Palatino® Nova Font Field Guide

Best Practices

Because of its expanded proportions, Palatino Nova can, and in many cases should, have somewhat longer line lengths. It’s also a typeface which does not tire the eye, when longer line lengths are specified.

Family

Palatino Nova family consists of four weights of roman designs, each with an italic counterpart, and two titling fonts – Palatino Nova Pro Titling and Palatino Nova Pro Imperial.

Font Facts

• The design was named after Giambattista Palatino, a master calligrapher from the time of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Palatino was Zapf’s favorite typeface.
• Contrary to popular belief, Palatino isn’t Hermann Zapf’s first typeface. It is, however, his first commercially successful typeface.

Roots

The original Palatino was cut in metal by August Rosenberger at D. Stempel AG typefoundry in Frankfurt, and released in 1950. Palatino was later adapted for mechanical composition on the Linotype machine, and became one of the most-used typefaces of the 20th Century.

Hermann Zapf and Akira Kobayashi redeveloped Palatino for the 21st Century, creating Palatino Nova. Released by Linotype in 2005, the Palatino Nova family is part of Linotype’s Platinum Collection.

Legibility

Palatino Nova’s somewhat wide proportions and open counters ensure that it remains readable at all but the smallest type sizes. The distinctive character shapes, which give the face its personality, also provide for high levels of typographic legibility.

Download a pdf version of the Palatino Nova Font Field Guide and view the Palatino Nova font family.