Belarius binds astronomer’s book

Few things can excite the mind and stir curiosity as the study of astronomy. It shows us our cosmic past, invites us to explore, and raises more questions than a lifetime could answer. Photons were flung from a star before we were born, and even before our earth existed. So the light we now see from distant galaxies is a form of time travel: we are seeing it as it was ages ago and light years aways rather than as it is now.

Anna Von Mertens has written an impressive book on astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, including her work, her methods leading to discoveries, her legacy, and her colleagues, especially females. In Attention is discovery: The life and legacy of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, we are shown how Leavitt’s way of measuring cosmic brightness, distance, and trajectory deepened our understanding of stars and our place in the universe.

Designer John Kramer chose Belarius as the font family for the entire book — all main text and large headings, image captions and page numbers, chapter names, book cover, and even the imprint of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Every word is in some form of the star-named typeface. (Quite apropos, we think.)

Designers take their layout inspiration from almost anywhere. Kramer reflects, “I often make up criteria for font choices, just to narrow it down a little. My first criterion for this project was that the main text be composed using a variable serif font, and this was for a rather obvious reason: the book’s content centers on the study of a kind of star called a ’variable’ because it varies in brightness over time. It’s how these astronomers were able to make the first reliable calculations about the size of the universe!”

Discussing the ideation phase, Kramer said, “Since this book deals with 19th-century science, I had originally imagined a complex title page mixing serifs and sans serifs in multiple sizes and treatments, but this never made it to the final design. But if I could use the variable font for all of that, so much the better.”

His commitment to making the design serve the text resulted in choosing the Belarius family for everything. “The ability to use variable fonts was the crucial criterion and really narrowed down the font options. Then when it became clear that I wanted the serifs to be square slabs, there was only one font that worked well enough: Belarius. I’d never used a variable font for a full book so I was a little nervous, but I’d used both Adelle families for multiple large projects, so I knew I could trust TypeTogether. Belarius it was!”

Kramer also noted more of Belarius design and layout strengths. “During the design and composition phases, Belarius was a life-saver in many ways: for enhancing the readability of my full-column serifs; manipulating the widths for my narrow justified columns of sans; managing the weight shifts of the book’s very long captions; and finally, finessing the minute details of the cover type.”

Belarius is a three-axis variable font family (or 90 static fonts) that shifts from sans to slab serif, from condensed to expanded widths, and includes every possibility in between. With serifs that can appear and lengthen at will, Belarius’s baritone voice opts for poignancy instead of the overly quirky nature of poster slab serifs. Its variable font format is modern tech for discerning (and often demanding) work, making it a multitool for magazines, digital editorials, book narratives, and packaging design.

The cosmic beauty and scientific revelations within Attention is discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt reflects the actual cosmos, while Belarius’s yesteryear purity imbues it with a suave, polite, and genuinely modest manner for such a deep subject.