Try Warnock Pro

Big Caslon?

Oh, less contrast...

I don’t think a font with lower contrast than Merlo is going to look very “bookish”. And anything contemporary isn’t going to look anything like Caslon... So what is it you need again? :-)

BTW, instead of Helvetica try Unica:
http://typophile.com/node/18387

hhp

Right. I could see Akkurat paired niceley with Corrundum text, too.

I should have been more specific. This is for an art piece and I’m using Helvetica because I want the copy to have a very corporate advertise-y look, something that people will definintely associate with advertising. I want the text around the copy to look like it was from a book. So it should look “familiar,” again, like from a book, but not contrast to much with the copy. Right now I’m using Adobe Caslon because it seems ’neutral’, or generic enough, and it’s OK, but I feel it could be better and can’t exactly put my finger on it. That’s why I thought I’d ask the experts.

Hrant> You’re probably right about lower contrast. I can not find Unica, even with a Google search.

Scott> Akkurat is nice, but I want a heavier weight then they offer, and their fonts are very expensive. Corrundum could be possibility, but maybe a bit too “slabby.”

In that case I would use something like Franklin Gothic and Garamond, or Frutiger and Bembo.

You could also be ironic and use Arial Black and Times New Roman.

Helvetica is ubiquitous, it’s true. But other faces like Univers strike me as being more “corporate.” And I can’t remember the last time I read a book set in Caslon.

Scott> Franklin Gothic and Frutiger seem too esoteric to me. Remember this going to seen by people who are not as attuned to type. But Univers just might add that something I felt was missing. I think I was too fixated on Helvetica just because it seemed like the obvious thing to use.

I’m not so much looking for a good sans/serif combination as a “message” done with type, although I do want them to balance well.

But I have to say, your idea of using Arial Black and Times New Roman is enticing. I don’t know how ironic it would be, but it sure would be humorous.

> something that people will definintely associate with advertising.

OK, do use a light weight of Helvetica then. (Shudder...)

I’m now getting the feeling that the other font should be Bookman.
http://www.myfonts.com/search?search%5Btext%5D=bookman _
For one thing it has that out-of-scale atmosphere about it (I mean
it would look like a book font, magnified) plus it has low contrast.

hhp

Hrant > I’ve been using Helvetica Black, but have been experimenting with Univers as per Scott’s suggestion. At this point I’m liking it better, especially the Extra Black, it actually has a more “advertisey” feel. Which led to think of Helvetica Inserat, which I’m also going to try.

Bookman, that’s an excellent suggestion, I would never have thought of that. I don’t have it, but it’s pretty cheap, and I only need one weight. Speaking of weight, it’s also a little heavier which is good. I found at the size I’m using, and with the heavy copy, the regular weight looked a little thin, I was using the semibold of Adobe Caslon.