Zapf came up with the idea for Optima in 1950, while looking at the tomb inscriptions of the Santa Croce church in Florence. He wanted a typeface without serifs but with slightly flared strokes, combining the clarity of a sans serif with the elegance of a roman typeface.
At a glance
Origin: Stempel type foundry, Germany.
Designer: Hermann Zapf.
Date: 1958.
Evolution
Zapf revised it with Akira Kobayashi in 2002, creating Optima nova, with new weights and a true italic.
Famous examples
It was chosen to engrave the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, and it is associated with the Estée Lauder logotype and John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.
Current use
It remains very present in cosmetics, luxury and wellness, for its soft elegance.
Alternatives
Optima nova, Zapf Humanist, Belleza.
Great typefaces glossary
Akzidenz-Grotesk, Arial, Avenir, Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Circular, Cooper Black, Didot, DIN, FF Meta, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Futura, Garamond, Georgia, Gill Sans, Gotham, Graphik, Helvetica, IBM Plex, Inter, Minion, Montserrat, Myriad, Neue Haas Grotesk, Optima, Poppins, Roboto, Sabon, SF Pro, Source Sans, Source Serif, Times New Roman, Univers, Verdana