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Benguiat Pro ITC Medium Italic

Benguiat Pro ITC Medium Italic was designed by its namesake, Ed Benguiat, in 1977. Ed was in design from day one – Benguiat’s father was a display director at Bloomingdale’s. The font was created thanks to a stubborn friend who persuaded Benguiat to design a logo for his store pro bono.

Benguiat is unique in its large x-height, high-waisted capitals, and ornamental details echoing Art Nouveau typefaces. It features long, finely extended line terminals that mingle with tapering serifs. The broad letters seem rounded with their large x-height, making the font slightly squat.

This character intrigued me with its human personality. A little imagination makes the ampersand a person sitting with their knees drawn up and one arm wrapped around their legs, blowing a kiss or watching the end of their scarf wave in the wind.