Karnak is a "geometric" slab serif, reflecting the style of German
geometric sans-serifs (in particular
Futura) which had attracted considerable attention in the United States and adapting the design to the slab serif structure. It copies the German geometric slab-serif
Memphis.[3][4] Middleton also designed a loose copy of Futura, the sans-serif
Tempo, around the same time.[2] It and other similar designs were popular in American printing during the
hot metal typesetting period.
Like Memphis, Karnak's name, after the
Karnak Temple Complex in
Egypt, references the fact that early slab serifs were often called "Egyptians" as an exoticism by nineteenth-century typefounders.[5][a]
Karnak was an influence on the design of the popular 2009 slab serif
Neutraface Slab.[8][9] It is an adaptation of the sans-serif
Neutraface designed by
Christian Schwartz, influenced by Middleton's Tempo.[10][11][12]Archer is another well-known modern geometric slab serif in this style with a less strictly geometric design.[13][14]
Notes
^Although, confusingly, the term was first used to refer to sans-serifs, and the earliest slab-serifs were often called "Antiques".[6][7]