Gold moulded letters in Clarendon Bold. Available in various sizes and colours.
Clarendon Bold is the robust, highly legible weight of the classic Clarendon typeface family, a bracketed slab serif designed for emphasis in headlines, posters, and signage. Originally developed in the 19th century, the bold weight is known for its strong, sturdy, and confident appearance.
History
- Original design (1845): Robert Besley created the original Clarendon typeface for the Fann Street Foundry in London. It was patented as the first “related bold”—a style meant to complement standard roman text without clashing with it. The patent’s short, three-year life led to many foundries copying and distributing their own versions.
- Post-war revival: After declining in popularity, Clarendon was revived in the mid-20th century. Hermann Eidenbenz designed a popular new version for the Haas foundry in 1953, with a wide, bold display face that became an influential version of the style.
- Modern adaptations: Many new versions of the Clarendon typeface have been created, expanding on the original, including the bold and condensed styles. Examples include:
- Craw Clarendon Bold (1955): An American Type Founders release drawn by Freeman Craw.
- Clarendon Text Bold (Adobe): A modern remake focused on legibility.
- Superclarendon Bold (Adobe): A display-oriented version bundled with macOS.
- Job Clarendon Bold (Adobe): A modern homage to letterpress styles.
Characteristics
Clarendon Bold, and the Clarendon family in general, is a slab-serif typeface with distinct features:
- Bracketed serifs: The “brackets” are the rounded curves that smoothly connect the serifs to the main strokes of the letters, giving it a softer, more approachable feel than geometric slab serifs.
- Moderate contrast: Unlike high-contrast modern typefaces, Clarendon has a low to moderate contrast between thick and thin strokes.
- Ball terminals: The ends of some strokes, like the curved parts of the lowercase ‘a’ and ‘c’, are finished with large, rounded ball terminals.
- Confident and sturdy appearance: The weight of the bold typeface conveys importance and substance, making it impactful without sacrificing legibility.
Usage
Clarendon Bold is a versatile and recognizable typeface, known for its bold and authoritative presence.
- Wanted posters: Its use in wood type for American Old West posters made it a fixture of classic Western iconography.
- Display and headlines: Clarendon Bold is effective for headlines, advertising, and titles because its strong strokes and prominent serifs demand attention.
- Corporate and institutional use: It was notably used by the United States National Park Service on signage and has been part of corporate identities like Wells Fargo and the Great Western Railway.
- Contemporary branding: The typeface’s balance of strength and approachability allows it to be used in modern branding for products that want to evoke a sense of timelessness or heritage.