So, while, for example, Georgia Pro Condensed, as the name implies, is just a condensed version of Georgia, Verdana Pro Condensed is not (just) a condensed Verdana. You see, Verdana already had a semi-condensed and condensed styles, they are called Tahoma and Nina, respectively. This give me access to several additional weights and a condensed width, right? Second, even better, I find out that Verdana Pro is available, together with several other typefaces, as an optional download for Windows (nothing comparable with what is available on mac OS, but still). So I start looking for ways to make Verdana work despite its general overuse and avoiding web y2k vibes.įirst, I discover that at least the latest versions of non-Pro Verdana bundled with Windows include a stylistic set with a non-seriffed |I| (that is what I call a good start). However, his most famous one, Verdana, seems to accompany well with Sitka (in fact, the eponymous Carter Sans could almost be seen as an interpolation between Sitka and Verdana). It turns out, there are not many Matthew Carter designed sans serifs. Searching for a complementary contrasting sans, I started to look for typefaces from the same designer, as I most often do. It is a lovely typeface, designed with an emphasis on legibility that offers many optical sizes to boot.
Recently I was looking for a complementary typeface to pair with Sitka, the somewhat obscure serif designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft.