The 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
Pope Francis: The distance between the letters on his grave plate
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 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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