Design inspiration
There is little that’s traditional about Gerard Unger’s Vesta™ typeface, though its origins are noble. In 1998, Unger accepted the commission to develop a typeface for signage and wayfinding for Rome’s Jubilee 2000 celebration. He based his initial design on the precursors of imperial Roman capitals. When the Jubilee’s organizing committee decided to use a serif typeface instead, Unger proceeded to develop Vesta – named after the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, reported to be the ancestral home of all sans serif typefaces.
Unger sums up his final design, which also includes a surprising French influence: “It’s rare for a sans serif typeface to have Vesta’s outspoken difference between thick and thin parts. French typeface designs of the late 1940s and 1950s – notably Chambord by Roger Excoffon – were my inspiration for the stressed strokes.” .
Distinguishing characteristics
Unger masterfully orchestrates the interplay of weights within individual characters. Vesta’s stroke terminals taper almost to a point where they join main strokes. This gives a sparkle and liveliness to the letters when they’re set large, and makes them especially easy to distinguish when set in text sizes. In addition, Vesta has slightly narrower proportions than most sans serif typefaces, making it space economical. .
Three years after designing Vesta, Unger expanded the family’s versatility by drawing the Big Vesta™ suite of typefaces specifically for use at large sizes. “Big Vesta has a larger x-height than Vesta,” says Unger, “in addition to shortened ascenders and descenders, and tighter letter spacing.” Big Vesta is ideal for typography in headlines, banners and billboards and environmental graphics. .
In use
Both Vesta and Big Vesta receive high marks for legibility, thanks to their open letterforms, large counters and horizontal stress. The family’s remarkable readability is testimony to Unger’s design sensibilities. .
Most of Unger’s designs were developed primarily for periodicals and publications; therefore, the typefaces perform with grace and ease in almost any environment where clear, inviting copy is required. Vesta and Big Vesta are no exception. .
Unger originally licensed the Vesta and Big Vesta fonts from his personal website. Early in 2011, however, he decided that offering Vesta fonts through the Linotype® library would make them available to a wider audience of graphic communicators. .
About the designer
Gerard Unger was born in the Netherlands in 1942. His design accomplishments span a dramatic range of scale, from postage stamps and coins to magazines, newspapers and books. He has also created a new typographic identity for a skyscraper in Rotterdam. Unger is a design educator and the author of articles and books about typography, newspaper design and the process of reading. .
Pro font features
Both Vesta and Big Vesta are available in seven weights, ranging from an elegant light to an authoritative black – each with a complementary cursive italic. To supplement the large Pro font character set, which supports most Central European and many Eastern European languages, the Vesta family also includes small caps and old style figures.
Additionally, the entire Vesta and Big Vesta family is available as Web fonts, from Fonts.com Web Fonts.