Type Gallery - Linotype Charon

Font Designer: Renate Weise

Linotype Charon™ is a display family from Renate Weise. The typeface has two sides to it: both objective and classic, it is neither neutral nor an everyday typeface. Linotype Charon is modern and animated. Its curving letters seek to touch the reader. With its light swing and script-like character, Linotype Charon is optimal for both short texts or headlines.

The design of this typeface clearly comes from writing – either from a pen or perhaps a brush. You can see little points where the stroke ends. Its figures are narrower than the capitals or lowercase. It has a great @ sign – perfect for business cards. The upper and lowercase letters in the Linotype Charon family are wide. They sit well on the page and command authority.

Customers all over Europe and the Americas can be happy about selecting this typeface. Linotype Charon’s OpenType character set supports all Western, Central, and Eastern European languages that use the Roman alphabet, include those from the Baltic States and Turkey. For customers in Eastern Europe, CE versions of the font are available in PostScript format as well.

The design is named after the ferryman of Greek mythology who brought the souls of the dead across the River Acheron into the Underworld, connecting Earth and the hereafter. Renate Weise studied fine arts in Mainz, the city where Western printing began with Johannes Gutenberg. Perhaps he influenced her hand a little bit?