US EditionThe Poor Kerning on Pope Francis's Gravestone
- On Saturday, Pope Francis was interred at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, with a tombstone inscribed simply with his name.
- The tombstone uses the Latin spelling FRANCISCVS but shows irregular spacing that some attribute to humility or poor workmanship.
- The poor kerning has sparked debate, with suggestions including a rushed job, incompetence, or a deliberate symbol of the pope's humble life.
- Experts define kerning as spacing letters to achieve visual balance and ease of reading, while papal tombstones traditionally do not apply kerning as a humility gesture.
- The tombstone's design highlights differing interpretations of the pope's humility and possible practical causes, reflecting on his simple burial request.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The inscription of the papal tomb gets an unusual amount of attention. The A in Francis was sculpted with a clear distance from the other letters in the stone panel. Did the stonemason lack the time or does it just fit better?
The inscription on Pope Francis's tombstone did not, to put it mildly, succeed. According to the L'Espresso website, the problem is in the visible spaces around the letter “A” in Franciscus's name, which is all capitalized. Thousands of worshippers continue to flock to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snow (Santa Maria Maggiore), where Francis is buried. The graphic error that falls on the heads of the stonemasons who carved Francis's name into t…
Social networks focus on the spacing of A in the name 'Franciscus' (ANSA)
There would have been an inaccuracy in the engraving of the name 'Franciscvs' on Pope Francis' tombstone in Santa Maria Maggiore
Almost a week after his funeral, the line of people looking to enter the Basilica of Santa Maria la Mayor, where Pope Francis is buried, remains long. The gendarmerie continues to allow themselves to be only a few seconds before the marble of Liguria, material from which the tombstone of the Argentine pontiff is made. But in the last few days, several Italian articles focused on what seems to be a basic error in design. Video: Unfortunate error …
The Importance of Kerning in Design: Lessons from Pope Francis's Tomb
Recently, Fast Company highlighted an intriguing design flaw on Pope Francis’s tomb: improper kerning. The article, “Kerning on Pope Francis’s Tomb Is a Travesty”, dives into how such a seemingly small detail can have significant implications for branding and design. Understanding Kerning and Its Impact Kerning refers to the adjustment of space between characters in a font. Proper kerning ensures that text is visually balanced and readable. In t…
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