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Ysobel

Ysobel™

by Monotype
Individual Styles from $29.99
Complete family of 20 fonts: $566.99
Ysobel Font Family was designed by Robin Nicholas, Alice Savoie and published by Monotype. Ysobel contains 20 styles and family package options.

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About Ysobel Font Family


The Ysobel™ typeface family is not only elegant; it is also exceptionally legible and space economical. A collaborative design effort between Robin Nicholas, as lead designer and project director, Delve Withrington and Alice Savoie of Monotype Imaging, the project had the primary design goal of creating a typeface family for setting text in newspapers and periodicals. The result, however, is also ideal for any application that requires quick and easy assimilation of text.
According to Nicholas, “The idea for the design started when I was asked to develop a custom version of Century Schoolbook. I wanted to give the design a more contemporary feel, although the client ultimately decided to keep their typeface closer to the original. The project nevertheless gave me ideas for a new design. Since designing Nimrod, some 30 years ago, I had wanted to make a more modern typeface family for newspapers and magazines – this seemed the ideal candidate.”
Ysobel (pronounced “Isabel”) has the soft, inviting letter shapes of Century Schoolbook but contrasts these with more incised serifs and terminals. Its capitals are also narrower than those of Century Schoolbook, and care was taken to ensure that they harmonize perfectly with the lowercase. Ysobel’s x-height is full-bodied without disrupting lowercase proportions. In addition, curved terminals, such as those in the “C,” “c” and “e,” were drawn more open as an aid to legibility and readability in text copy. Weight stress is near vertical, and hairlines are robust to ensure character fidelity in small point sizes.
Development began with the text version of the family, which has four weights, each with an italic companion. All weights feature lining and old style numerals, fractions, superiors and extended Latin language coverage. Small caps are also available in the Roman Regular design. Ysobel Display is a completely redrawn version of the typeface; it is narrower, and has a slightly smaller x-height, thinner hairlines and subtle design changes to improve its appearance when set at large sizes.
The Display Italic received particular attention to make it ideal for setting headlines, subheads and short blocks of copy. Changes include a slightly greater italic angle and more cursive treatment of some letter shapes. Alternative styles of capital “J” and “Q,” to provide variation, are available in all weights.

Designers: Robin Nicholas, Alice Savoie

Publisher: Monotype

Foundry: Monotype

Design Owner: Monotype

MyFonts debut: null

Ysobel™ is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

About Monotype

The Monotype Library is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of typefaces, featuring original designs of historical importance and a fresh range of contemporary and fashionable fonts. The Monotype Library includes thousands of timeless classics, hand-crafted revivals and original designs from many of the most innovative type designers and foundries in history. This distinctive, award-winning library of premium fonts provides brands and designers with a broad and reliable selection of typefaces for expressive typography in print and on screen. The Premium Foundry page can be viewed Here.

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