Contemporary Renaissance Roman With Matching Italic
Among the most legible letterforms in typography, old-style typefaces also stand as some of the earliest designs. It can be quite astonishing.
Around 1470, shortly after Gutenberg’s invention, a number of pioneering printers and typographers gathered in Venice, rejected the idea of the dense, dark blackletter script Textura, and instead enthusiastically embraced the timeless grandeur of the Roman imperial inscriptions, the ancient Capitalis Monumentalis. Alongside it, they placed an alphabet of uncluttered, round lowercase letters based on the handwriting used by early humanist scholars, thus combining them, adapting the latter to the former with a few clever adjustments. In doing so, they laid the foundation for what we now take for granted and, in the best sense, read past. Because: The so-called old-style typefaces are so legible, so effective, that in all their undeniable beauty and elegance, they are able to step back behind the text.
A Humanist Typeface
APN Chora is inspired by this typographic heritage without directly referencing any single historical model. It is a contemporary humanist roman with an accompanying italic, capturing Venetian, Aldine, and Dutch characteristics, further rationalized and interpreted from a 21st-century perspective.
A Leitmotiv in the development of APN Chora was the idea of the cyclical, the recurring—the Chorus. This principle is particularly evident to the Viennese type designer, especially through the surrounding architecture of this city. The Renaissance reflected on ancient forms and ideals, and these classical ideals were later revisited and reinterpreted by movements such as Classicism, Historicism (with its Neo-Renaissance style), and, later still, Neoclassicism, often with blurred transitions between them.
Interestingly, the Renaissance itself wasn’t the first such revival; its Humanist Minuscule, for instance, found its direct inspiration in the Carolingian Minuscule: humanists mistakenly believed this script to be genuinely ancient, leading them to call their adaptation the Littera Antiqua. In reality, this script was developed only some centuries earlier, during the Carolingian Renaissance—one of several smaller-scale “medieval renaissances” that also looked back to antiquity.
APN Chora is conceived as an imagined Renaissance typeface, one that could only have been envisioned through the lens of these recurring cycles of influence, so prevalent in both type design and the broader history of art.
A Book Typeface—and more
The working title of APN Chora was Wiener Buchschrift, which translates to Viennese Book Typeface. In keeping with this original concept, and reflecting a specific ideal for book typography, APN Chora is available in only two styles: the roman and the italic.
But let’s take a step back. There are magnificently designed books that are loud, bold, diverse, or rely on disruption. Just as this approach has its place, so does the quiet radiance of reduced design: the thoughtful use of just one typeface, plus an italic, not too many text sizes, but instead clear hierarchies and the employment of sufficient whitespace to let the text breathe. APN Chora serves this second approach. As with many of its historical inspirations, there are no bold or condensed weights, nor other variations. Instead, typographic contrast is achieved through the skillful use of the italic, small caps, and, for titling, the inscriptional capitals of APN Chora, with their distinctive Trajanic rhythm of narrow and wide letters—and a beautifully round ‘O’.
Within this framework, APN Chora is generously equipped, containing everything necessary for sophisticated typography: in addition to small capitals, it comes with a fine selection of (rare) ligatures, multiple numeral and stylistic sets, alternative and historical glyphs, fractions, mathematical symbols, arrows, and extensive OpenType features. And it supports a wide range of languages, including all European languages using the Latin script.
Among its stylistic sets and alternative forms you will find variants that allow for different flavors and applications. For example, there are capitals with increased width for instances when the traditional Roman proportions don’t fit the context. Or there is an ‘e’ with an angled crossbar to emphasize the humanist element. And, on the other hand, there is an ‘M’ in the style of Francesco Griffo, with a single upper serif, to accentuate the Aldine influence.
APN Chora strives to be the most legible of elegant typefaces, and the most elegant of legible typefaces. Consequently, both the roman and the italic, are finely tuned to each other and optimized for use in typical sizes for long-form texts, especially in books, prioritizing legibility with an even, sufficiently dark color and clear, open letterforms, free from any flickering—both on paper and on screen.
APN Chora is an exercise in minimalism, a model of restraint. It is elegant but neither fancy nor flamboyant; it is austere, sober, stately and as solid as it is crisp. There is minimal superfluous decoration—no flourishes or swash capitals—aside from an alternate ‘Q’ with a gracefully long tail. It is the ideal choice for classical but unadorned typography, it effortlessly provides precision with personality and clarity with character.
APN Chora is primarily a book typeface, but it is thoroughly designed, and its inherent qualities do shine in larger sizes. So try APN Chora as a display face for headlines or posters, you will be in for a treat.
A Refined Typeface
Stylistically, APN Chora is a rationalized old-style typeface, rather than following a transitional or modern model. It displays an almost geometric regularity, yet APN Chora is drawn with grace and possesses enough peculiarities and idiosyncrasies to keep it alive and interesting.
Its capitals maintain the distinctive classical proportions and rhythm of narrow and wide letters, with a sculpted round ‘O’ and bracketed serifs that give a column-like appearance, while the minuscules possess calligraphy-influenced head serifs. The lowercase curves exhibit an angular transition into the stem and form asymmetrical arches. This characteristic ductus, or stroke construction, is interrupted rather than returning, even in the cursive forms—not only for personal preference but also as a nod to 20th-century trends and modernist ideas.
APN Chora features a pronounced and consistent humanist axis (diagonal stress), reminiscent of the use of a broad nib pen, with the angle remaining consistent between the roman and the italic, serving the ambivalent task of italics: to differentiate parts of information while not appearing alien to the main text. Similarly, the marked slant of the italic is consistent across all glyphs, but it introduces dynamism through the use of two different angles within the central forms. Its design is as traditional as it is innovative, with unusual letterforms such as the twisted ‘y’ or the open-tailed ‘g’.
APN Chora has a medium contrast between thin and thick strokes, with subtly modulated forms. It employs a substantial x-height, further contributing to its legibility, while maintaining sufficiently long ascenders and descenders, necessary to make a refined impression on the page or the screen.
APN Chora represents the unparalleled combination of elegance, legibility, and finally, readability found in old-style typefaces.
What’s In A Name?
Chora primarily refers to the concept of repetition and variation embodied in the chorus—whether in art movements or, more directly, in the design of letterforms for typefaces. A typeface succeeds only when it achieves a harmonious balance between overall visual coherence and the distinct characteristics of its individual characters.
However, there is another layer of meaning. Chora carries deeper significance that resonates with a typeface designed for the contemplative act of reading: In Platonic philosophy, chora represents neither being nor non-being, but rather a receptacle or space where ideas materialize into form—a concept remarkably aligned with typography itself. Like the Platonic chora, a typeface can be seen as a vessel through which abstract thought becomes tangible, where the immaterial is rendered visible.
This dimension connects chora to the Renaissance, a period of intellectual and artistic rebirth where scholars and artists looked back to Ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. The typefaces of the Renaissance were rooted in the rationality and clarity of classical ideals. Similarly, chora evokes this intellectual tradition, suggesting a space for ideas to flourish—a fitting metaphor for a typeface designed to facilitate clear and elegant communication in books and long-form texts.
And in the end, it’s simply a pleasant, short, and sweet name for a typeface.
Key Attributes and Signature Traits
- Designed for optimal legibility in extended reading, in books or on screen.
- Available in only two styles: roman and italic, finely tuned to each other.
- Medium contrast between thin and thick strokes.
- Generous x-height for rendering text more evenly, especially in languages with many uppercase letters such as German.
- Open apertures to further improve the reading experience.
- Rationalized Renaissance construction: humanist minuscule, Roman inscriptional majuscules, dynamic italic forms.
- Pronounced and consistent humanist axis referencing the broad-edge calligraphic pen, visible in the diagonal stress of the curves.
- Lowercase curves feature an angular transition into the stem, following an interrupted stroke construction, even in the cursive forms.
- Bi-angular inclination of the italic for inherent dynamism
Glyphs, Alternates, OpenType Features
- 900+ glyphs in the roman, 880+ in the italic.
- Multiple alternative glyphs and special or historical glyphs like uppercase sharp S () or long s (s).
- Mathematical symbols.
- Arrows are available as discretionary ligatures: type ‘->’, etc.
- Supports all European languages based on the Latin script—and many more: Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian, Aragonese, Asu, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bemba, Bena, Bosnian, Catalan, Cebuano, Chiga, Colognian, Cornish, Corsican, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Filipino, Finnish, French, Friulian, Gaelic (Scotland), Galician, German, Greenlandic, Gusii, Hungarian, Ido, Icelandic, Indonesian, Interlingua, Interlingue, Irish, Italian, Javanese, Jju, Kabuverdianu, Kalenjin, Kinyarwanda, Kurdish, Latin, Latvian, Ligurian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Lombard, Low German, Lower Sorbian, Lule Sami, Luhya, Luo, Luxembourgish, Machame, Makhuwa, Makhuwa-Meetto, Makonde, Malagasy, Malay, Maltese, Manx, Māori, Morisyen, Northern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Nyanja, Nyankole, Occitan, Oromo, Polish, Portuguese, Rejang, Romani, Romansh, Rombo, Rukiga, Romanian, Rundi, Rwa, Samburu, Sango, Sangu, Sardinian, Sena, Shambala, Shona, Sidamo, Slovak, Slovenian, Soga, Somali, Spanish, Southern Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Sundanese, Swahili, Swazi, Swedish, Swiss German, Taita, Taroko, Teso, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkish, Turkmen, Upper Sorbian, Vunjo, Walloon, Warlpiri, Welsh, West Frisian, Wolastoqey, Xhosa, Zhuang, Zulu.
- Small caps, for emphasis or acronyms.
- 30+ ligatures.
- Case-sensitive forms.
- Ordinals.
Stylistic Sets (with ligatures) and Character Variants
- ss01: Ä, Ö, Ü with lowered umlaut marks for headings.
- ss02: Stemmed A/Ä and U/Ü.
- ss03: Wide E, F, and L.
- ss04: Square H and N.
- ss05: Curved leg K and R, long-tailed Q.
- ss06: Single-story a and @.
- ss07: Tilted e and hyphen (-).
- ss08: Round y.
- cv01: M in the style of Francesco Griffo (only one upper serif).
- cv02: Double-storey g (italic only).
- cv03: Roman centered period (·).
- cv04: Calligraphic ampersand (italic only).
- cv05: Double-storey ornament.
Figures
- Lining figures.
- Old style figures.
- Tabular figures: Both lining and old style figures are available in a tabular format, specifically designed for tables and data presentation, consistent across both styles.
- Superior and inferior figures: A separate set of smaller figures used for exponents and subscripts, respectively.
- Fractions: OpenType feature plus an exhaustive selection of predefined fractions for most use cases.
- Slashed zeros.
Web fonts (woff2) are included
APN Chora is available for customization, modification, and language extensions. Please write to alphabets@alphabetspatricknell.com for more information.
