Named for Pompeii’s sister city, Herculanum was designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1990 for Linotype’s Type before Gutenberg series. The typeface is based on first-century Roman letterforms cursive that were quickly written in clay using a stylus.

Frutiger’s design mixes letterforms that are very narrow and very wide; combined with its simple, elemental shapes, Herculanum is one of the most expressive and individual display faces in the Adobe Type Showroom.