Chaparral Pro is a hybrid slab-serif that balances the charm of 16th-century serifs with the bravura of 19th-century egyptians. Named after the evergreen oak in the California foothills, Chaparral Pro has angular, unbracketed serifs that exude masculine grit. Its lowercase e shows a slightly inclined angle in the crossbar, and its uppercase legs display effortless curves. Open apertures, subtle tapering, and varying letter proportions create lively and legible text.

PMN Caecilia, a neohumanist slab serif, achieves an unthinkable combination by integrating subtle line modulation and a narrow italic reminiscent of handwriting. In its development, Noordzij cycled through names including Academic, Claudius, and Gaudium before settling on the namesake from a line of revered women that includes his own wife, Marie-Cécile. Caecilia’s large counters and high x-height are so easy on the eyes that Amazon offers the typeface as a standard on its Kindle.

LinoLetter, a slab serif released by the Linotype Corporation in conjunction with the Basel School of Design, addresses typography in the age of electronic, mass-production publishing. LinoLetter is also constructed for high legibility with its large counters and tall x-height. Sharp terminals and grooved arms lend the letterforms to poor printing conditions like newspapers. With each dense, extended slab, a mechanical tone intersects with an objective, literary voice.