University of California Old Style

University of California Old Style is a serif typeface designed by Frederic Goudy and created for the University of California Press from 1936–38. It is one of Goudy's most popular serif typefaces. It is also known as Berkeley Old Style and Californian. The University of California is an 'old-style' serif typeface, one inspired by the styles of printing popular before the late eighteenth century. Goudy described it as particularly inspired by the 'Fell Types', a collection of 1670s typefaces used by Oxford University Press, while other details such as the tilted cross-stroke of the 'e' recall what is now called the 'Venetian' style of typeface design, used by printers such as Nicolas Jenson up to the 1490s. Intended for fine book printing, the design has a delicate grace and strokes that alternate between thick and thin. Serifs are fine slabs with minimal bracketing.

From the Wikipedia article “University of California Old Style”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Serif typefaces like this are the traditional choice for book body text: the serifs guide the eye along the line in long passages. Set novels at 10.5–12 pt with 125–140% leading.

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