Semplicità

Semplicità is a sans-serif typeface of the geometric style. It was published by the Nebiolo type foundry of Turin, Italy from around 1928.^[1][2][a]

Category	Sans-serif
Classification	Geometric
Foundry	Nebiolo
Date created	c. 1928

Semplicità, named for the Italian for "simplicity", is an example of the new wave of "geometric" sans-serifs such as Erbar and Futura appearing in the late 1920s and early 1930s.^[5][6][7] These designs were based on the proportions of the circle and the square and the influence of Roman square capitals, breaking from traditional "grotesque" designs of the nineteenth century.^[6][5] Semplicità, however, has a number of unusual features, including a 'U' with an angle, following the classical model, and an 'f' which descends below the baseline.^[8][b] It is also a "spurless" design, similar to the contemporary Bernhard Gothic and more recently FF Dax, in which most strokes end without terminals.^[8][3] These features give Semplicità an appearance similar to some of the flamboyant, modernist Art Deco lettering of the period.^[4][8]

The design of Semplicità has sometimes been credited to type designer Alessandro Butti,^[3] but Colizzi and Olocco do not credit it to a single designer, although Butti may have been the final draughtsman.^{[10][11][12][13][1]}

Digitisations are available in commercial releases from Durotype and Canada Type, and an open-source version (shown) from Studio Di Lena, who require attribution as a condition of its use.^[14][15][16] A proprietary digitisation has also been used by the French clothing company Céline.^[17]

Styles

Semplicità was sold in a wide range of weights. Leonardo Di Lena lists the following styles in a Nebiolo catalogue:^[16]

• 501-00 serie tonda chiara normale (light regular)
• 501-01 serie tonda chiara stretta (light condensed)
• 501-05 serie corsiva chiara normale (light italic)
• 501-06 serie corsiva chiara stretta (light italic condensed)
• 501-10 serie tonda neretta normale (medium)
• 501-11 serie tonda neretta stretta (medium condensed)
• 501-15 serie corsiva neretta normale (medium italic)
• 501-16 serie corsiva neretta stretta (medium italic condensed)
• 501-20 serie tonda nera normale (bold)
• 501-21 serie tonda nera stretta (bold condensed)
• 501-25 serie corsiva nera normale (bold italic)
• 501-26 serie corsiva nera stretta (bold italic condensed)

In addition, some swash capitals were offered and a shadowed capital face, Ombra, not to be confused with the similar Umbra font offered by Ludlow.