Which g?

Nick Cooke

Which italic g is most suited to accompany the Roman at the top? I know which I favour but I'd like to see what others think.

André G. Isaak

Personally, I prefer the second italic <g>.

Chris Lozos

2nd

George Thomas

The second one, definitely.

Jess McCarty

#2 or #3 of the italic, in that order.

Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian

Second one, unless your "f" does not descend, then the first one (and a binocular "a").

Paul Miller

I think I prefer the third, but the second is also very good.

John Hudson

Most suited to accompany that roman g? Well, only italic #1 has the same kind of awkwardness.

James Puckett

I like #2, it fits the fun italic feeling best.

PabloImpallari

2nd.
I will also straighten the curve on the top of the /t, I find it distracting. Or at least make it much more subtle.

Ofir Shavit

#1 is most suited 
#2 is most beautiful
#3 my favorite

Christian Thalmann

I'd first try to reconcile the Roman /g a bit more with its peers before worrying about the italic. It's a charming shape, but it feels out of place to me. All other letters seem to have a more generous relation to horizontal space.

Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian

I think the upright "g" only needs a stronger ear.

AbiRasheed

Though 4 doesn't complement the roman I think it's pretty sweet, different.  

AbrahamLee

2nd. It follows the same simplifying transformation as the /a.

Piotr Lukaszkiewicz

I would say #3 looks best as a single letter, but in the whole word #2 works better. #1 seems too different to /a in my opinion.

Nick Cooke

Thanks everyone. I'm glad most were in favour of #2, that's what I wanted to hear. Regarding the Roman g; I had an earlier iteration which I changed to the one above to make it more distinctive. The top image shows the 'awkward' g and very curved t top, while the bottom shows the earlier g with a less severe t curve. I wanted the t to be different and recognisable, but definitely not distracting/annoying.

Christian Thalmann

I find both the /g and /t better integrated in the bottom sample.

The /g and /o look lighter than the /n and /r, for example, though in the case of /g it might be a deliberate measure to avoid clumping.

In both samples, the /ngra/ cluster is much more tightly spaced than /lated/. Actually, I'm wondering whether the top /g would look more harmonious if it were just spaced a little wider.

Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian

The "g" in the second setting is entirely forgettable. It look like TNR's on Monday morning.

Craig Eliason

Christian Thalmann said:

I find both the /g and /t better integrated in the bottom sample.

The /g and /o look lighter than the /n and /r, for example, though in the case of /g it might be a deliberate measure to avoid clumping.

In both samples, the /ngra/ cluster is much more tightly spaced than /lated/. 

I agree with all this. Cap C also looks light. 

Nick Cooke

I thought you'd chime in with your contrariness but that is what I thought too. I thought the original (bottom) one was nice but maybe a little dull. Now I think the top one just needs to be a bit wider with a bit more space around it and a bit more weight in places:

Christian Thalmann

Yes, that's much better!

There's still the problem of the gravity well sitting somewhere around the /g/r boundary that appears to be pulling the letters close and thinning out the outer regions.

Nick Cooke

Here are the rest of the lower case itals:

Nick Cooke

And Display and Text styles:

Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian

It's all rather loose.

AbrahamLee

Hrant H. Papazian said:

It's all rather loose.

Especially the "display" style. I think it's perfect for the "text" style, though. The problem I see is that the serifs on the "display" style are causing the loose spacing, in combinations such as /in/, /fr/, etc. Maybe they could be shortened in that style?

I think the eye on the /e could be opened up a bit more on the "text" style since it will tend to vanish at smaller sizes with the weight you've added.

John Hudson

Nick, what's your thinking for the elbow of the roman g sticking out so far to the left?

Christian Thalmann

The display style seems to exaggerate the imbalances of weight that I mentioned for the text style. For instance, /a feels very dark and /o/c/s very light.

I like the italics! The /j might benefit from a big more backbone.

Yes, the Roman is a big on the wide side, but I see that as a design feature. I'd file it in the Mrs Eaves category.

Simon Cozens

[Removed] I had opinions about this and then went and looked at Bembo. You’re fine.

Adam Twardoch

In your initial sample, the cursive "g"s are poorly spaced (the "gr" gap is big). I like your awkward g in the roman and I would keep the binocular structure in the italic but make it less odd, more Bembo-like.  

Adam Twardoch

Nick Cooke said:

Here are the rest of the lower case itals:

It's hard to judge because of the suboptimal spacing. Gaps "ga" in "gave" and "qu" in "questionable" are distressing. "ve" in "twelve" also. The shapes are nice though.