The original Euro symbol was a mathematical construction, all measurements and curves. However, this posed a typographic problem: "Had the Eurocrats consulted a typeface expert, they would not have failed to learn the difference between a character's graph and its ductus. In a letter - and that's what the Euro sign is intended to be - its skeletal shape (graph) and actual form (ductus) are two different things".
There are some good quotes in Jürgen Siebert's article The Euro: From Logo to Letter. Here's another one: "Width, breadth of stroke and style are not elements of the A-ness of an A".
Micro-management of the symbol made it difficult to adopt -- how to make this sign have the same feel as another type, the correct shape, size, weight, contrast, serif? The highlight of the article is about 75% of the way down, a comparison of the newly designed Euro letter in context against uppercase numerals in nine different faces. The art of typography is to become invisible, and it's impressive seeing that evolution.
The original Euro symbol was a mathematical construction, all measurements and curves. However, this posed a typographic problem: "Had the Eurocrats consulted a typeface expert, they would not have failed to learn the difference between a character's graph and its ductus. In a letter - and that's what the Euro sign is intended to be - its skeletal shape (graph) and actual form (ductus) are two different things".
There are some good quotes in Jürgen Siebert's article The Euro: From Logo to Letter. Here's another one: "Width, breadth of stroke and style are not elements of the A-ness of an A".
Micro-management of the symbol made it difficult to adopt -- how to make this sign have the same feel as another type, the correct shape, size, weight, contrast, serif? The highlight of the article is about 75% of the way down, a comparison of the newly designed Euro letter in context against uppercase numerals in nine different faces. The art of typography is to become invisible, and it's impressive seeing that evolution.