Consul
Terminal Design · James Montalbano · 2008
A four-optical-size serif that grew from a display design for Men's Vogue, pitched by its designer as a French Modern with a strong Didot streak.
About
Consul started life as a display design Montalbano drew for Men's Vogue, loosely inspired by 19th-century Didot specimens from the Parisian printer Gustav Mayeur, though it stops short of being a revival. Montalbano spent most of 2008 optically sizing it across four ranges, Caption, Text, Deck and Display, with soft, curved serif points and severely angled italics. Alternate a, e, g, r and s forms give it several different personalities within one family.
Classification
Montalbano calls it a French Modern serif, though colleague Charles Nix reads it closer to a Scotch Roman. Loosely based on 19th-century Didot specimens by Gustav Mayeur rather than a direct revival. Sold across four optical sizes, Caption, Text, Deck and Display, tuned for their respective size ranges. Recategorised here as serif; the original brief's Text/Display label was not a valid category on its own.