Google's Catull Secret Font Weapon

vegan portman
Originally uploaded by benbarren.

If you were wondering the name of the Google font, for anyone out there deep in UI briefs, skype IM real time designing, XHTML/CSS, its called Catull. Design Observer : "The Google website gives great prominence to Dennis Hwang’s graphic endeavours, but fails to mention who created the original logo. The font is Catull, designed by Gustav Jaeger for Berthold, and is described as “a display face with a strong calligraphic influence. A large x-height and well-defined contrast make this face most suitable for advertising and display work.” Catull’s calligraphic origins are only faintly discernible in the Google logo: the use of a soft-drop shadow, and the chamfer-effect on the letterforms themselves, turns it into a DTP classic: the sort of hybrid creation that tech-heads choose for the front covers of reports. In truth, the logo is weedy, corny and ill-conceived. It’s the same with the Google homepage — a brutal display of functionality. Clearly, no graphic designer has been near it." The New Old BlogHerald has a very interesting update on Rocketboom's first paid ads.