A Description of Stymie

Figure 3

Morris (center) alongside his classmates at Cornell.

Morris Fuller Benton’s Brilliance

Morris Fuller Benton was the perfect mix between organization and creativity. This can be accredited to his background in engineering alongside his career in typeface development. Graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1896 (Figure 3), Benton entered ATF.

5 Within ATF, Morris Fuller’s entire career flourished.

Although Morris was not fully experienced in design, his most impressive and influential work derived from his typeface design and development. Benton was a special addition to ATF, a key person involved in the development of type design. This may have been a result of

“Perhaps his employers felt that his mechanical ability endowed Benton with a systematic, organized mind. Or perhaps the young engineer displayed a creative ability. Possibly he just poked

For whatever reason, ATF reassigned Benton early in his career from his engineering duties to typeface development. This simple corporate personnel for decades.” 6 bearing the Benton name and gift of innovation, working alongside his father, possessing good work ethic, or various factors. In any respect, Benton did not go unnoticed. He was elevated into the position at ATF that launched him into his future as a key person in American type design. Morris Fuller Benton’s main task at ATF was to consolidate the typefaces acquired by the foundry when the twenty-three type foundries combined. Furthermore, the foundry collected more typefaces, many of which mirrored one another. From text to text, a number of imperfections were accounted for by Morris, including inconsistencies in type size, design, weight, and more. The fonts existing in ATF were conflicting, resembling one another visually, yet never working as a system of order and clarity. It was Morris’s duty to bring unity and harmony to the various fonts obtained by ATF.

One ingenious method of organization implemented by Morris Fuller was the use of type families. Type families consist of a range of types that are modifications of the same elemental design of a text. This way, the similar American typefaces within the foundry could vary slightly, yet join together as one without friction. The introduction of families opened the door to clear communication of typography within ATF. 7 Type families also made hierarchy in typography more feasible, providing more options for those utilizing the typeface.8 Morris discovered a simple solution to a disorganized situation. Furthermore, the establishment of type families left an impression on the world of type design permanently. Designers today continue to rely heavily on type families. A type family containing numerous fonts is often more resourceful for a designer than a type family with two or three varying fonts.

5. Allan Haley, Typographic Milestones (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), 65. 6. Ibid., 64.

7. Ibid., 65. 8. Consuegra, Design & Designers, 64. 05