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compatible - sentinel and miller?
Posted by scriv in
5 Aug 2010 — 8:46pm
5 Aug 2010 — 8:46pm
Hello .. I'm doing a music related collateral piece and was looking over what would go with Sentinel. I know the rule with pairing is to not have the fonts too closely related .. Sentinel is a slab and miller a somewhat Scotch serif. Hoefler Frere Jones is the foundry.
I'm not sure if they're too close and have enough contrast. I could go radically different font for pairing with Sentinel as well .. or if I've made a good choice ... if anyone has any ideas.
Thanks in advance.
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5 Aug 2010 — 10:15pm
Sentinel is a font now? In my day it was a foundry name.
6 Aug 2010 — 12:01am
A natural companion for a Clarendon (such as Sentinel) would be a realist sans (Helvetica). But I don't think it's a crime to use it with Miller. See how they work together.
Where do you intend to use Sentinel: in text or for titles? You could use Trade Gothic Bold for titles. Or one of H&FJ's sans.
6 Aug 2010 — 8:35am
I think Miller is a fine choice: They both have similar skeletons, and even the italics have a lot in common. The lighter weights of Sentinel, though, may look a bit close to Miller if you're pairing them at the same size. I'd recommend using a nice different in weight or size to properly differentiate them.
As more evidence, H&FJ's own recommendations are always effective, and for Sentinel they suggest pairing it with Chronicle, a Scotch like Miller.
7 Aug 2010 — 3:58am
Ionics/Clarendons and Scotches are fine companions. The earliest examples of both arose around the same time and region.
Using a Clarendon as a bold companion for a Scotch in running text can have overtones of period typography. As in this example of Belizio (a Clarendon) with Miller Text (a Scotch):
I agree with Reed: keep the contrast in weight or size sufficient to differentiate their use.
7 Aug 2010 — 10:07am
Kent, your example is anachronistic -- Miller is too transitional (especially the italic "v") to be paired with a Clarendon and evoke an historic moment in time. The Scotch Modern is the "correct" historical partner for Clarendons.
This image was originally posted at Typophile by James Mosely:
However, because its slabs are not bracketed, Sentinel does evoke the earliest slab serif types, just as Miller evokes an early Scotch Roman, so the two go together historically.
8 Aug 2010 — 4:54am
> Kent, your example is anachronistic
Fair enough. Agreed. When I said “overtones of period typography,” I did not mean to imply that the pairing would have authentic verisimilitude or be genuinely allusive. Just that it would be evocative, as you say.
“I’ll bet these two might really learn to like each other. Y’know, their great grandparents used to hang out together back in the old country, back in the day. Whaddaya say let’s get these kids together down at the local pub for a meet-up.”