Designed especially for cartographic uses, Felix Arnold’s Cisalpin aims to set a standard

Cisalpin provides textual information on a European city map (image credit: Linotype GmbH)

In the 1990s, after a survey of a variety of maps and atlases, Swiss type designer Felix Arnold came to a conclusion; there was no standard typeface for cartography. In this, he identified a need.

Typesetting for maps calls the same consideration as typesetting for books, but it doesn’t stop there. Unlike books, where type and pictures must work alongside each other, a map is a layered document; the image is interesting but can be all but meaningless without the type. In a book, improperly-chosen images may distract from the information but won’t prevent access to it; on a map, a badly chosen font can completely annihilate the informational content of a map, and the right face can render a map irrelevant if used badly.

Serving a distinct need

Cisaplin aims to serve the typographic needs of the map in a variety of ways.

It is designed to be legible at small sizes, so that it can be read in the tight spaces maps will force text into. It’s slightly narrow, so that word lengths for long words and lines of text don’t overwhelm. Styles and weights have clear visual differences, enabling the cartographer to maintain a sense of hierarchy amongst the welter of symbols a map can have. Individual letters are also clearly different, which prevents misreading. The overall look leads to good word shapes, which contribute to legibility.

For simple typographic appeal the face succeds rather well. This is a font that communicates well, clean, efficient and straightforward, but there is subtle artistry–the simple forms are made up by nuanced bits that stand alone as examples of high artistic care. The impression is what one would get if one combined Myriad and Gill Sans and threw out all the unnecessary bits.

It stands to reason that any font that communicates this well on a map might work well as headline type or body type in areas where a strong sans serif is desired.

[1] Cisalpin is available in Roman and italic, regular and bold weights, from Linotype GmbH, via this link. Cost is $29.95 per face.