The word Hamburgevons (orHamburgefonstivorHamburgefons) is a short piece of meaningless filler text used for assessing the design and the appearance of a typeface.[1][2] It contains all essential forms in a Latin alphabet, so that the character of the respective font can be recognized quickly.[3][4] It consists of the letters that are often first designed when designing a typeface.[4]
The word is useful for typographers and designers during the design of a font, as the form of its letters include all of the curves and abutments normally found in a font.[5][6] As a test word, it is useful for determining the visual readability of a font chosen for a layout.[7][8] A version of it is often used as a standard word in the visual layout of fonts submitted to competitions and exhibitions.[9][10][11]
Jérôme Peignot, L’Alphabet des lettres, ou le petit hamburgefons, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1995, 128 p. (ISBN 978-2940028085).
Das untenstehende Modellwort "Hamburgefons" zeigt von der Gill-Grotesk vier verschiedene Laufweiten.
Nach den Erfahrungen der Fachkreise erfüllten diese Voraussetzungen beispielsweise die Buchstaben des Phantasieworts "Hambur-giensis" (neuerdings auch: „O Hamburgefonstiv"). Diesen Ausführungen hatten sich damals die Mitglieder des mit der Vorbereitung des Abkommens beauftragten Sachverständigenausschusses angeschlossen.