No. 144 October 2006
Linked: Bembo's Zoo
Bembo is the name of a type designed by Stanley Morison in 1929, based on the first roman face created by Francesco Griffo for the press of Adlus Manutius. Morison named it after the author of the first book to use the model face, De Aetna. It went on to become an extremely successful and popular book face in the first half of the 20th century.
In 2000 Henry Holt published Bembo's Zoo, an ABC bestiary created by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich using the face's letterforms. A Brazilian now living in New York City, the artist creations are a tour de force of typographic creativity that literally come alive on the www.bemboszoo.com site. Using Flash animation, the user clicks on a letter and watches as spin and fly to create an animal's image. Great site for typophiles, including those still discovering the alphabet.