Italic
イタリック / 1501– / Style / Type Classification
The humanist cursive cast in type: slanted letters that made pocket books possible, later becoming the second voice beside roman.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Rightward slant
- Cursive continuity
- Narrow width
- Contrast with roman
Best used for
- Marking a change of voice inside text, for titles, terms and quotations
- Compact editions and narrow columns that must hold long copy in few pages
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Pair it with a roman drawn on the same principles, never a slanted fake
- Composition
- It can carry a whole text, but inside roman it switches word by word
- Material
- Because the letters are narrow, add leading and keep the page airy
- Caution
- A true italic is a separate design, not a slanted roman, and setting a whole paragraph in it slows reading and destroys the contrast with roman that gives the letter its job.
- Further study
- Aldus Manutius / Francesco Griffo / the chancery hand
Related entries
- Old Style Serif (オールドスタイル・ローマン)Same Type Classification lineage.Compare Italic and Old Style Serif
- Copperplate Script (カッパープレート・スクリプト)Shared effects: Luxury / Intimacy.Compare Italic and Copperplate Script
More from Type Classification
Continue through styles in the same Type Classification family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Roman Square Capitals (ローマン・キャピタル)Shared effects: Luxury.
- Blackletter (ブラックレター)Shared effects: Luxury.
- Transitional Serif (トランジショナル)Shared effects: Luxury.
Browse all Type Classification entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/italic-type
- Markdown
- [Italic — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/italic-type)
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- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/italic-type">Italic — IndexStyle</a>