEEDSOFABROADINTERNATIONALCOMMUNITY

6LPLODUEXWGLIIHUHQW
!SWITHTHEUMLAUTDIAERESISDIACRITICSTHATLOOKSIMILARMAYNOTREALLYBETHE
SAME4HECEDILLAWHENUSEDFOR&RENCHCANHAVETHREEFORMSTHETRADITIONAL
CONNECTEDDESIGNACOMMA LIKEUNCONNECTEDONEORASTROKETHATCROSSESTHE
&IGURE%XAMPLESOFTHE BOTTOM CURVE OF THE C 0ORTUGUESE AND #ATALAN READERS HOWEVER PREFER ONLY
TRADITIONALACUTETOP ANDTHE THETRADITIONALSHAPE!DIACRITICCANHAVEACCEPTEDDESIGNVARIATIONSFORONE
0OLISHKRESKAMIDDLE 
LANGUAGETHATARENOTACCEPTABLEFORANOTHER
!NOTHEREXAMPLEOFTHISISTHEKRESKAUSEDFOR0OLISH!TRSTITSEEMSTOBE
4HISTRENDWASNOTED IDENTICALTOTHEACUTEANDISENCODEDASSUCHIN5NICODE4HEPREFERREDFORM
AFTERAPERUSALOFVARIOUSFONT HOWEVERISMOREVERTICALANDSHIFTEDTOTHERIGHTGURE 
CATALOGUESAND&ONT&ONT#ATA
LOGUE"ERLIN&ONT3HOP ! SIMILAR SITUATION OCCURS IN #ZECH WHERE THE ACUTE LIKE ARKA IS USED
)NTERNATIONAL INPARTI /LDICH(LAVSAINHISTYPOGRAPHICTOME!BOOKOFTYPEANDDESIGNDISCUSSESTHE
CULAR
"URKEP TOPICOF#ZECHDIACRITICS4OHIMTHEANGLEOFTHEARKAISNOTIMPORTANTIT
4WARDOCH0OLISHDIACRITICS IS THE TERMINAL SHAPE )N COMPARING #ZECH VERSIONS OF "ODONI AND %MPIRIANA
HOWTOOGONEK
#ONNARE$IACRITICSDESIGN
GURE HEWRITESABOUTTHE"ODONITHEROUNDINGOFTHETOPPORTIONOFTHE
STANDARDS STROKEOVERTHEAND;ISNOT=APPROPRIATE
!DAM4WARDOCH0OLISH (E CONTINUES ABOUT ANOTHER SIMILAR BUT DIERENT DIACRITICTHE HAEK )N
DIACRITICSHOWTOKRESKAHTTP
STUDWEBEUV FRANKFURT ODE THE"ODONIWEARESTRUCKBYTHEINADEQUACYOFTHEMARKOVERTHEAND
TWARDOCHFENTYPOOGONEK
KRESKAHTML!UGUST
/LDICH(LAVSA!BOOKOF
TYPEANDDESIGNTRANSBY3YLVIA
&INK,ONDON0ETER.EVILL
 P
P &IGURE#ZECHDIACRITICSFROM"ODONIAND%MPIRIANA
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

 )T IS ACTUALLY THE INVERTED &RENCH CIRCUMEX ACCENT WHICH SPOILS MOST OF
OURFACESCASTBYTYPEFOUNDRIESABROAD4OMOSTEYESTHE"ODONIHAEKMIGHT
SEEMADEQUATEANYTHINGLARGERWOULDLOOKOUTOFPLACE(EISREFERRINGHOW
EVER NOT TO THE SIZE BUT TO THE SHAPE AND STRENGTH OF CONTRAST THAT IS BETTER
IMPLEMENTEDIN%MPIRIANA)TISDENITELYNOTANINVERTEDCIRCUMEX

6L]H ZHLJKW
3IZEISIMPORTANTTHOUGHAND(LAVSACONTINUESWITHCOMMENTSTHATAREAPPLI
CABLETODIACRITICSOFALLLANGUAGES
/NLY THOSE DIACRITICAL MARKS CAN BE REGARDED AS APPROPRIATE WHICH SUIT
THELETTERTOWHICHTHEYBELONGINTHEFOLLOWINGRESPECTSBYANABSOLUTELY
EQUALWEIGHTADEQUATESIZECONGENIALDESIGNASWELLASBYMAINTAINING
THE CONTRAST AND THE MUTUAL POSITION OF THE SHADED AND OF THE HAIRLINE
STROKES&URTHERMORETHEDOTOVERTHEIANDTHERESTOFTHEDIACRITICMARKS
MUSTBELOCATEDONTHESAMELEVELWHICHSHOULDNOTBEPLACEDTOOHIGH
4HISISEXCELLENTCOUNSEL4HEONLYPROBLEMISINTHEDENITIONOFSIZEAND
WEIGHT4HEPERCEPTIONOFTHESEHASASTRONGCULTURALBIAS!SWITHISSUESOFLEGI
BILITYTHERIGHTSIZECANBEINUENCEDBYWHATONEISUSEDTOSEEING#ONSIDER
THESITUATIONWHEREARELATIVELYSMALLCOMMUNITYSPEAKSAMINORITYLANGUAGE
THAT HAS LITTLE LITERARY TRADITION )F THE WRITTEN FORM OF THEIR LANGUAGE USES
DIACRITICSANDTHEONLYFONTFORTHEIRLANGUAGEHASVERYLARGEDIACRITICSPEOPLE
&IGURE7HICHCIRCUMEXISTHE MAYPREFERLARGEDIACRITICSBECAUSETHATISWHATTHEYLEARNEDTOREAD
RIGHTSIZE)TMAYDEPENDONTHE
LANGUAGE 4HISHAS ANOTHERLINGUISTICDIMENSION4HEROLEANDIMPORTANCEOF DIACRIT
ICSINALANGUAGECANAECTTHEIRDESIGN4HE&RENCHLANGUAGEFOREXAMPLECAN
BEUNDERSTOODEVENIFDIACRITICSAREMISSING)TISNOTCORRECTBUTINMOSTCASES
THE MEANING IS COMMUNICATED )N THIS LANGUAGE ACCENTS CARRY LITTLE OF THE
SEMANTICMEANINGSOTHEIRSTRENGTHINALINEOFTEXTCANBEREDUCEDWITHOUT
COMPROMISINGCOMMUNICATION
'BOGBONYNNIABN )N 9ORUBA ONE OF THE MAJOR LANGUAGES OF 7EST !FRICA DIACRITICS ARE CRITI
MNIRAIYTITKKAN CALLYIMPORTANTGURE /NEOFTHEIRROLESISTOMARKTONE4HISGIVESTHEMA
SDGBA7NNBNTI LINGUISTICSTATUSEQUALTOINDEPENDENTLETTERSSUCHASOIORN4HEYCARRYMUCH
LKYTITIR OKNS OFTHESEMANTICMEANINGANDCANNOTBEELIMINATEDWITHOUTSEVEREMISCOMMU
YEKWONMAHWS NICATION&ORTHISLANGUAGEACCENTSMUSTBESTRONGANDUNAMBIGUOUS
ARAWONGGBOMOY
)NTHESELINGUISTICSITUATIONSTHELEGIBILITYOFDIACRITICSBECOMESAMAJORIS
&IGURE$IACRITICSAREAVITALPART SUE/VINKALEADERINLEGIBILITYRESEARCHFOUNDTHATTHESIZEMORETHANTHE
OFTHE9ORUBAALPHABET
SHAPEOFTHEDOTONIANDJCONTRIBUTEDTOITSCORRECTRECOGNITION4HISCANBE
APPLIEDTOOTHERDIACRITICSASWELL,ARGERDIACRITICSCANIMPROVELEGIBILITY

6ROXWLRQV
)SITPOSSIBLETODESIGNACCEPTABLEFONTSINSUCHADIVERSECULTURALANDLINGUISTIC

&IGURE4HE0OLISHKRESKAIN
ENVIRONMENT9ESBUTITREQUIRESCAREFULPLANNINGANDRESEARCH0OWERFULNEW
TECHNOLOGIESALTHOUGHCOMPLEXTOIMPLEMENTMAYALSOBENEEDED
/NE STRATEGY IS TO DESIGN DIACRITICS WITH MULTI LINGUAL USE IN MIND 4HE
0ALATINO,INOTYPE ACUTE AND GRAVE IN 0ALATINO ,INOTYPE FOR EXAMPLE ARE PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE FOR
0OLISHASTHEYHAVEASTEEPERSLOPETHANISTYPICALGURE 4HISDOESNOT
MAKETHEFONTLESSUSEFULFOR&RENCHOR9ORUBABUTRATHERMAXIMISESITSUTILITY
INAGLOBALMARKET#HARLES"IGELOWAND+RIS(OLMESRECOGNISEDTHEIMPACTOF
(ERBERT3PENCER4HE
VISIBLEWORD,ONDON,UND BROADUSEINTHEIRDESIGNFOR,UCIDA3ANS5NICODE4HEYWROTE
(UMPHRIES P
4WARDOCH0OLISHDIACRITICS 4O AID LEGIBILITY OR AT LEAST TO INCREASE DECIPHERABILITY THE DIACRITICS
HOWTOKRESKA REQUIRE GREATER DIERENTIATION !CCORDINGLY WE DESIGNED THE LOWERCASE
#HARLES"IGELOWAND+RIS
(OLMES4HEDESIGNOFA5NI DIACRITICSOF,UCIDA3ANS5NICODETOBESLIGHTLYTALLERANDALITTLEDIERENT
CODEFONT%LECTRONIC0UBLISHING INMODULATIONTHANTHOSEOFTHEORIGINAL,UCIDA3ANS
 P 
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&IGURE#ZECHLETTERSFROM-ENHARTS&IGURAL4HEDIACRITICSSHOWAUNIQUELY#ZECHSTYLETOHISDESIGN

!NOTHER STRATEGY IS TO LIMIT THE TARGET LANGUAGES FOR A FONT AND DESIGN
DIACRITICS SPECICALLY FOR THOSE LANGUAGES /LDICH -ENHART WAS A #ZECH CALLI
GRAPHERTYPEDESIGNERANDTYPOGRAPHERWHOEPITOMISEDTHEROLEOFTHEETHNIC
DESIGNER(ISTYPESHAVEASTRONG#ZECHCHARACTER(ISDIACRITICSSHOWAUNIQUE
DESIGNTHATISPARTICULARLYWELLSUITEDFORHISLANGUAGEGURE 0AUL(AYDEN
$UENSINGWRITESOFHISWORK
4HISBECAMEONEOFTHEMANSLIFELONGGOALSTOSHARETHERICHNESSOFHIS
CULTURE WITH THE WORLD BY CREATING DESIGNS THAT SERVE THE ENDOGENOUS
#ZECHLITERATUREWITHANUNCOMMONDEGREEOFRIGHTNESSANDALSODISPLAY
THE#ZECHNATIONALSTYLETOTHERESTOFTHEWORLDHEUNDERSTOODTHATTHE
PARTICULARLY LARGE NUMBER OF ACCENTS USED IN THE #ZECH LANGUAGE PRE
SENTEDPROBLEMSWHICHWERENOTSATISFACTORILYADDRESSEDBYMOSTOFTHE
TYPESOFTHETIME
4HIS STRONGLY ETHNIC DESIGN WAS RARE )T WAS MORE COMMON FOR FONTS USED
IN EASTERN %UROPE TO BE PURCHASED FROM WESTERN FOUNDRIES AND EXPANDED TO
INCLUDETHENECESSARYDIACRITICS4HISISSTILLWIDESPREADTODAYEVENWITHDIGI
TALFONTS4HEADVANTAGEWITHTHISAPPROACHISTHATDIACRITICSCANBECAREFULLY
TUNEDFORASPECICUSE
4HIS SPECIALISATION CAN ALSO BE BUILT INTO PLANS FOR GLOBALLY USEFUL FONTS
7ITHTHEFONTTOOLSAVAILABLETODESIGNERSTODAYALTERNATEVERSIONSOFFONTSCAN
BEPRODUCEDWITHOUTGREATDICULTY4HERECANBESEPARATEVERSIONSFORDIER
ENTLANGUAGEGROUPINGS4HEREISNOTHINGNEWABOUTTHISSTRATEGY!SSEENWITH
&UTURAITWASPOSSIBLETOBUYSPECIALVERSIONSOFCERTAINLETTERSEVENINMETAL
TYPE-AJORNOTJUSTMINORVARIATIONSWEREALSOCOMPLETED6OXCUTA&RENCH
VERSIONOF4IMES.EW2OMANREVISINGFOURTEENGLYPHSTOMAKETHEMMORELIKE
(LAVSAP THE2OMAINDU2OI-ONOTYPECREATEDA'ERMANVERSIONWITHLIGHTERCAPS
0AUL(AYDEN$UENSING 7ITHUSEOFRECENTTECHNOLOGIESTHEBENETSOFALTERNATEFONTSCANBEDELIV
/LDICH-ENHARTIN&INEPRINT
ONTYPEEDBY#HARLES"IGELOW EREDINASINGLEFONTLE/PEN4YPEFONTSCANCONTAINLANGUAGE SPECICGLYPH
ETAL,ONDON,UND(UMPHRIES SUBSTITUTIONINFORMATION4HEPROBLEMINGUREWHEREALTERNATEDIACRIT
 PPP 
(LAVSAP
ICSFOR)4#3OUVENIR"OLDARENEEDEDFOR0OLISHCANBESOLVEDWITHASINGLE/PEN
"IGELOWAND(OLMESPP 4YPEFONT!PPLICATIONSNOWCOMMONLYKEEPTRACKOFTHELANGUAGEOFTEXTIN
 THESAMEWAYTHEYSTORETEXTFORMATTINGINFORMATION)FTHELANGUAGEIS0OLISH
*OHN(UDSON7INDOWS
GLYPHPROCESSINGPARTTWOGLYPH THE O KRESKA FORM IS SUBSTITUTED /THERWISE FOR &RENCH OR 9ORUBA THE DEFAULT
PROCESSINGINDETAILHTTP O ACUTEISUSED
WWWMICROSOFTCOM
TYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERS
OPENTYPEDETAILHTM
*ANUARY
4WARDOCH0OLISHDIACRITICS
HOWTOKRESKA
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

7KHEXVLQHVVRIGLDFULWLFV
-OSTACCENTEDLETTERSARETYPE FOUNDERSSTEP CHILDREN

4HE ROLE OF THE DESIGNER IS TO USE THE TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE TO DESIGN FONTS
WHOSE DIACRITICS WORK WELL AS GRAPHIC ELEMENTS AND ARE SENSITIVE TO CULTURAL
NEEDSANDPREFERENCES%VENIFADESIGNERHASCONQUEREDTHEPROBLEMSOFASYM
METRY WIDTH HARMONY VERTICAL SPACING CAPITALS AND CULTURE THERE REMAINS
ONEMORECHALLENGEECONOMICS!LTHOUGHTHISESSAYISFOCUSEDONTHEDESIGN
OFDIACRITICSABRIEFINTERLUDEINTOTHEBUSINESSOFCREATINGFONTSWITHACCENTS
CANBEHELPFUL
%CONOMICSREFERSTOTHEMONETARYCOSTSOFPRODUCINGDIACRITICSBUTALSOTO
THETIMEANDATTENTIONACCENTSRECEIVEFROMBOTHDESIGNERSANDFOUNDRIES!LL
TYPETECHNOLOGIESHAVEHADTHEPOTENTIALTOPRODUCEELEGANTANDEECTIVEDIA
CRITICSBUTTOWHATEXTENTWERETHEYUSEDANDHOWIMPORTANTWASITTOTHOSE
INCHARGE
)TISDICULTTONDTHISINFORMATIONWITHOUTEXTENSIVERESEARCHINTOFOUN
DRYRECORDS,ITTLEHASBEENWRITTENDIRECTLYBYTHEFOUNDRIESBUTITISCLEARTHAT
PRINTERSWHOFACEDTHETASKOFSETTINGACCENTEDTEXTWEREDECIDEDLYNEGATIVE
EVEN WHEN PUBLISHING IN MANUFACTURERS PUBLICATIONS SUCH AS THE -ONOTYPE
2ECORDER
4HEQUARRELWHICH)ASAPRINTERHAVEWITHPHONETICALPHABETSISTHEIRUSE
OFDIACRITICMARKSTHATISTHEDOTSBLOBSANDLINESAPPEARINGABOVEAND
BELOWSOMEOFTHESYMBOLSANDEVENTURNEDLETTERS&ROMTHEPRINTERS
POINTOFVIEWDIACRITICMARKSAREANABOMINATION.OTONLYDOTHEYBREAK
OWHENPRINTINGORWHENMAKINGONGSINPREPARATIONFORPLACESBUT
THEYALSOHAVEAPASSIONFORLLINGUPANDPRINTINGASBLURS
3OMELINGUISTSEVENARGUEDAGAINSTTHEMONBEHALFOFPRINTERSBECAUSETHEY
REALISEDTHATTHEYMIGHTCAUSEPROBLEMSWITHPUBLICATION
DIACRITICMARKSCONSTITUTEADICULTYANDADANGER0RINTERSNDTHAT
DOTSANDACCENTSWEAROUTMOREQUICKLYTHANTHELETTERSANDARETHERE
FOREAPTTOBECOMEINDISTINCTINPRINT
,EGROS AND 'RANT THE RENOWNED PRINTING TECHNOLOGISTS KNEW LITTLE ABOUT LIN
GUISTICS BUT FELT THAT THE USE OF ACCENTS OUGHT BE COMPLETELY ABANDONED
*AN4SCHICHOLD/F
4HEYSAWTHEINTRODUCTIONOFDIACRITICSASACOLOSSALMISTAKE
WHATVALUEISTRADITIONIN
TYPEDESIGNIN4YPOGRAPHIC 7ITH THE SPREAD OF RELIGION OVER THE WORLD THE MISSIONARIES USUALLY
/PPORTUNITIESINTHE#OMPUTER EDUCATED MEN HAVE LEFT AS HAS BEEN SAID EXAMPLES OF THEIR ERUDITION
!GE0RAGUE4YPOGRAA 
PPP 
BUTUNFORTUNATELYTHEYHAVESHOWNLITTLEKNOWLEDGEOFTYPOGRAPHYASIS
06$ALEY0HONETICSAND EVIDENCEDBYTHESELECTIONMADEBYTHEMOFTHEMISCELLANEOUSLYACCENTED
THEPRINTER-ONOTYPE2ECORDER CHARACTERSWITHWHICHTHEYHAVEUNHAPPILYENDOWEDTHESCRIPTSOFMANY
 P 
)NTERNATIONAL)NSTITUTEOF COUNTRIES
!FRICAN,ANGUAGESAND#ULTURES
0RACTICALORTHOGRAPHYOF!FRICAN &OUNDRIES HOWEVER MAY NOT HAVE HAD SUCH A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE 5NUSUAL AC
LANGUAGES,ONDON)NTERNATIONAL
)NSTITUTEOF!FRICAN,ANGUAGES
CENTSREQUIREDSPECIALORDERSANDTHATCREATEDREVENUE4HEYALSODISCOVERED
AND#ULTURES PP WAYSTOADDRESSDIACRITICPROBLEMS,INOTYPEHADATWO LINESYSTEMTHATCOULD
,EGROSAND'RANTP BE USED TO MANAGE SOME OVERHANGS )T WAS DEVELOPED FOR ADVERTISING LAYOUT
P
P NOTDIACRITICSBUTPARTIALLYMETTHENEED
(ERMANN:APF(ERMANN %CONOMIC PRESSURES ACTUALLY STIMULATED THE ADDITION OF ACCENTS TO FONTS
:APFANDHISDESIGNPHILOSOPHY
#HICAGO3OCIETYOF4YPOGRAPHIC AS MANUFACTURERS WANTED TO INCREASE THEIR POTENTIAL MARKETS 4HE QUALITY
!RTS P OFSUCHEXPANDEDCHARACTERSETSHOWEVERWEREOFTENPOOR4HERUSHTOBRING
&RED3MEIJERS#OUNTER
PUNCH,ONDON(YPHEN0RESS REVISEDFONTSTOMARKETOUTWEIGHEDTHEQUALITYCONCERNSOFEVENTHEMOSTRE
 P NOWNEDFOUNDRIES
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&IGURE%XCERPTSFROMTHESECONDDRAWINGFOR(UNT2OMANILLUSTRATINGTHESPECIALPIECEACCENTDESIGN

4HERE WERE SITUATIONS HOWEVER WHERE ECONOMIC CONCERNS AND TECHNICAL

INGENUITY WERE MATCHED WITH A DESIRE FOR NE TYPESETTING )N  THE (UNT
"OTANICAL,IBRARYCOMMISSIONEDAFONTFROM(ERMANN:APFFORTHEIREXCLUSIVE
USE)TWASINTENDEDFORHANDSETTINGANDNEEDEDTOINCLUDEACCENTEDCHARAC
TERSDUETOTHESCIENTICNATUREOFTHEIRPUBLICATIONS!NEXCLUSIVEPRODUCTION
OFTYPEWASNORMALLYEXPENSIVEBUTTHEIRNEEDFORACCENTEDLETTERSWOULDHAVE
FURTHERINCREASEDTHECOST&REEDFROMTHELIMITATIONSOFMATRIXSIZESANDME
CHANICALCONSTRAINTS:APFCOULDAPPLYATECHNIQUEUSEDFORCAPITALACCENTSTO
LOWERCASELETTERSANDREDUCECOSTATTHESAMETIME
(EDESIGNEDTHEACCENTSASPIECESTHATCOULDBECOMBINEDWITHLOWERCASE
LETTERS THAT HAD BEEN CAST ON A SMALLER BODY GURE   4HIS REDUCED THE
NUMBEROFMATRICESNEEDEDBYANDPRODUCEDAFONTOFONLYCHARACTERS
)TWASACLEVERWAYTOIMPLEMENTDIACRITICSWITHINECONOMICCONSTRAINTS
#ONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS WHO WISH TO SUPPORT DIACRITICS BEYOND THE WEST
ERN%UROPEANSETWILLNEEDSOMEOFTHISCREATIVITY4HETIMENEEDEDTODESIGN
AND IMPLEMENT AN EXPANDEDRANGEOF ACCENTS IS NOT TRIVIAL AND CAN BECOSTLY
#URRENTFONTDEVELOPMENTTOOLSCANEASETHISBURDENBUTITREQUIRESSOMEIN
VESTMENTOFEORTTOLEARNTHETECHNOLOGYANDPUTITINTOSERVICE
!S WITH THE TRADITIONAL TYPE FOUNDRIES INDIVIDUAL DESIGNERS CAN ND AN
ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE TO SUPPORTING A WIDE RANGE OF ACCENTS )T CAN OPEN UP
MARKETSANDGAINCOMMISSIONSESPECIALLYAMONGCORPORATECLIENTSWHONEED
MULTI LINGUALSOLUTIONS

7KHSDWKIRUZDUG
7HATDOESTHEFUTUREHOLDFORDIACRITICDESIGN4HEWORLDOFTHETYPEDESIGNER
HASBEENCHANGINGRAPIDLY)FCURRENTTRENDSCONTINUETHISWORLDWILLBECOME
INCREASINGLYMULTI LINGUALTECHNICALANDINDEPENDENT
4HE NEED FOR FONTS WITH A BROAD RANGE OF ACCENTS IS GROWING 4HE IMPEN
'EORGE(-,AWRENCE DINGEXPANSIONOFTHE%UROPEAN5NIONEASTWARDWILLREQUIREFONTSTOSUPPORT
ED(UNT2OMANTHEBIRTHOFA #ENTRAL %UROPEAN ACCENTED COMBINATIONS 4HESE WILL LIKELY BECOME STANDARD
TYPE0ITTSBURGH4HE0ITTSBURGH
"IBLIOPHILES P RATHERTHANSEPARATE#%VERSIONS4HISWILLALSOENABLEAWIDERRANGEOF,ATIN
:APFPP DIACRITICSUPPORTEXTENDINGBEYOND%UROPEANDINTO!SIAAND!FRICA
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

4YPEDESIGNWILLUNFORTUNATELYBECOMEEVENMORETECHNICALINNATURE.O

LONGERWILLDESIGNERSBEABLETOFOCUSJUSTON"ZIERCURVESTHEYMUSTUNDER
STAND5NICODEAND/PEN4YPE4HISISALREADYTHESITUATIONANDWILLNOTLIKELY
CHANGE SOON &ONT,AB AND OTHER CURRENT FONT DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ARE KEEPING
UPWITHNEWADVANCESANDAREATTEMPTINGTOMAKETHEMMOREACCESSIBLEBUT
THENATUREOFTHETECHNOLOGIESARECOMPLEX)TISPRECISELYTHESETECHNOLOGIES
THATARENEEDEDFORRICHDIACRITICSUPPORTSODESIGNERSWILLNEEDTOUSETHEMIN
ORDERTOMEETTHENEEDFORAWIDERRANGEOFDIACRITICS
$ESIGNERSWILLALSOLIKELYNDTHEMSELVESININCREASINGLYINDEPENDENTSITU
ATIONS#HANGESINTHETYPEINDUSTRYENABLEDANDTHENFORCEDBYDIGITALTECH
NOLOGIESHAVESEENMAJORFOUNDRIESSHRINKANDDEPENDMOREONINDEPENDENT
DESIGNERS ,EGIONS OF INDEPENDENT TYPE FOUNDRIES HAVE SPRUNG UP -ORE AND
MOREOFTYPEPRODUCTIONRESTSINTHEHANDSOFTHEDESIGNERSRATHERTHANINTHE
STAOFMANUFACTURERS!SARESULTTHEADDITIONOFDIACRITICSONCEASTANDARD
ROLEOFTHEFOUNDRYISNOWALMOSTCOMPLETELYDEPENDENTONTHEDESIGNER
4HE NEED FOR EXPANDED DIACRITIC SUPPORT IS CLEAR 4HE TECHNOLOGIES ARE IN
PLACEBUTDESIGNERSWILLNEEDTOTAKETHEACTIVEROLE

5HPDLQLQJSUREOHPV
4HE IDEAL WORLD IS ONE WHERE PEOPLE OF ANY LANGUAGE THAT USES ,ATIN DIACRIT
ICSCANTYPESETTHEIRLANGUAGEWITHEASEANDPRODUCEHIGHQUALITYTYPOGRAPHY
$ESPITETHEEORTSOFMANYDEDICATEDDESIGNERSTHEREARESTILLBARRIERSTOTHIS
IDEAL
4HERE REMAIN SOME THEORETICAL CHALLENGES THAT HAVE YET TO BE MET 4HIS
ESSAY WILL HOPEFULLY STIMULATE MORE DISCUSSION RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ON
DIACRITICDESIGN)TALICSBOLDFACESANDSANS SERIFSDESERVEGREATERINVESTIGATION
4HE CONCEPT OF OPTICAL ALIGNMENT NEEDS FURTHER RENEMENT AND INTEGRATION
INTOFONTTOOLS4HEISSUESSURROUNDINGKERNINGANDDIACRITICSARERIPEFORSTUDY
ANDDEVELOPMENT
4HE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY THAT HOLD THE MOST PROMISE FOR DIACRITIC SUP
PORT STILL REMAIN IN THEIR INFANCY 4HE LANGUAGE SPECIC BEHAVIOURS OF /PEN
4YPEHAVENOTYETBEENBROADLYSUPPORTEDINAPPLICATIONS7HATSUPPORTEXISTS
FOR/PEN4YPEISSTILLSPOTTYLIMITEDTO-ICROSOFTAND!DOBEAPPLICATIONSAND
WORKS FOR ONLY CERTAIN LANGUAGESMOSTLY FROM %UROPE 4YPE FOUNDRIES OTHER
THAN !DOBE HAVE BEEN SLOW IN THEIR SUPPORT WITH INDEPENDENT DESIGNERS A
LONGWAYBEHIND
4HESTANDARDSFORDIACRITICDESIGNREMAINPOORASADIRECTRESULTOFTHELAST
FEWRAPIDTECHNOLOGYTRANSITIONSINTHEINDUSTRY4HEREISAHUGEBODYOFDIGITAL
FONTSINUSEANDONTHEMARKETTHATHAVEMEDIOCREDIACRITICDESIGNANDTHESE
FONTS ARE INUENCING DESIGNERS WHO UNKNOWINGLY PERPETUATE BAD PRACTICE
&OUNDRIES HAVE MADE FEW EORTS TO X THESE DESIGNS LIKELY DUE TO THE MANY
OTHER PRESSURES ON THEM INCLUDING ECONOMIC ONES 4HEY ALSO SUER FROM A

epq DEARTHOFINFORMATIONONWHATCONSTITUTESGOODDIACRITICDESIGN
4HEREARENOTABLEEXCEPTIONSSUCHAS,INOTYPESRECENTREVISIONSTO0ALATINO
GURE   WHERE DIACRITICS HAVE RETURNED TO BETTER FORMS 3TILL MANY FONTS
SUCHAS3ABONAND&UTURADESERVEATTENTION,ONG STANDINGPROBLEMSREMAININ

12
&IGURE)MPROVEMENTSINTHE
HUNDREDSOFFONTSSUCHASTHEUNICATIONOFCAPITALANDLOWERCASEFORMSAND
THEDISTURBINGDISPARITYBETWEENTHEDESIGNSOFTHEI DOTANDDIAERESIS
&OR MANY YEARS THE TYPE COMMUNITY WAS EECTIVELY LIMITED TO 7ESTERN
%UROPEAN DIACRITICS 4HIS HAS BEEN CHANGING NOW TO INCLUDE #ENTRAL AND %AST
DESIGNOFDIACRITICSFROM0ALATINO
!DOBE TO0ALATINO,INOTYPE ERN %UROPEAN ONES BUT THERE IS STILL LITTLE MOMENTUM TO SUPPORT THE WHOLE
 .OTETHEREMOVALOFROUNDED 5NICODE RANGE OF DIACRITICS 7ITHOUT A REASONABLE BUSINESS MODEL TO SUPPORT
TERMINALSABETTERSLOPEANDA
DIERENTIATIONBETWEENCAPITALAND THEIRDEVELOPMENTTHEWIDERRANGEWILLCONTINUETOSUER4HISISANESPECIALLY
LOWERCASEVERSIONS ACUTEPROBLEMFORSMALLINDEPENDENTTYPEFOUNDRIES
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

! NAL REMAINING PROBLEM AND A CONTRIBUTOR TO THOSE ALREADY MENTIONED

ISTHELACKOFUNIEDDEVELOPMENTROUTINESFORTHEPREPARATIONOFDIACRITIC RICH
FONTS%VENIF/PEN4YPEWEREUNIVERSALLYSUPPORTEDBYAPPLICATIONSANDALLTHE
NECESSARY GLYPHS DESIGNED FOUNDRIES WOULD STILL NEED TO WRITE SPECIAL DATA
LESANDCOMPLICATEDROUTINESTOMAKETHEMWORK4HISISSIMPLYBEYONDTHE
RESOURCESOFMOSTINDEPENDENTDESIGNERS

7KHQHHGIRUGHVLJQJXLGDQFH
3OWHATCANBEDONETOENABLEANDENCOURAGETHEDEVELOPMENTOFFONTSWITH
GOOD DIACRITICS 4HERE ARE TWO AREAS WHERE DESIGNERS NEED GUIDANCEDESIGN
THESHAPEANDALIGNMENTOFACCENTS ANDIMPLEMENTATIONTHETECHNICALAREASOF
ENCODINGANDFONTBEHAVIOUR 
$ESIGNERSNEEDMORESOURCESOFINFORMATIONONHOWDIACRITICSOUGHTTOAP
PEARINCLUDINGGUIDANCEONCULTURALPREFERENCES4HISSHOULDINCLUDEDETAILED
INFORMATIONONINDIVIDUALDIACRITICSALONGWITHHISTORICALINFORMATIONASWELL
AS RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO CURRENT BEST PRACTICE -ICROSOFTS #HARACTER $ESIGN
3TANDARDSISVALUABLEBUTITISLIMITEDTOASMALLRANGEOFACCENTSANDONLYDIS
CUSSESALIGNMENTISSUES!GFAS4YPE$ESIGN3TANDARDSCOULDBEANINDISPENSABLE
RESOURCE IF IT WERE COMPLETED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE TYPE DESIGN COMMU
NITYATLARGE
!BETTERRESOURCEMIGHTBEANONLINECOLLECTIONOFDESIGNINFORMATIONTHAT
IS EASILY REVISABLE AND EXPANDIBLE )T OUGHT TO BE DYNAMIC AND WELCOME CON
TRIBUTIONS FROM HISTORIANS DESIGNERS AND LINGUISTS 4HIS IS POSSIBLE BUT TOBE
SUCCESSFULITWOULDREQUIRECOOPERATIONFROMORGANISATIONSSUCHAS!GFAAND
-ICROSOFT AS WELL AS SOME SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ONGOING
MAINTENANCE
(OWMIGHTSUCHDESIGNINFORMATIONBEORGANISED4HISESSAYPRESENTSDIS
CUSSIONOFDIACRITICS GROUPEDBYPROBLEMBUTTHESAMEINFORMATIONCOULDBE
ORGANISED BY INDIVIDUAL DIACRITIC OR BY THE CLASSICATION FEATURES MENTIONED
EARLIER !DDITIONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS ON SANS SERIFS COULD BE ORGANISED TO
GETHER !LL OF THESE ARE IMPORTANT WAYS TO INTERACT WITH DESIGN INFORMATION
/NEPOSSIBLESOLUTIONCOULDBEASINGLEBODYOFINFORMATIONTHATISACCESSEDVIA
DIERENTSTRUCTURESDEPENDINGONNEED
/NEMORETYPEOFINFORMATIONWOULDBEVALUABLETODIACRITICDESIGNERSLIN
GUISTICDATASUCHASFREQUENCIESOFBASEDIACRITICCOMBINATIONSINUSEAROUND
THEWORLD&ORWRITINGSYSTEMSTHATUSEMULTIPLEDIACRITICSITWOULDBEHELPFUL
TOKNOWWHICHDIACRITICPAIRSAREMOSTCOMMONASWELL)FTHESEWEREAVAILABLE
TOTHEPUBLICINANORGANISEDRESOURCETHERESULTMIGHTBEGREATERSUPPORTFOR
NON %UROPEANDIACRITICUSE

7KHQHHGIRULPSOHPHQWDWLRQJXLGDQFH
7ITHTHEINCREASEDTECHNOLOGICALSOPHISTICATIONOFMODERNFONTSANDFONTTOOLS
THEDESIGNERCANEASILYBECOMEOVERWHELMED4ODEVELOPINTERNATIONALLYUSE
FUL FONTS REQUIRES A LARGE AMOUNT OF PLANNING THAT IS CURRENTLY LEFT UP TO THE
DESIGNER OR FOUNDRY ! LARGE CORPORATION LIKE !DOBE CAN AORD TO INVEST IN
DATAANDTOOLSTHATAREUSEDTOPRODUCEHUNDREDSOFFONTSBUTTHEINDIVIDUAL
DESIGNERORSMALLERFOUNDRYSIMPLYCANNOTAORDTHEINVESTMENT
5NICODE IS AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD THAT DENES CHARACTER ENCODING BUT
THE DESIGNER MUST STILL DECIDE WHICH GLYPHS SHOULD BE ASSIGNED TO INDIVIDUAL
CODEPOINTSWHATALTERNATEGLYPHSSHOULDBEINCLUDEDANDTHERULESFORSUBSTI
TUTION'ENERALLYACCEPTEDGLYPHSETSANDRELATEDLESTHOUGHNOTELEVATEDTO
THESTATUSOFINTERNATIONALSTANDARDSWOULDASSISTDEVELOPERSANDALLOWTHEM
TOSHAREFONTPROGRAMMINGCODE4OOLSCOULDTHENBEDEVELOPEDTOBUILDFONTS
BASEDUPONTHESEGLYPHSETS
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

&OREXAMPLEANOPENSPECICATIONCOULDBEDEVELOPEDTHATDENEDALLTHE
DIACRITIC GLYPHS AND BEHAVIOURS NEEDED TO SUPPORT %UROPEAN AND !FRICAN LAN
GUAGES 4HIS WOULD INCLUDE A LIST OF GLYPHS WITH PRESCRIBED 0OST3CRIPT NAMES
AND FONT PROGRAMMING CODE FOR TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS /PEN4YPE !PPLE !D
VANCED 4YPOGRAPHY !!4  AND 3), )NTERNATIONALS 'RAPHITE 4HE DESIGNER
WOULDTHENDESIGNGLYPHSWITHTHEAPPROPRIATENAMESANDUSEASPECIALFONT
TOOLTHATWOULDBUILDTHEFONTAUTOMATICALLY4HISWOULDALLOWTHEDESIGNERTO
BUILDDIACRITIC RICHFONTSWHILEKNOWINGLITTLEABOUTTHELINGUISTICSOFAPARTICU
LARLANGUAGEORTHEINTRICACIESOFTHETECHNOLOGIESATWORK
4HERE ARE ALREADY MODELS FOR THIS TYPE OF TOOL !PPLES !!4 &ONT 4OOL
TAKESAFONTASINPUTANDENHANCESITWITHNEWBEHAVIOURS)TDOESNOTDESIGN
NEWSHAPESBUTADDSTHEPROGRAMMINGCODETHATALLOWSTHEGLYPHSTOBEUSED
BYTHE-AC/3ININTELLIGENTWAYS
4HEONLYARGUMENTAGAINSTTHISAPPROACHISTHATFONTSMIGHTNEEDDIERENT
BEHAVIOURS!FONTWHOSECAPITALSAREMODESTMIGHTNOTNEEDTOINCLUDESMALL
CAPSFOREXAMPLE!NOTHERFONTMIGHTREQUIRESPECIALSMARTLIGATURESUNCOM
MON TO OTHERS )N THE RST CASE THE LACK OF SMALL CAPS WITH EXPECTED GLYPH
NAMESCOULDBENOTICEDBYTHETOOLWHICHWOULDTHENNOTGENERATETHENORMAL
/PEN4YPESMALLCAPSCODE)NTHELATTERTHEFONTDESIGNERWOULDHAVETHEFREE
DOMTOMODIFYTHESTANDARDDATATOSUPPORTTHATSPECIALNEED
!USEFULCOMPLEMENTTOTHESESTANDARDSANDTOOLSWOULDBEASAMPLEFONT
INCLUDING PROGRAMMING CODE THAT WOULD BE FREELY AVAILABLE AND IMPLEMENT

THEFEATURESNECESSARYFORBROADDIACRITICSUPPORT)TCOULDBEAMODELFORBOTH
DESIGNANDIMPLEMENTATIONANDBEINTEGRATEDWITHTHETOOLSDISCUSSEDEARLIER
*OHN (UDSON IN COORDINATION WITH 'ERALDINE 7ADE DESIGNED THE 3YLFAEN
FONTASAMODELFORFONTDEVELOPERSGURE )TWASINTEGRATEDWITHTHE72)4

7EB 2ESOURCE FOR )NTERNATIONAL 4YPOGRAPHY  PROJECT UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT

-ICROSOFT$ESPITEALLTHEEORTSTHATWEREINVESTEDINBOTHFONTANDRESOURCE
THEPROJECTWASCANCELLEDIN!LTHOUGHASUBSETOFTHEFONTISNOWINCLUD
&IGURE$IACRITICSFROM3YLFAEN EDIN7INDOWSTHEFULLFONTUNFORTUNATELYREMAINSUNAVAILABLE

7KHUROHRIWKHGHVLJQHUWRGD\
)NTHEMIDSTOFDESIGNUNCERTAINTYANDCOMPLEXTECHNOLOGYHOWCANTYPEDE
SIGNERSMOVEFORWARDINDEVELOPINGDIACRITICSFORTHEIRTYPEFACES
4HE RST STEP IS TO CONSIDER DIACRITICS EARLY IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING A
NEWTYPEFACE7HATLANGUAGESDOESTHISFONTNEEDTOSUPPORT7HATTYPESOFDIACRITICS
ARENEEDED(OWWILLTHATAECTTHEWIDTHOFLETTERSTHELENGTHOFASCENDERSTHEHEIGHT
OFCAPITALSETC
4HESECONDISTODESIGNASMANYOFTHEDIACRITICSLISTEDIN5NICODEASMIGHT
BENEEDEDFORTHEFONT$ESIGNINGTHEMASAGROUPCANHELPTOENSURECONSIS
TENCYANDUNITYOFDESIGN)TCANALSOSAVESIGNICANTAMOUNTSOFTIME4HISIS
AGOODSTEPEVENIFTHEIMPLEMENTATIONISSUESARENOTYETSOLVED2EVISIONAND
!PPLE#OMPUTER!PPLE RENEMENTCANHAPPENATALATERTIME
&ONTS4OOLSHTTPDEVELOPER
APPLECOMFONTS-AY 4HETHIRDISTOSTAYABREASTOFTECHNOLOGY4YPEDESIGNERSSHOULDNOTHAVE
3),)NTERNATIONAL'RAPHITE TOBECOMETYPETECHNOLOGISTSBUTNEEDTOBEAWAREOFTECHNICALDEVELOPMENTS
RENDERINGCOMPLEXNON 2OMAN
SCRIPTSHTTPGRAPHITESILORG
THAT COULD MAKE IMPLEMENTATION EASIER )T IS LIKELY THAT NEW TOOLS THAT SAVE
.OVEMBER TIMEANDEORTWILLEMERGENOTFROMCOMMERCIALCOMPANIESORFOUNDRIESBUT
!PPLE#OMPUTER!!4&ONT FROMTHETYPEDESIGNCOMMUNITYITSELFDUETOTHESCRIPTABLENATUREOFMODERN
4OOLHTTPDEVELOPERAPPLE
COMFONTS4OOLSINDEXHTML FONT TOOLS 3O IT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR DESIGNERS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE
!PRIL TECHNOLOGISTSWITHINTHETYPECOMMUNITY
*OHN(UDSON3YLFAEN
FOUNDATIONSFORMULTISCRIPT 4HE NAL STEP IS TO USE THE TOOLS TECHNIQUES AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO
TYPOGRAPHY4YPEHTTP DEVELOPDIACRITICSTHATAREWELL CRAFTEDANDAPPROPRIATEFORTHELANGUAGEBEING
WWWATYPIORGMEMBERS
PUBLICATIONSTYPESYLFAEN TYPESET4HEGOALSAREHARMONYANDBALANCE-ENHARTSUMSUPTHEPURPOSEOF
HTML DIACRITICS
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

;ACCENTS= OUGHT TO HELP THE READER BY MAKING THE TEXT MORE LEGIBLE
GENTLYANDUNOBTRUSIVELYBRINGINGTOHISATTENTIONTHECHANGEINPRONUN
CIATIONANDTHEPROPERPHONETICVALUESOFTHELETTERS

%VERYMAJORPROBLEMOFDIACRITICDESIGNHASINSPIREDDESIGNERSTOINNOVATE
ANDNDSOLUTIONS4HEYHAVEUSEDTHETECHNOLOGYAVAILABLETOTHEMTODEVELOP
WAYSTOHANDLETHESEACCENTS"YTAKINGADVANTAGEOFTHEFREEDOMOFSOPHISTI
/LDICH-ENHART4VORBA CATEDDIGITALTYPEDESIGNERSCANCONTINUETOINNOVATELIKETHEIRPREDECESSORS
PSMAAGRAPHICKPRAVAKNIHY
"RNO QUOTEDIN
$IACRITICS ONCE SEEN AS TYPE FOUNDERS STEP CHILDREN CAN THEN BECOME FULLY
$UENSINGP EDGEDMEMBERSOFTHE,ATINTYPOGRAPHICFAMILY
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

$SSHQGL[6XPPDU\RIGLDFULWLFIHDWXUHV

5NICODE $IAC 5NICODENAME 3HAPE (0OSITION 60OSITION

 O #/-").).''2!6%!##%.4 !SYM /FFSET !BOVE
 O #/-").).'!#54%!##%.4 !SYM /FFSET !BOVE
 O #/-").).'#)2#5-&,%8!##%.4 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'4),$% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'-!#2/. 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'/6%2,).% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'"2%6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'$/4!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'$)!%2%3)3 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'(//+!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
! O #/-").).'2).'!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
" O #/-").).'$/5",%!#54%!##%.4 !SYM /FFSET !BOVE
# O #/-").).'#!2/. 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
$ O #/-").).'6%24)#!,,).%!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
% O #/-").).'$/5",%6%24)#!,,).%!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
& O #/-").).'$/5",%'2!6%!##%.4 !SYM /FFSET !BOVE
 O #/-").).'#!.$2!").$5 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).').6%24%$"2%6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'452.%$#/--!!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'#/--!!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'2%6%23%$#/--!!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'#/--!!"/6%2)'(4 !SYM 6ARIABLE !BOVE
 O #/-").).''2!6%!##%.4"%,/7 !SYM /FFSET "ELOW
 O #/-").).'!#54%!##%.4"%,/7 !SYM /FFSET "ELOW
 O #/-").).',%&44!#+"%,/7 !SYM /FFSET "ELOW
 O #/-").).'2)'(44!#+"%,/7 !SYM /FFSET "ELOW
! O #/-").).',%&4!.',%!"/6% !SYM /FFSET !BOVE
" O #/-").).'(/2. !SYM 6ARIABLE 4OP2IGHT
# O #/-").).',%&4(!,&2).'"%,/7 !SYM #ENTRED "ELOW
$ O #/-").).'504!#+"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
% O #/-").).'$/7.4!#+"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
& O #/-").).'0,533)'."%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'-).533)'."%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'0!,!4!,):%$(//+"%,/7 !SYM 6ARIABLE "ELOW
 O #/-").).'2%42/&,%8(//+"%,/7 !SYM 6ARIABLE "ELOW
 O #/-").).'$/4"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'$)!%2%3)3"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'2).'"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'#/--!"%,/7 !SYM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'#%$),,! !SYM 6ARIABLE "ELOW
 O #/-").).'/'/.%+ !SYM 6ARIABLE "ELOW
 O #/-").).'6%24)#!,,).%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
! O #/-").).'"2)$'%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
" O #/-").).').6%24%$$/5",%!2#("%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
# O #/-").).'#!2/."%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
$ O #/-").).'#)2#5-&,%8!##%.4"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
% O #/-").).'"2%6%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
& O #/-").).').6%24%$"2%6%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

 O #/-").).'4),$%"%,/7 !SYM #ENTRED "ELOW

 O #/-").).'-!#2/."%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).',/7,).% 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'$/5",%,/7,).% 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'4),$%/6%2,!9 !SYM #ENTRED 4HROUGH
 O #/-").).'3(/24342/+%/6%2,!9 3YM #ENTRED 4HROUGH
 O #/-").).',/.'342/+%/6%2,!9 3YM #ENTRED 4HROUGH
 O #/-").).'3(/243/,)$53/6%2,!9 !SYM #ENTRED 4HROUGH
 O #/-").).',/.'3/,)$53/6%2,!9 !SYM #ENTRED 4HROUGH
 O #/-").).'2)'(4(!,&2).'"%,/7 !SYM #ENTRED "ELOW
! O #/-").).').6%24%$"2)$'%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
" O #/-").).'315!2%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
# O #/-").).'3%!'5,,"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
$ O #/-").).'8!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
% O #/-").).'6%24)#!,4),$% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
& O #/-").).'$/5",%/6%2,).% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'"2)$'%!"/6% 3YM #ENTRED !BOVE
 O #/-").).'%15!,33)'."%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).'$/5",%6%24)#!,,).%"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 O #/-").).',%&4!.',%"%,/7 !SYM /FFSET "ELOW
! O #/-").).'./44),$%!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
" O #/-").).'(/-/4(%4)#!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
# O #/-").).'!,-/34%15!,4/!"/6% !SYM #ENTRED !BOVE
$ O #/-").).',%&42)'(4!22/7"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
% O #/-").).'507!2$3!22/7"%,/7 3YM #ENTRED "ELOW
 OO #/-").).'$/5",%4),$% !SYM 2IGHT !BOVE
 OO #/-").).'$/5",%).6%24%$"2%6% 3YM 2IGHT !BOVE
 OO #/-"$/5",%2)'(47!2$3!22/7"%,/7 !SYM 2IGHT "ELOW
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

%LEOLRJUDSK\

:RUNV&LWHG
!DOBE3YSTEMS)NCORPORATED/PEN4YPESPECICATION'0/34HEGLYPHPOSITIONINGTABLE
HTTPPARTNERSADOBECOMASNDEVELOPEROPENTYPEGPOSHTML!UGUST
!GFA#ORPORATION4YPEDESIGNSTANDARDS7ILMINGTON-ASS!GFA#ORPORATION
!NDERSON$ONALD-#ALLIGRAPHYTHEARTOFWRITTENFORMS.EW9ORK$OVER
!PPLE#OMPUTER!!4&ONT4OOLHTTPDEVELOPERAPPLECOMFONTS4OOLSINDEXHTML
!PRIL
!PPLE&ONTS4OOLSHTTPDEVELOPERAPPLECOMFONTS-AY
4HEKERNTABLEIN4RUE4YPE2EFERENCE-ANUALHTTPDEVELOPERAPPLECOMFONTS
442EF-AN2-#HAPKERNHTML.OVEMBER
"ACKHOUSE*ANET4HEILLUMINATEDPAGE,ONDON4HE"RITISH,IBRARY
"EMBO0IETRO$EAETNA6ENICE!LDUS-ANUTIUS FROMTHECOLLECTIONOFTHE0LANTIN
-ORETUS-USEUM
"IGELOW#HARLESAND+RIS(OLMES4HEDESIGNOFA5NICODEFONT%LECTRONIC0UBLISHING
 
"RINGHURST2OBERT4HEELEMENTSOFTYPOGRAPHICSTYLENDEDN0OINT2OBERTS7!(ARTLEY
-ARKS
"URKE#HRISTOPHER0AUL2ENNER,ONDON(YPHEN0RESS
#%7EBER3CHADOW !NTIQUA;TYPESPECIMEN=3TUTTGART#%7EBER
#AMPBELL'EORGE,(ANDBOOKOFSCRIPTSANDALPHABETS,ONDON2OUTLEDGE
#ONNARE6INCENT#HARACTERDESIGNSTANDARDS
HTTPWWWMICROSOFTCOMTYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERSFDSSPEC*ULY
$IACRITICSDESIGNSTANDARDSFOR,ATINBASEDLANGUAGES HTTPWWWMICROSOFTCOM
TYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERSFDSSPECDIACRITICSHTM3EPTEMBER
#OULMAS&LORIAN4HE"LACKWELLENCYCLOPEDIAOFWRITINGSYSTEMS/XFORD"ASIL"LACKWELL
4HEWRITINGSYSTEMSOFTHEWORLD/XFORD"ASIL"LACKWELL
$3TEMPEL!'4YPORELLO/PTIMA !NTIQUA&RANKFURT3TEMPEL
$ALEY060HONETICSANDTHEPRINTER-ONOTYPE2ECORDER 
$OWDING'EOREY!NINTRODUCTIONTOTHEHISTORYOFPRINTINGTYPES,ONDON7ACE
$OWNIE2!,ANGUAGESOFTHEWORLDTHATCANBESETON-ONOTYPEMACHINES-ONOTYPE
2ECORDER
$REYFUS*OHN'IOVANNI-ARDERSTEIGSWORKASATYPEDESIGNERIN)NTO0RINT,ONDON4HE
"RITISH,IBRARY
$UENSING0AUL(AYDEN/LDICH-ENHARTIN&INEPRINTONTYPEEDBY#HARLES"IGELOWETAL
,ONDON,UND(UMPHRIES PP
$WIGGINS7ILLIAM!#ALEDONIA;TYPESPECIMEN=,ONDON,INOTYPE-ACHINERY,TD
&IRMAGE2ICHARD!4HEALPHABETABECEDARIUM"OSTON'ODINE
&ONT,AB,TD&ONT,ABFOR7INDOWS5SER-ANUAL
&ONT3HOP)NTERNATIONAL&ONT&ONT#ATALOGUE"ERLIN&ONT3HOP)NTERNATIONAL
&OURNIER0IERRE 3IMON&OURNIERONTYPEFOUNDINGTRANSBY(ARRY#ARTER.EW9ORK,ENOX
(ILL
'AULTNEY*6ICTOR'ENTIUMATYPEFACEFORTHENATIONS2EADING
(ARALAMBOUS9ANNISAND*OHN0LAICE4HEDESIGNANDUSEOFAMULTIPLE ALPHABETFONTWITH
IN%LECTRONICPUBLISHINGARTISTICIMAGINGANDDIGITALTYPOGRAPHYEDBY2OGER$(ERSCH
*ACQUES!NDRAND(EATHER"ROWN"ERLIN3PRINGER 6ERLAG PP
(LAVSA/LDICH!BOOKOFTYPEANDDESIGNTRANSBY3YLVIA&INK,ONDON0ETER.EVILL
(UDSON*OHN3YLFAEN&OUNDATIONSOFMULTISCRIPTTYPOGRAPHY4YPE
HTTPWWWATYPIORGMEMBERSPUBLICATIONSTYPESYLFAEN HTML
7INDOWS'LYPH0ROCESSING
HTTPWWWMICROSOFTCOMTYPOGRAPHYDEVELOPERSOPENTYPE.OVEMBER
)NTERNATIONAL)NSTITUTEOF!FRICAN,ANGUAGESAND#ULTURES0RACTICALORTHOGRAPHYOF!FRICAN
LANGUAGES,ONDON)NTERNATIONAL)NSTITUTEOF!FRICAN,ANGUAGESAND#ULTURES
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC!SSOCIATION(ANDBOOKOFTHE)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC!SSOCIATION
#AMBRIDGE#AMBRIDGE5NIVERSITY0RESS
*ANNET03PCIMENDESNOVEAUXCHARACTRESDESTINLIMPRESSIONDELA"IBLIOTHQUE%LZVIRIENNE
SUIVIDUPLANDELACOLLECTION0ARIS*ANNET
+APR!LBERT4HEARTOFLETTERINGTRANSBY)DA+IMBER-UNICH+'3AUR
+EPPIE,AWRENCE5NDERSTANDING2OMANINSCRIPTIONS,ONDON"ATSFORD
+INDERSLEY$AVID/PTICALLETTERSPACINGFORNEWPRINTINGSYSTEMSNDREVEDN,ONDON4HE
7YNKYNDE7ORDE3OCIETY
,AWRENCE'EORGE(-ED(UNT2OMANTHEBIRTHOFATYPE0ITTSBURGH4HE0ITTSBURGH
"IBLIOPHILES
,EGROS,UCIAN!LPHONSEAND*OHN#AMERON'RANT4YPOGRAPHICALPRINTING SURFACES,ONDON
,ONGMANS'REENAND#O
,INOTYPE!',INO4YPE#OLLECTION&RANKFURT,INOTYPE
3ABON !NTIQUA;TYPESPECIMEN=&RANKFURT,INOTYPE
-ONOTYPE4YPOGRAPHY-ONOTYPEQUALITYDIGITISEDTYPOGRAPHY2EDHILL-ONOTYPE
.INEUIL/LIVIER,ADISLAS-ANDELEXPLORATEURDELATYPOFRANAISETAPESGRAPHIQUES
 
0ORCHEZ*EAN &RANOIS3PCIMENDECHARACTRESVIGNETTESTYPOGRAPHIQUES0ARIS0ORCHEZ
4YPOFONDERIE
0ULLUM'EOREY+AND7ILLIAM!,ADUSAW0HONETIC3YMBOL'UIDE#HICAGO5NIVERSITYOF
#HICAGO0RESS
3),)NTERNATIONAL'RAPHITERENDERINGCOMPLEXNON 2OMANSCRIPTSHTTPGRAPHITESILORG
.OVEMBER
3MEIJERS&RED#OUNTERPUNCH,ONDON(YPHEN0RESS
3PENCER(ERBERT4HEVISIBLEWORD,ONDON,UND(UMPHRIES
3ZNT4IBOR,ANGUAGESANDTYPEFACES-ONOTYPE.EWSLETTER 
4HE5NICODE#ONSORTIUM4HE5NICODESTANDARDVERSION2EADING-ASS!DDISON 7ESLEY

4SCHICHOLD*AN/FWHATVALUEISTRADITIONINTYPEDESIGNIN4YPOGRAPHIC/PPORTUNITIESINTHE
#OMPUTER!GE0RAGUE4YPOGRAA PP 
4REASURYOFALPHABETSANDLETTERINGTRANSBY7OLFVON%CKARDT.EW9ORK2EINHOLD
4WARDOCH!DAM0OLISHDIACRITICSHOWTOKRESKAHTTPSTUDWEBEUV FRANKFURT ODE
TWARDOCHFENTYPOOGONEKKRESKAHTML!UGUST
0OLISHDIACRITICSHOWTOOGONEKHTTPSTUDWEBEUV FRANKFURT ODETWARDOCHFEN
TYPOOGONEKOGONEKHTML!UGUST
5NGER'ERARD4HETYPESOF&RANOIS !MBROSE$IDOTAND0IERRE ,OUIS6AARD!FURTHER
INVESTIGATIONINTOTHEORIGINSOFTHE$IDONES1UAERENDO  
5PDIKE$ANIEL"ERKELEY0RINTINGTYPESRDEDNVOLS,ONDON/XFORD5NIVERSITY0RESS

VAN"LOKLAND0ETRETAL2OBO&OGHTTPWWWPETRCOMROBOFOG!UGUST
VAN2OSSUM'UIDO0YTHONHTTPWWWPYTHONORG
6ERVLIET($,3IXTEENTH CENTURYPRINTINGTYPESOFTHELOWCOUNTRIESTRANSBY(ARRY#ARTER
!MSTERDAM-ENNO(ERTZBERGER
AND(ARRY#ARTER4YPESPECIMENFACSIMILIES)),ONDON4HE"ODLEY(EAD
7ILLIAMSON(UGH-ETHODSOFBOOKDESIGNRDEDN.EW(AVEN9ALE5NIVERSITY0RESS
9ARMOLA9URIETAL&ONT,ABFOR7INDOWSHTTPWWWFONTLABCOM
9OUNG2OBERT77RITTENNAVAHOABRIEFHISTORYIN!DVANCESINTHECREATIONANDREVISIONOF
WRITINGSYSTEMSEDBY*OSHUA!&ISHMAN4HE(AGUE-OUTON PP
:APF(ERMANN!BOUTALPHABETSSOMEMARGINALNOTESONTYPEDESIGN#AMBRIDGE-ASS-)4
0RESS
(ERMANN:APFANDHISDESIGNPHILOSOPHY#HICAGO3OCIETYOF4YPOGRAPHIC!RTS
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

2WKHU:RUNV
!BERCROMBIE$AVID!UGMENTINGTHE2OMANALPHABET-ONOTYPE2ECORDER 
"ERRY74URNERETAL4HEENCYCLOPEDIAOFTYPEFACESRDEDN,ONDON"LANDFORD
#ANEPARI,UCIANO4HEREVISIONOFTHE)0!*OURNALOFTHE)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC!SSOCIATION
 
#ARTER(ARRY!VIEWOFEARLYTYPOGRAPHY/XFORD4HE#LARENDON0RESS
#ARTER3EBASTIAN4WENTIETHCENTURYTYPEDESIGNERS,ONDON4REFOIL
#ROFTS-ARJORIE#REATINGA-UNDUKURORTHOGRAPHY6ISIBLE,ANGUAGE6 
$IRINGER$AVID4HEALPHABETAKEYTOTHEHISTORYOFMANKINDRDEDN,ONDON(UTCHINSON

$REYFUS*OHN!SPECTSOF&RENCHEIGHTEENTHCENTURYTYPOGRAPHY#AMBRIDGE4HE2OXBURGHE
#LUB
ED4YPESPECIMENFACSIMILIES,ONDON"OWES"OWES
$RUCKER*OHANNA4HEALPHABETICLABYRINTH,ONDON4HAMESAND(UDSON
&RUTIGER!DRIAN3IGNSANDSYMBOLSTHEIRDESIGNANDMEANINGTRANSBY!NDREW"LUHM
,ONDON3TUDIO%DITIONS
&UNK7AGNALLS#OMPANY/NTHESUBJECTOFDIACRITICALMARKINGSINDICTIONARIES.EW9ORK&UNK
7AGNALLS
'ILYAREVSKY23AND63'RIVININ,ANGUAGESIDENTICATIONGUIDE-OSCOW.AUKA0UBLISHING
(OUSE#ENTRAL$EPARTMENTOF/RIENTAL,ITERATURE
'RAY.ICOLETE!HISTORYOFLETTERING/XFORD0HAIDON
(EWLETT 0ACKARD#OMPANY4HE(EWLETT 0ACKARDBOOKOFCHARACTERSV"OISE(EWLETT
0ACKARD
*ENSEN(ANS3IGNSYMBOLANDSCRIPTRDREVEDNTRANSBY'EORGE5NWIN,ONDON!LLENAND
5NWIN
,)MPRIMERIE.ATIONALE,ESCHARACTRESDEL)MPRIMERIE.ATIONALE0ARIS)MPRIMERIE.ATIONALE
DITIONS
-ARCK,OUIS3OMETHOUGHTSONTHEUSEANDDISUSEOFDIACRITICS*OURNALOF4YPOGRAPHIC
2ESEARCH)6 
-C'UINNE$ERMOT3IMPLYADOT6ISIBLE,ANGUAGE 
-ICROSOFT4YPOGRAPHY$IRECTORYOFLANGUAGESUSINGTHE,ATINALPHABETRSTDRAFT2EDMOND7!
-ICROSOFT#ORPORATION
-ORAN*AMES+INDERSLEYSMETHODOFAUTOMATICLETTERSPACING"RITISH0RINTER 

-ORISON3TANLEY&OURCENTURIESOFNEPRINTINGNDEDN,ONDON%RNEST"ENN
-OSLEY*AMES&RENCHACADEMICIANSANDMODERNTYPOGRAPHYDESIGNINGNEWTYPESINTHE
S4YPOGRAPHYPAPERS 
0FEIER 2UPP2DIGER&ONTSWITHTRANSCRIPTIONSYMBOLSANDTHEIRSTANDARDIZATIONA
SURVEYOFPROSPECTS*OURNALOFTHE)NTERNATIONAL0HONETIC!SSOCIATION 
3MALLEY7ILLIAM!(OWSHALL)WRITETHISLANGUAGEIN/RTHOGRAPHYSTUDIESEDBY7ILLIAM
!3MALLEY,ONDON5NITED"IBLE3OCIETIES PP
4RACY7ALTER,ETTERSOFCREDIT"OSTON'ODINE
6EYRIN &ORRER*EANNE,ALETTREETLETEXTE0ARISLCOLE.ORMALE3UPRIEUREDE*EUNES&ILLES

7INTER7ERNER4RADITIONANDINNOVATIONINALPHABETMAKINGIN7RITINGINFOCUSEDBY
&LORIAN#OULMASETAL"ERLIN7ALTERDE'RUYTER PP
0ROBLEMSOFDIACRITICDESIGNFOR,ATINSCRIPTTYPEFACES*6ICTOR'AULTNEY 

7\SHIDFHV
5NLESSOTHERWISENOTEDEXAMPLESARESHOWNUSINGTHE'ENTIUMFONTFAMILYPREPAREDBYTHE
AUTHORASPARTOF-!REQUIREMENTS/THERTYPEFACESSHOWNARELISTEDHEREWITHINFORMATION
ONTHEDESIGNERS FORMATMANUFACTURERANDPUBLICATIONYEAROFTHEVERSIONUSEDFOR
EXAMPLESIFKNOWN4YPEFACESDESIGNEDPRIORTOARENOTLISTEDASINFORMATIONONTHEM
ISINCLUDEDINFOOTNOTEREFERENCES

!DOBE#ASLON0RO#AROL4WOMBLY!DOBE

!DOBE'ARAMOND0RO2OBERT3LIMBACH!DOBE
!NTIQUE/LIVE2OGER%XCOON&ONDERIE/LIVE
!PPLE#HANCERY+RIS(OLMES#HARLES"IGELOW!PPLE
!RIAL2OBIN.ICHOLAS0ATRICIA3AUNDERSANDTHE-ONOTYPE4YPE$RAWING/CE
!GFA-ONOTYPE
#AISCH3CRIPT0RO2OBERT3LIMBACHBASEDUPONTHEHANDWRITINGOF-AX#AISCH
!DOBE
#ALEDONIA7ILLIAM!$WIGGINSMETAL,INOTYPE DIGITAL-ONOTYPE,INOTYPE
#LOTTES&RANCE ,ADISLAS-ANDEL
$ANTE'IOVANNI-ARDERSTEIG/CINA"ODONI
&IGURAL/LDICH-ENHART-ONOTYPE 
&UTURA0AUL2ENNER"AUER
&UTURA "UCHSCHRIFT0AUL2ENNER"AUER
'ARAMOND !NTIQUA(ERBERT4HANNHAEUSER4YPOART
'EORGIA-ATTHEW#ARTER-ICROSOFT
'ILL3ANS%RIC'ILL-ONOTYPE
(ELVETICA.EUE%DOUARD(OMANN-AX-IEDINGERETAL,INOTYPE
(OEER4EXT*ONATHAN(OEER!PPLE
(UNT2OMAN(ERMANN:APF(UNT"OTANICAL'ARDEN#ARNEGIE)NSTITUTEOF4ECHNOLOGY
)4##HARTER-ATTHEW#ARTER)NTERNATIONAL4YPEFACE#ORPORATION
)4#'ALLIARD-ATTHEW#ARTER)NTERNATIONAL4YPEFACE#ORPORATION
,UCIDA(ANDWRITING+RIS(OLMES#HARLES"IGELOW")GELOW(OLMES
-ELIOR(ERMANN:APF,INOTYPE
-INION2OBERT3LIMBACH!DOBE 
/PTIMA(ERMANN:APFMETAL3TEMPEL DIGITAL,INOTYPE
0ALATINO(ERMANN:APFMETAL3TEMPEL DIGITAL!DOBE
0ALATINO,INOTYPE(ERMANN:APF,INOTYPE
0ARISINE*EAN &RANOIS0ORCHEZ4YPOFONDERIE0ORCHEZ
0HOTINA*OS-ENDOZAY!LMEIDA-ONOTYPE 
0OETICA2OBERT3LIMBACH!DOBE
0OPPL ,AUDATIO&RIEDRICH0OPPL
2OTIS&AMILY/TL!ICHER!GFA
3ANVITO2OBERT3LIMBACH!DOBE
3ABON*AN4SCHICHOLDMETAL,INOTYPE DIGITAL!DOBE-ONOTYPE
3CHADOW'EORG4RUMP*7AGNER3TEMPEL 
3UPER 'ROTESK!RNO$RESCHER4YPOART
3YLFAEN*OHN(UDSON'ERALDINE7ADE-ICROSOFT
4IMES.EW2OMAN3TANLEY-ORISONETAL-ONOTYPE
4REBUCHET-36INCENT#ONNARE-ICROSOFT
4RUMP-EDIAEVAL'EORG4RUMPMETAL*7AGNER3TEMPEL DIGITAL-ONOTYPE
5NIVERS!DRIAN&RUTIGER$EBERNY0EIGNOT
6TOPIA*AMES$OANEXTENSIONOF2OBERT3LIMBACHS5TOPIA