The inclusion of small caps, four sets of figures, ligatures and extended language support makes Questa a real workhorse typeface. This means, compared to Didot, the x-height of Questa is rather big and the capitals are relatively small. The proportions between x-height, capitals, and ascenders/descenders are very much adapted to present-day needs. Instead its shape is a teardrop terminal with a sharp-pointed ending. Questa doesn’t have the ball terminals typical of many Didot-like typefaces.
Modern digital revivals of Didot-like typefaces are often very thin, even compared to the original printed metal typefaces from around 1800. At the same time the thin parts and the unbracketed serifs are strong enough to prevent the characters from breaking open. The contrast within Questa’s characters is relatively high. Questa has smaller capitals and a larger x-height than Didot, making it better adapted to present-day needs Questa belongs to the group of Didot-like neoclassicist typefaces The goal was not to make a revival of any of these three, but rather an original typeface. To prevent Questa’s shapes from becoming too clean and sharp, several features – not typical to Didot-like typefaces – were considered. Typefaces like Didot, Bodoni, and Walbaum were reviewed and some characteristics were used as rough guidelines for the design.
The extensive Questa family includes serif, sans, and display typefaces.įirst of all the text version of the Questa super family had to be designed, not in the least to serve as a basis for both the sans and the display version. It was a perfect base on which to apply Majoor’s type design philosophy that a serif typeface is a logical starting point for creating a sans serif version and not the other way around. Their collaboration began in 2010 using Buivenga’s initial sketches for a squarish Didot-like display typeface as a starting point. The Questa Project is a type design adventure by Dutch type designers Jos Buivenga and Martin Majoor.
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