Microgramma (typeface)

"Microgramma" redirects here. For the fern genus, see Microgramma (fern)

Category	Sans-serif
Designer(s)	Aldo Novarese Alessandro Butti
Foundry	Nebiolo (source), Linotype, URW
Variations	Eurostile

Microgramma, a typeface similar to Eurostile, which was based upon it, is a sans serif font which was designed by Aldo Novarese and Alessandro Butti for the Nebiolo Type Foundry in 1952. It became popular for use with technical illustrations in the 1960s and was a favourite of graphic designers by the early seventies, its uses ranging from publicity and publication design to packaging, largely because of its availability as a Letraset typeface. Early typesetters (like the AM Varityper) also incorporated it.

The typeface is almost always used in its extended and bold extended forms (pictured). Initially, it only had capital letters. Later versions, by Linotype and URW/Nebiolo, contain lower case letters, accented Latin characters, mathematical symbols, and Latin ligatures. In the URW/Nebiolo version, there are also extended Latin, subscrips and superscripts, extended Latin ligatures.

Microgramma OnlyShadow

Microgramma OnlyShadow is a variant of Microgramma Bold that contains only the shadows of Microgramma Extended Bold, designed by URW Studio and Aldo Novarese in 1994. Although Alessandro Butti died in 1959, URW credited Alessandro Butti as designer for the new font.

The Euro sign in the font has a different weight, styled from a different font family, and is not shadowed.

Microgramma in popular culture

Because of its bold, strong strokes and sharp square angles, Microgramma was soon appropriated for use in science fiction and fantasy stories depicting advanced technology and space exploration.

Star Trek

The Microgramma Bold Extended typeface was used extensively in the Star Trek universe, such as Franz Joseph's The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual,^[1] although many in the typesetting community felt it looked dated by the 1970s. The font, in both its original and various altered forms, was incorporated into numerous displays and on ship exteriors in six of the Star Trek motion pictures, as well as depictions of "earlier technology" display screens, particularly for the Enterprise "prequel" series, during the four later television series-The Next Generation had established the use of the 'real world's' Compacta typeface for all screen display lettering for its time, and onwards.

Other sources

Microgramma was used extensively in the 1968 motion picture 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the 1971 film version of The Andromeda Strain, and the Gerry Anderson TV series programmes Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, Space: 1999, and UFO.

The typeface remains in common use today; examples of its usage include these:

• The CBS reality show The Amazing Race.
• The call letters in logos for MyNetworkTV affiliates.
• The Casio logo, and also the logo for Ampex Corporation.
• The Halliburton logo.
• The Truman Show
• Both the current and previous logos of Toshiba use variants of Microgramma.
• Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles.
• The re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series logo.
• Most user interface text in the StarCraft and StarCraft II video games.
• The PC Outlet logo.
• NBC News used this in their graphics during 1990 and 1991.
• Homeworld game series.
• The Unicamp logo.

Many car manufacturers in the 1980s and the 1990s, notably Honda and Nissan, use Microgramma on the interior gauges and switches of their vehicles. Abarth also use the font extensively. Radiohead used Microgramma in their breakthrough albums, The Bends and OK Computer, and US rock band Hurt used it for their logo.

According to MasGrafx Racing Graphics, Microgamma is the font of several NASCAR numbers; #8 (Mark Martin), #3 (Dale Earnhardt) and #29 (Kevin Harvick). Some of these are in italics (angled).

Microgramma is also the default logo font used by Alienware Computers. Microgramma is the in-game Doom 3 font.

Notes

1. ^ Joseph, Franz (1986) [1975]. The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-34074-4.