Palatino

The Palatino typeface is one of the most widely used typefaces used today, belonging to the Sans Informal family of fonts. Hermann Sapf developed the original typeface for the Stempel Foundry in 1950,  and unlike most sans serif designs, which are inspired by the grotesque-style, the two Palatino Sans families are the result of a softer approach to the alphabet. The Palatino Sans reads far more relatable and organic than their traditional counterparts, which typically read as a more constructed font.

Giovanbattista Palatino, after whom the Palatino typefaces are named, was a Roman writer of the 16th century. His work inspired Hermann Sapf, although none of Hermann Zapf´s typefaces could be said to be literal revivals of Giovanbattista Palatino´s letters. Yet many of the traits of the Palatino typefaces, such as its open counterforms and overall legibility, are definite themes that had previously inspired Renaissance lettering. The Palatino typefaces´classical proportions place it within the broader Roman types family, yet it has specific stylistic qualities of its own.

Unlike most renaissance typefaces that used smaller letters with longer vertical lines and lighter strokes, Palatino has larger proportions and is much easier to read, thus emphasizing why it was highly used after it's release and current popularity still. In 1999 Zapf added more versions of the typeface to its family, such as Palatino Nova and Palatino Arabic. The Palatino typeface today is very popular with graphic designers, ads, packaging etc due to its clarity and humanized characteristics. 

The most popular use of this typeface is for the DreamWorks logo, where the typeface has been slightly modified to Bold and stretched horizontally. 



References: 

http://jakespurlock.com/2010/11/minimilist-typography-wallpaper/palatino/  
Accessed 12/03/13

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/adobe/palatino/  
Accessed 12/03/13

http://kernthat.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/boothby-concept-and-history-of-palatino.html   
Accessed 12/03/13

http://luc.devroye.org/palatino2.html   
Accessed 12/03/13

http://www.blender.org/forum/viewtopic.phpp=79098&sid=5e7def8ac30cc65d304ccbf6a0daba0e

Accessed 12/03/13