ITC Hedera’s roots can be traced to a suite of initials intended for book design. Olivera Stojadinovic, the face’s designer, made the first sketches for the initials with a handmade tool consisting of two flexible metal strips tied to a wooden handle. This makeshift pen created the distinctive uneven double strokes of the letterforms.
ITC Hedera History
Stojadinovic says that she tried to keep the original flavor of the sketches in the finished font. “Stroke roughness has been preserved in final execution, though the characters had some cleaning and polishing,” she notes. Based on Renaissance letterforms, ITC Hedera has a classical quality that complements its calligraphic exuberance.
The name Hedera? According to Stojadinovic, “It’s the name of a common ivy. I chose it because of the organic image of the character strokes, which, to me, resemble shapes from nature’s leaves or stems of plants.” Rough-hewn yet elegant, ITC Hedera is an exceptional display design.
