From the Renaissance faces of Nicolas Jenson to the great twentieth century revivals like Centaur and Dante, the Venetian Oldstyle represents the typographic Roman letter’s first big break from the calligraphic tradition of the Carolingian Minuscule. When it comes to elegant book typography, nothing beats its light, ribbonlike forms.

Text on the screen is a different story. It’s easy for these designs to get light and splotchy. Web designers frequently pass over these classics, opting for sturdier alternatives based on Baroque and Enlightenment Romans instead (or, let’s be honest, sans serifs).

Fern is a Venetian that is native to the screen. Instead of reducing the diagonal stress that can be so troublesome on screen, I exaggerated it. Fern’s weight clumps in its round strokes and its chunky triangular serifs, giving it a rich texture that shines even on the smallest screen.

Fern is undeniably humanist, but it is not precious or dainty: it is a typeface that lends elegance, strength, and grace to text.

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Get Fern

Fern Roman and Italic were featured as October’s installment of the Font of the Month Club, and are still available as a past issue.

Fern is also currently available for private licensing. If you think it might be perfect for your project, get in touch!