Allrounder Antiqua

Allrounder Antiqua is an old-style serif member of the Allrounder superfamily. A timeless typeface based on classical proportions, Allrounder Antiqua is perfectly suitable for advanced book and editorial design well as packaging and branding.

Caution: this is v2.0 of Allrounder Antiqua. If you already own and use any of the pre-2024 Allrounder fonts, the new version won’t be compatible with your existing layouts due to fundamental changes in the metrics. Skip to the last paragraph for more information.

True: the main purpose of Allrounder Antiqua is to set flawless body copy and to generate an evenly textured page—but its refined shapes work fantastically in display applications, too. Some details, such as the small and sharp bowl of the lowercase a, are fully appreciated in large sizes only. If you need a sophisticated serif typeface for packaging, food, fashion, consumer goods, or lifestyle branding, Allrounder Antiqua is up for it. It's also apt as an outstanding corporate typeface, be it for a more conservative venture or the latest hipster start-up.

This classy serif typeface comes in four weights with corresponding true italics. Just like its sans-serif counterpart, Allrounder Grotesk, Allrounder Antiqua is equipped with plenty of Opentype Features like small caps, six sets of figures, case-sensitive forms, superiors, fractions and many ligatures. You will find alternate letters with swashes within this extended character set, as well as all the accented glyphs necessary to support more than 200 Latin-based languages.

Historical Background

The (French) Renaissance-influenced typeface started as Moritz Kleinsorge's graduation project within the "Expert Class Type design" course of the Plantin Institute for Typography, located in the famous Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp, Belgium. There, Moritz Kleinsorge decided to create a revival of Robert Granjon's "Ascendonica Romain", described as "a beautiful face; typical of Granjon's mature style" in the inventory list of available material. "To touch punches and matrices cut by Robert Granjon back in 1567 was an invaluable inspiration", Moritz explains. Over time, the typeface moved away from being a true revival. Rather, it evolved into a Granjon-inspired typeface. That typeface is now available as Allrounder Antiqua.

Perfect Pairing: Allrounder Antiqua + Allrounder Grotesk

Allrounder Grotesk is the ideal complement to Allrounder Antiqua. They both share common vertical metrics and a common color. This allows you to pair both typefaces within the same layout—even within the same paragraph—without creating visual disruption. Head over to the Family Page of Allrounder Grotesk to get more information about this typeface.

Design Trick: Bilingual Design With the Allrounder Superfamily

Combining Allrounder Grotesk with Allrounder Antiqua is an ideal approach for bilingual designs, wherein both languages get the same emphasis yet are distinguished with two different typefaces. It's also best practice to set headlines in a different typeface than the body text if they harmonize with each other. Allrounder Grotesk and Allrounder Antiqua provide you with the perfect pair for this purpose.

Caution: Allrounder updates and legacy projects

The Allrounder superfamily—Allrounder Grotesk, Allrounder Antiqua, and Allrounder Monument—was completely overhauled in 2024. The updated Allrounder fonts come with different horizontal metrics than the original versions, which means your copy will reflow if you are currently using the original versions and replace them with the update. A parallel installation of the old and new versions is not possible—there can be only one. Please make sure that you won’t run into any kind of trouble when installing the new Allrounder fonts.

Our advice: if in doubt or under pressure, finish whatever projects you are currently working on first and export your files to static formats like PDF. After the deadline, exploring the new qualities of the update will be much more relaxed.

If you want to or need to continue to work with the old versions and require additional licenses or font downloads, we’ll be happy to provide you with everything you need in terms of legacy versions. Just drop us a line at info@identity-letters.com.

Credits
Spacing / Kerning: Sebastian Carewe
Graphics & Editing: Johannes López Ayala