Mistral (typeface)
Category | Script |
---|---|
Classification | Casual script |
Designer(s) | Roger Excoffon |
Foundry |
Fonderie Olive Amsterdam Type Foundry |
Variations | Staccato 222 |
Mistral is a casual script typeface designed by Roger Excoffon for the Fonderie Olive type foundry, and released in 1953.[1] The Amsterdam Type foundry released a version in 1955.
Excoffon based the form of the typeface on his own handwriting. The stroke has an informal graphic quality similar to brush and ink. The lowercase letters are carefully designed to connect on a line to an extent unusual in script fonts. Descenders are long, and increase the sense of motion. The face has several specially-designed ligatures (which have not been duplicated in digital versions). In lowercase Mistral is a true connecting script, similar to cursive writing.
In popular culture
Mistral was used extensively in the 1962-63 children's show Fireball XL5.
In 1983, the font was used for the title of the movie Flashdance.
In 1984, the font was used in the main title credits for the NBC sitcom Night Court.
The font was the logo type of the 1990s crime drama Silk Stalkings.
The American rap group N.W.A used the font for their logo beginning with their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton.
The font was used for the textual credits on Goosebumps.
The font was used by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on the "Wild Wing" jersey used only in the 1996-97 NHL season
The font was the logo type for the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses throughout its run.
This font was named official font of the Penn State Singing Lions, Penn State University's premier singing and dancing ensemble.
This font is used as the primary logo for Body-Solid, Inc, a global fitness equipment manufacturer located in Forest Park, IL.
In Australia, the Mistral font is used in the logo for the variety television show Hey Hey It's Saturday. It is also the font used for the Sandals Holiday Company.
In the Philippines, the Mistral font was used in the ABC 5 logo from 2001 to 2004.
In 2011, the font was used in hot-pink to advertise the 2011 film Drive.
The font is also used as the logo type for holiday operators Sandals.
References
- ↑ Soar, Matt. "Excoffon’s Autograph". Eye Magazine. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
- Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983. ISBN 0-7137-1347-X.
- Macmillan, Neil. An A–Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press: 2006. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.
External links
- Excoffon's Autograph (many images and examples)