STA 100, 2018

Based in Chicago, the Society of Typographic Arts (STA) has been dedicated to all aspects of design, particularly typography and printing since its formation in 1927. The society has a long list of honorary members including Beatrice Warde, William A. Dwiggins, Steve Jobs, Paul Rand, Jan Tschichold, and many more, and several fellows such as R. Hunter Middleton and Oswald Cooper who have been recognised for their contributions to the organisation. For forty years, the society has been hosting the STA 100 design competition in which it “affirms its dedication to pursuing excellence in all forms of communication”.

The name of the annual competition is derived from the fact that it recognises exactly one hundred examples of typographic excellence produced within a year. It does not seem to be a coincidence that Hesse Antiqua, released at the occasion of its designer’s 100th birthday, was selected for the STA 100 microsite, used both in headlines and in navigations in small sizes. Hesse Antiqua is based on letters cut in brass by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse in 1947 (read the full story on fontshop.com). By appearing on this website, Hesse Antiqua confirms it transition from a lettering alphabet of the late 1940s into the digital world.