Diane Script & Diane Script Première
Diane Script & Diane Script Première (2008, for FontHaus) together comprise a digital revival of “Diane”, a script typeface designed by Roger Excoffon for Founderie Olive in 1956. The fonts are available exclusively in OpenType format and include stylistic alternates, automatic fractions, and contextual alternates for perfect setting.
There were actually two metal foundry type versions of Diane. The initial version, released in 1956, featured elaborate, swirly caps. A second, with simplified caps, was released some time in the early 1960s. Apparently, the original caps were considered difficult to read and were changed to appease the typesetting market. Both versions are preserved in this revival. Diane Script features the simplified caps and Diane Script Première features Excoffon’s original caps.
The lowercase is the same in both versions, but I included some alternate lowercase letters that were shown in the original brochure for Diane that didn't make it into the official release.
It was necessary to add many other characters to bring Diane up-to-date, including an ampersand, which was curiously missing from the original. I designed two ampersands, one to go with the simplified caps and one to go with the original caps. Both ampersands are included in Diane Script Première.
You can read more about how I came to revive Diane, and the adventure it turned out to be, in this Notebook entry.