| Category | Fantasy |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Chris Costello |
| Foundry | Letraset |
| Date created | 1982 |
| Date released | 1983 |
| Re-issuing foundries | Linotype ITC |
| Shown here | Papyrus EF Alternatives |
Papyrus is a widely available typeface designed by Chris Costello, a graphic designer, illustrator, and web designer.
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The font was created in 1982 and released the next year to foundry Letraset. It was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language texts would have looked like if written on papyrus 2000 years ago.[1] Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy."[2]
An alternative font published by Elsner+Flake is Papyrus EF Alternatives (or Papyrus EF Regular), providing a slight variation to Costello's font. Its differences include a shorter, sharper capital P, a capital E with a top bar longer than the middle bar, and a swash A.
Papyrus is often used where an antique look is desired, such as a coffee shop[3] or church flyer.[4]
As has been the case with Comic Sans, Papyrus is often criticized by graphic designers, including Chris Costello, for being overused.[4]
Papyrus has been included in many Microsoft programs for Windows.[6] Mac OS X includes Papyrus font as part of its basic installation (starting from version 10.3 Panther, released in 2003).[7]