Z is for Zapf

... and here it ends. Z. The final and most rarely used letter. Z. With Zeus-like zeal this formidable form acts as the bookend to the alphabet. Z. An onomatopoeic zigzag; a line or course characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions. Z. The end but also a beginning, it points in both directions; back to A and forward to the zillion combinations these 26 forms can collectively manifest. 

Z is for Zapf. Hermann Zapf the creator of many wonderful typefaces, but one shines brighter than the rest; Aldus. A typographic homage to a character who captured the zeitgeist of the late 15th Century. Aldus Manutius. A leading publisher and printer. The instigator of the italic typeface style. The inventor of the pocket book format. The first typographer to use a semicolon. Aldus reached the zenith of typographic achievements and Zapf gave it form. And here it ends. Z.

Published in Grafik 171, March 2009. Part of 'Special Report: A–Z of Typography'