Designed by Hermann Zapf in 1952-55 and issued by both Stempel and by Linotype in 1958. The stroke weight is more variable in Optima than in Laudatio, but the degree of taper is less. Of the two, Optima is more purely a sanserif. The taper of the stroke derives from unserifed Greek inscriptions and the unserifed roman inscriptions of Renaissance Florence, but in other respects the architecture of Optima is Neoclassical. Optia `italic' is pure sloped roman.

-Robert Bringhurst, `The Elements of Typographic Style'.

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