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| Category | Serif |
|---|---|
| Classification | Old-style |
| Designer(s) | Martin Majoor |
| Foundry | FontFont |
| Date released | 1991 |
FF Scala is anold-styleserif typeface designed by Dutch typeface designerMartin Majoor in 1991 for theMuziekcentrum Vredenburg inUtrecht, theNetherlands. The FF Scala font family was named for theTeatro alla Scala (1776–78) inMilan, Italy. Like many contemporary Dutch serif faces, FF Scala is not an academic revival of a single historic typeface but shows influences of several historic models. Similarities can be seen withWilliam Addison Dwiggins' 1935 design for the typefaceElectra in its clarity of form, and rhythmic, highly calligraphic italics.Eric Gill's 1931 typefaceJoanna (released byMonotype Corporation in 1937), with its old style armature but nearly square serifs, is also similar in its nearly mono-weighted stroke width.
FF Scala is a complete typeface family withsmall caps,ligatures andtext figures or lower-case numbers, as well as condensed regular and bold fonts. In 1996, a decorative variety of capitals titled FF Scala Jewel[1] was released. These show influence of Dutch Baroque decorative capitals. A companion sans-serif version,FF Scala Sans was released in 1993, making Scala afont superfamily of matching designs. This makes Scala a very popular font in book design andfine printing.[2]
FF Scala used to be the house typeface for the prominent Dutch newspaperAlgemeen Dagblad and forKLM Royal Dutch Airlines. It is also used on the logo of the United States'Department of Homeland Security, which uses the similarJoanna as a corporate font.[3]
In 2023, the font, alongside its companionFF Scala Sans, were reissued as "Scala" and "Scala Sans", respectively on Majoor's own independent type foundry, which was founded in 2021.
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