Typeface Review

Memoir

Reviewed by Cheshire Isaacs on April 5, 2009

Memoir is a breathtakingly gorgeous script based on 18th-century handwriting.

But beyond its old-world beauty, it takes full advantage of OpenType technology: its more than 500 glyphs — including multiple capitals (between two and five variants for each letter), ligatures, contextual alternates, swashes, flourishes, two sets of numerals, and scads of other goodies — make this an endlessly enchanting face. It’s also a perfect casual script: warmly welcoming in its informality, yet elegant enough to look at home as a headline.

I recently selected it for the main identity of an upcoming gala. Though the event will take place at the Ritz-Carlton, it’s for a nonprofit theatre company. Memoir has admirably bridged that divide, plus I’ve simply had fun playing with it and have yet to exhaust its charms. A significant achievement three years in the making, Memoir stands easily beside its Umbrella cousin Dear Sarah and the P22 blockbusters Cezanne and Dearest.

Cheshire Isaacs, an art director and writer who also shoots photos and video, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and daughter.

One Comment

  1. Stephen Rapp says:

    Thanks so much for your enticing review. Almost makes me want to buy it. ;-)

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