The letter с is not half an o. In
roman faces the weight of the
bowl’s curve is carried further
into the stroke, which gives it
an optically firm foundation on
which to rest. In addition, as
the curve departs from the
baseline on the right side it is
less pronounced than on the
left. This is much less apparent
in sans serif faces, but nonethe¬
less necessary to ensure that the
letter does not look unstable.

For the same reason the top
of the c’s bowl should not be as
wide as the bottom, a trait that
is quite obvious in roman types
but less so in sans serif designs.

С

¡mes Roman

Gill Sans

С

Because the c’s open counter
can exaggerate its height some¬
what, some type designers re¬
duce its height to just slightly
less than that of the o.

Broadway

ITC Korinna

С

University

Roman

Senator Thin

Arcadia

ITC Lubalin Graph Demi

Mona Lisa Recut

Cochin

Bauer Bodoni

Berthold City Medium

Barmeno Extra Bold

Hiroshige Book

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