A friendly modelled modern sans serif with open oval shapes

Petermann includes weights from hairline to extra black, widths from condensed to expanded, and true italics.

The font family of "Petermann" is a modern sans serif with certain characteristics.

The shapes, the basic structure of the letters, are designed very functionally.

The stroke weight varies very little, there is almost no contrast between hairlines and main strokes.
The round letters emphasize the open oval, their round counters give rhythm to the typeface and make it appear soft and pleasing.
The one-storey round design of the two small letters a and g being especially contributive here.

An identifying feature of Petermann is the set back foot of the lowercase c and e.

Another characteristic is the slanted strokes, the end of which is rounded towards the inside of the letter.

Dots are round in Petermann. This also gives the font a certain sense of softness.

In contrast to classic sans serifs, some letters in Petermann have slight echoes of serifs, which enhance the reading flow. The most striking are the “feet” of the lowercase letters a d l u. They almost look like particularly short and very bold serifs.
But the upper strokes of m n r are also noticeably slightly convex.

A font for all occasions

Petermann offers numerous OpenType features and style sets. For example, small caps, fractions, circled numerals and the historic long s are included.

There are alternative designs for some letters to give the typeface a completely different overall impression.
Conventional two-story variants of lowercase a and g are available (Style Set 04). You can choose the letters d j l u without “feet” or with a straight stroke (Style Set 01), the lowercase f and the german double s with a descender (Style Set 03).
Variants of some capital letters can also be selected: the M with straight sides, the I with a serif-like upper stroke, the two-story capital W.

Some letters are also available in a more open, lighter design: A B D G P R and, correspondingly, the lowercase e.

Several ligatures also enrich the possibilities of Petermann.
Petermann even includes small caps, i.e. small capital letters matching the height of the lowercase letters.

The numerals are available alternatively as old-style figures, tabular figures or proportional figures. An alternative slashed zero is also included. Fractions and circled numbers (positive and negative) are also part of the character set.