Melior
Zapf Alphabets · Hermann Zapf · 1948
Hermann Zapf's 1948 text serif built around superelliptical letterforms – ovals fitting as closely as possible within rectangles – designed expressly for legibility at small sizes in newspapers and magazines.
About
Drawn freehand with a brush rather than constructed geometrically, Melior achieves an unusual synthesis of precision and warmth. Its oval-within-rectangle design principle predates and anticipates the concept of the superellipse formalised by mathematician Piet Hein. The typeface was adopted in 2009 as the house font of the German Bundestag, selected for its capacity to communicate civic information with clarity and understated authority.
Classification
Melior is a humanist-leaning transitional serif with superelliptical letterforms – ovals inscribed within rectangles – drawn freehand with a brush by Hermann Zapf. Its low stroke contrast and sturdy proportions place it firmly in the newspaper and text serif tradition.