PSA: A guide on how to draw a proper capital Eszett (ẞ)

Christian Thalmann

Hi everyone,

I've decided to gather my thoughts and recommendations on how to draw a functional and handsome capital eszett in an illustrated webpage. I'd be happy to hear your opinions!

Here is the link.

Work in progress: I intend to add some examples of good and bad designs found in Google Fonts. (Unfortunately, it's mostly bad examples at the time of writing...!)

Cheers, Christian

Nick Shinn

Excellent. The problem is that however well-drawn a particular Eszett is, tout seul, it still has to match the style of the typeface for which it is designed. Would it be possible to show word-examples of a variety of Eszett styles, in the same word, and discuss why some are more appropriate than others? 

Craig Eliason

Nice work Christian. I particularly found the section on arrangement of contrast helpful, and I am first in line supporting the jettisoning of the "city" nomenclature. 

For the "serif" at the top right discussed at the very end, that form mostly calls to my mind the spur on lowercase /e in types like Nicolas Jenson's. I'd probably be most inclined to employ it in faces like that. Do you see that as a sensible parallel?

TimAhrens

Thanks for the effort! That’s a very useful resource.

Just to put my two cents in: After a few years of reading the capital Eszett in real-life, and designing a few myself in a range of styles, it is clear to me that it must have a top-left corner, otherwise it will not look (enough) like a capital letter. In other words, the Dresden and Leipzig archetypes – domed and half-domed, in the new taxonomy – are unacceptable to me.

Christian Thalmann

Thanks guys!

Tim, I disagree with that. It’s like saying the A must have a flat roof to work. Flat-roofed A’s do exist, and they do improve texture (at the cost of A-ness), but they don’t fit most typefaces stylistically. 

Note that I used to be actively opposed to rectangular roofs in eszetts, but have since accepted them as viable. I even include them in my upcoming list of good examples. 

TimAhrens

We will not be able to resolve this by means of a verbal discussion, no matter how smart our arguments are.

I cannot prove or disprove anything, all I can contribute is to report what my personal judgement is, based on looking, not thinking, as a native speaker with a certain amount of experience in the field of type design.

John Butler

By switching to this taxonomy and terminology, it follows that the process of OCRing a capital eszett should be called a sigmoidoscopy.

Nick Shinn

Tim and Christian—this is perhaps why I have usually gravitated towards the “Orangeville” style (flat and curved top), a compromise between your differing opinions.

Christian Thalmann

@Nick Shinn, I've added an extensive examples section now, with both role models and cautionary tales.

@Craig Eliason, good point, I can certainly see the parallels between the top right serif on capital eszett and the Venetian /e/. I also feel the serifed foot of /U/ in typefaces like Perpetua comes with a similar energy.

Russell McGorman

Christian Thalmann said:

... the Venetian /e/. (?)

The Venetian /e/...
I'm sensing a gap in my otherwise semi-encyclopedic typographic knowledge. 

Thomas Phinney

Venetian oldstyle typefaces are inspired by Jenson’s early roman type of the 1470s. The key defining characteristic of Venetian oldstyle vs later Aldine is the e having a slanted crossbar. It may (but does not have to) extend past the beak of the e, giving the letter what I might call a “nose.”

Venetian oldstyle typefaces usually have relatively low thick/thin contrast (as traditional serif typefaces go), angled stress, and traditional oldstyle Trajan cap proportions (narrow BPSEFL and wide CDGHMNO).

Some examples: Morris’ Golden Type, Centaur, Jenson, Berkeley Oldstyle, Brioso

Russell McGorman

Ah. so it has a name... i n t e r e s t i n g. I've even drawn a few of those. 
(thanks Thomas)