Proxima Nova

Proxima

NOVA

Proxima Nova is a geometric sans serif typeface that designer Mark Simonson began working on in various forms starting from 1981.

A fan-favorite amongst many brands and users for its modernistic simplicity, versatility on digital

interfaces, easy legibility, and variety of characters, it combines the modern look that Helvetica offers with the same geometric characters that Futura provides.

Proxima Nova’s success on the web can be attributed to its rounded shapes, width, and thinner joins where strokes meet on lowercase letters.

Aa is for ASTRONAUT

HISTORY What began as a series of rough sketches in 1981 (of which Simonson named Zanzibar) would look quite similar to how the lowercase for Proxima Nova eventually turned out.

The result was a hybrid that combined modern, even-width proportions with a geometric appearance. Mark released this typeface, Proxima Sans, through FontHause in 1994.

A decade later in 1991, Simonson was the art director of Business Ethics magazine, where he used Gill Sans. He wished for a slightly plainer and more modern typeface that retained a geometric feel and found that no such typeface existed, leading Mark to dig up and rework his original Zanzibar sketch. This early iteration of Proxima Nova would make its first public appearance on the packaging for Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama (Fig.1), also designed by Simonson, in 1993.

By the early 2000’s, Mark received requests to expand the Proxima Sans family, particularly one from Rolling Stone magazine which chose Proxima Sans as part of their 2003 redesign. Inspired, Mark reworked and released it in 2005 as Proxima Nova, a family of 42-fonts—seven weights and three widths with matching italics. Built with the OpenType format in mind, it features advanced typographic features like small caps, different figure styles, fractions, and alternate characters.

Simonson named this second iteration Visigothic due to the visual influences he drew from the American Gothic style of typeface. He wanted the general proportions and stroke contrast of Helvetica and Akzidenz Grotesk, along with various details borrowed from Futura, Kabel, the ATF Gothics, and even the U.S. Federal Highway signage typeface.

Proxima Nova has become the most popular commercially paid typeface on the web, beating out longtime favorites Helvetica and Futura with its modern and trendy look. To this day, Simonson continues to update the font family with different versions such as Proxima Nova Soft and Proxima Nova Wide (marksimonson.com).

Proxima Sans Proxima Sans Nova

FIGURE 1

an early iteration of Proxima Nova, as seen on the cover of the Star Wars Original Radio Drama

shoulder

cap height

ascender

counter

arc

eye stem

crossbar

of

shoulder

terminal tittle

bowl

ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRSTU VWXYZ

abcdef hijklm opqrst vwxyz

tail

vertex

x-height

aperture

wide character

thin joins

contrast of hard and round

tall x-height

fg n u

cap line

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1234567890

THIN LIGHT REGULAR MEDIUM Graphic text - 110 pt

Body Text / Proxima Nova Thin / 08 pt Proxima Nova Light / 08 pt Proxima Nova Regular / 08 pt Proxima Nova Medium / 08 pt

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

THIN LIGHT REGULAR MEDIUM Graphic text - 110 pt

Body Text / Proxima Nova Thin Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Light Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Medium Italic / 08 pt

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

SEMIBOLD BOLD EXTRABOLD BLACK BLACK Graphic text - 85 pt

Body Text / Proxima Nova Semibold / 08 pt Proxima Nova Bold / 08 pt Proxima Nova Extrabold / 08 pt Proxima Nova Black / 08 pt

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

SEMIBOLD BOLD EXTRABOLD BLACK Graphic text - 85 pt

Body Text / Proxima Nova Semibold Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Bold Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Extrabold Italic / 08 pt Proxima Nova Black Italic / 08 pt

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparent “new” star that slowly fades over weeks and months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

NOVAE

most often occur in the sky along the path of the Milky Way, especially near the observed

GALACTIC CENTER in Sagittarius.

however,

they can appear

ANYWHERE in the sky.

A Type Specimen Book