Design Concept

Parmigiano Typographic System (named after Parma, the city where Bodoni established his printing house) has the stated ambition to be the most extensive family of fonts ever to have been inspired by Giambattista Bodoni.

Parmigiano Piccolo may at first seem utterly foreign to Bodoni’s design principles, and its thick-set, ungraceful design would seem to belong to another family. Although it shares the same structure as the other cuts of the system, Parmigiano Piccolo is closer to the Scotch Roman models of the early 1800s, with their reduced contrast, shorter ascenders and descenders, and rather narrow proportions. And just as the Scotch Romans were the outcome of commercial considerations, Parmigiano Piccolo focuses on practicality and legibility. Although its features set it apart from the elegant refinement of the rest of the Parmigiano family, it is the one to trust in critical conditions. Thanks to its reduced contrast and strong serifs, it is the perfect choice when the texture of the paper or the quality of printing threaten your text, or when you are looking for a deliberate touch of roughness.
Read more about development of Parmigiano▸

Borders & ornaments

Parmigiano contains also borders, arrows, and ornaments digitised from Bodoni’s Manuale Tipografico.

Cantillation marks

Cantillation marks are only used in the printing of biblical texts, and it is rare to find a typeface that supports the vowel and consonant modifications that correctly position the cantillation signs, enabling and guiding the chanting of liturgical texts. Parmigiano renders correctly cantillation marks required for biblical typesetting.

Optical Sizes

The Parmigiano family also features different cuts for use in specific point size ranges, called optical sizes. While Parmigiano Headline is perfect for use at big type sizes, text in smaller sizes requires different optical sizes. Parmigiano Text is softer, and is recommended for use in sizes of 10 points or larger; sizes smaller than 10 points are adeptly handled by Parmigiano Caption. Parmigiano Piccolo is wider and rougher, with reduced contrast, shorter ascenders and descenders, and strong serifs, ideal for practical typography and legibility in critical conditions.

Authors

The Parmigiano Type Family family was published in 2014, designed by Riccardo Olocco and Jonathan Pierini. The Hebrew version was designed by Yanek Iontef published in 2017.