Latin influences in Greek typography: historical analysis and non-predatory approach of multi-script projects

Abstract

Greek script has been involved in singular historical situations and processes and interlaced with the history of Latin script for ages. One of those circumstances is related to the setting and the development of Greek typography, which happened almost exclusively out of its territory. As a consequence, a quite expressive number of professionals engaged in this area is not Greek. At the same time, with the globalization of the means of communication, the production of typographic fonts in more than one script, mainly Latin and Greek, has increased considerably. Having the history traced by Greek typography in Europe as premise, this article has two goals. To highlight the relevance of foreign outstanding professionals who contributed to the forging of Greek typography between the 15th and 20th centuries. And, by having the observation and analysis of Matthew Carter´s and Hermann Zapf´s most recent creations as a start, to obtain concepts that make it possible for projects of new multi-script fonts to be based on technique and history without jeopardizing the cultural identity and the diversity of each script.

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