1989 · United States
Trajan
Also known as Inscriptional capitals, Glyphic titling
Carol Twombly's 1989 all-capitals titling face, drawn after the Roman inscription at the base of Trajan's Column. Monumental, classical, and inescapable on film posters and book jackets.
Original specimen, not a historical artifactType specimen — Trajan (Glyphic / inscriptional); shown in Cinzel, a close match (OFL). Owned; source: Design Style Book (original specimen).
About the style
Trajan was designed by Carol Twombly for Adobe in 1989, modelled directly on the carved capitals of the inscription at the base of Trajan's Column in Rome (dedicated AD 113), long regarded as the finest surviving example of the Roman imperial letter. It is a glyphic, capitals-only titling face: small triangular serifs that flare from the stroke ends, moderate contrast, gracefully modelled curves, and the classical proportions of the inscriptional alphabet, including the wide, generously legged 'R' and the elegant tail of the 'Q'. Having no lowercase, it works purely as display. Its dignified, monumental authority made it the default for film posters, theatrical and book-cover titling, and institutional identities for decades — so much so that its overuse became a design cliché. Trajan matters as the definitive modern revival of the Roman inscriptional capital, the deepest root of the Latin alphabet rendered as living type.
Notable examples
- ▸Carol Twombly — Trajan (Adobe, 1989)
- ▸Trajan's Column inscription (Rome, AD 113, the source model)
- ▸Hollywood film posters and book-jacket titling (1990s–2000s)
Anatomy of Trajan
The numbered markers call out the design elements that define this style. Hover or tap a marker to see its breakdown.
Original specimen, not a historical artifactType specimen — Trajan (Glyphic / inscriptional); shown in Cinzel, a close match (OFL). Owned; source: Design Style Book (original specimen).
Trajan's capital R is wide, with a small high bowl and a long, gracefully curving leg that sweeps outward — its serifs small triangular flares, faithful to the Roman model.
Trajan is a capitals-only titling face, so there is no lowercase g; the 'g' position is filled by a capital G with the same flared, incised serifs.
With no lowercase, the 'a' is a capital A — a pointed apex on flaring triangular serifs, drawn to the classical inscriptional proportions.
Set as all-caps titling, the flaring serifs and wide classical caps read as carved and authoritative — used for gravitas, never for body text.
How Trajan connects
Styles form a network, not a tree. Explore the direct neighbours below — click any to travel the map one hop at a time.
- Evolved from
- Influenced by
Evolved from Glyphic (Inscriptional) Serif — the archetypal inscriptional Roman capital
Influenced by Humanist (Venetian) Serif
Optima influenced by Trajan — drawn from the Roman inscriptional capital tradition
Albertus influenced by Trajan — shares the monumental Roman inscriptional capital tradition
Describe it like this
Prompt-ready vocabulary for describing or re-creating the Trajan look.