The Roman lettering style was developed from an old inscription found at the foot of a column built by Emperor Trojan in Rome in 113 B.C. A Frenchman called Nicholas Jenson first created the Roman lettering style in the fifteenth century precisely in 1470. It is also referred to as ‘Classical Roman lettering’ or ‘Quadrata’. The Roman alphabet took at least seven centuries to develop and did not contain the letters, J, U, and W.
Roman letters have ornamental or finishing strokes called serifs at both the top and bottom parts of the letters. These serifs give the vertical strokes of the letters stability and also make the letters graceful. The serif may be angular, thin, rounded or rectangular in their representations. This accounts for the varieties of serifs such as beaked serif, hairline serif, bracketed serif, sheared serif and slab serif.
There are other features that distinct this style of lettering from other forms of lettering. The letters have varying strokes of thick and thin. The vertical strokes are generally thick while the horizontal strokes are usually thin. Also, the letters have different proportions or sizes due to the transcending of thick and thin strokes. They are extremely beautiful and attractive because of the diversity in their stroke formation. Variety, which is a feature that breaks monotony or one format, is highly acclaimed with elegance by many people.
In addition, the letters stand erect or upright. This formal outlook of this lettering style makes it very appropriate to be used for official documents. This explains why mot documents for such purposes are usually restricted to be created in this lettering style.
Furthermore, the letters are carefully drawn or constructed. Due to the close attention paid to proportion and space, measuring devices are used by amateur designers who create these letters manually. Measuring tools on design software help in creating accurate representations of letters on personal computers.
This lettering is widely used for various purposes. It is used in writing the reading materials in books, newspapers, and magazines due to its excellent trait of readability. Also, they are used in designing packages for products and greeting cards for wishing people success in examinations, speedy recovery in ill health situations and many others. Again, they are used in writing the text on posters, banners, and other visual communication tools. Moreover, messages on citations are written in Roman lettering style. Names of participants in workshops, seminars, and other educational programmes are written in roman lettering styles on certificates.
It is one of the elegant lettering styles that ensure the designing of products in visual communication. Its rudiments must be carefully mastered and utilised by artists to achieve the maximum benefits.
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