ITC Motter Corpus
1993, by Othmar Motter

regular / condensed


"U&lc UPPER AND LOWER CASE,
Journal of Type and Graphic
Design", Vol. 20, Number 4,
Spring 1994, published by
ITC International Typeface
Corporation, New York:

ITC Motter Corpus is an extra bold design in normal and condensed variants.

ITC Motter Corpus was created to combine the display advantages of a sans serif extra bold Design with the legibility of a roman type. Sans serif type styles generally make the most assertive display designs, but they present two inherent design problems: they are not normally as readable as serifed types, and they do not combine well with other sans serif designs outside their family. Othmar Motter, the designer of ITC Motter Corpus, decided to rectify this situation. He set a design goal for himself to design a typeface that was emphatic, readable and equally at home with serif or sans serif designs.

ITC Motter Corpus is almost a sans serif design – but not quite. It has diminutive serifs that, along with its modulated weight constrasts, make the face remarkably readable for a display design. Counters have been kept open to allow for surprisingly small sizes to be set with little loss of legibility. Although the serifs are small, they received special attention from the designer. In Motter‘s words, ”they are ovals with diagonal middle axes. They thus remain clearly recognizable despite their shortness.“

Diagonal strokes in letters like the A,V, W, Y, etc. were also designed convexed to decrease the white space between them and straight ord round sided characters. For similar reasons, round letters were drawn with slightly flat sides. The end result is a design that spaces with remarkable consistency – even when set in all-caps.

ITC Motter Corpus is almost a sans serif design – but not quite.  It has diminutive serifs that, along with its modulated weight contrasts, make the face remarkably readable for a display design. Oldstyle figures are available for both versions. Only licensed ITC Subscribers are authorized to reproduce, manufacture and offer for sale these and other ITC typefaces shown in this issue. This license is your guarantee of authenticity. These new typefaces will be available to the public on or after February 21, 1994, depending on each manufacturer‘s release schedule.