Humanist Sans-serif vs Myriad

Myriad evolved from Humanist Sans-serif.

Type specimen — Humanist Sans-serif (Sans-serif family); set in Lato (OFL)

Humanist Sans-serif

Sans-serifs that smuggle the proportions and pen-rhythm of classical roman type into a seriffless skeleton — warmer, more legible, and more individual than the grotesque. Gill Sans and Frutiger are its standard-bearers.

  • Varied letter widths echoing classical Roman proportions
  • Open apertures on c, e, a, s for legibility
  • Slight stroke contrast and calligraphic modulation
  • Often a double-story a and g of true two-bowl form
  • Humanist 'flick' or pen-formed details on terminals
Full Humanist Sans-serif guide →
Type specimen — Myriad (Humanist sans); shown in Source Sans 3, a sibling design (OFL)

Myriad

Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly's 1992 humanist sans for Adobe — a clean, warm, highly adaptable face best known as Apple's corporate typeface from 2002 to 2015.

  • Humanist proportions with varied letter widths
  • Open apertures and a distinctive slanted-tail y
  • Generous x-height with gentle stroke modulation
  • Clean, neutral-leaning contemporary forms
  • Splayed-leg R and pointed A apex
Full Myriad guide →

At a glance

Humanist Sans-serifMyriad
Era1920s–present1992
DisciplineTypographyTypography
RegionEngland, Europe, United StatesUnited States
FamilySans-serifSans-serif
Formal traitshumanist, open-aperture, modest-contrast, calligraphichumanist, open-aperture, high-x-height, modest-contrast

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