Garamond vs. Didot
Garamond is apart of a group labeled as the “Old Style” typefaces. Originally, it was thought to have been created by Claude Garamond but, now it was revealed that Jean Jannon was the true creator. One typical characteristic of this group is having little contrast between the thicker parts and the thinner parts of the letters. The transition between these parts are very hard to pin point unlike in the typeface Didot. It falls into a different group called “Modern” typefaces. This one was created and established by the Didot family. Firmin Didot created the type and Pierre Didot used it in the printing of their family company. This started a trend at the end of the eighteenth century favoring a stronger contrast between the thicks and thins to create a more modern style. The serifs of each typeface differ greatly as well. Garamond is styled with heavily bracketed serifs while Didot, is the complete opposite with unbracketed serifs. These typefaces are extremely different but, they are both widely used. Personally, my favorite is Garamond. I love the elegancy that it has and even though I admire the simplicity of Didot, I like the roundness of the letterforms in Garamond.
