Courier

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Courier is a Monospaced Slab Serif typeface originally designed in

1955 by Howard Kettler. It was later redrawn by Adrian Frutiger to be

used in the production of IBM’s Selectric Composer Series of electric

typewriters. It was used in typewriters for 30 years. In its current

design, is supposed to resemble the output from a strike-on typewriter.

After its creation, the typeface became synonymous with typewriters

and was the standard typeface in all typewriters at the time of its

production. It is a non-copyrighted font and can be used by anybody

which is why it has been reworked and currently available in modern

computers. The typeface has also become the industry standard for the

It is a fixed pitch font, meaning every character has the same width and

does not require kerning. The font was also used on the first personal

computers because its design did not require a lot of memory space to

install. It was also used to ease the transition between typewriters and

computers because of its nostalgic value and typewriter-esque appeal in

new digitally formatted documents. It is now a standard “system font” on

most printers and computers such as Microsoft Windows. It is considered,

as mentioned by its creator, dignified and stable most likely because it

can translate easily between documents and technologies.

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“A letter can be just an ordinary messenger, or it can be the Courier which radiates dignity, prestige, and stability”

The letters are “stable” with their shape following a perfect circle

format while its hefty serifs help to balance its overall feel. The

serifs also allow the typeface to seem “dignified” because it mimics an

old style typeface. This combined with its rounded shaped adds a modern

and universally legible quality to its design as a whole. Courier is not

too simple and not too complex but falls in a comfortable middle ground

which has allowed it to transcend into modern computer interfaces.

Today, it also evokes a feeling of nostalgia for those who used Courier

in the first digital typewriters.

Courier RaggedCourier NewDark CourierCourier StandardCourier PrimeCourier 10 Pitch

Styles:

-Howard Kettler, Founder

Bryn Pennetti