Each month, Physics Today editors explore the research and design choices that inspired the latest cover of the magazine.

Physics Today’s first issue of 2022 includes a feature article by Kathrin Altwegg of the University of Bern in Switzerland entitled ‘Cometary chemistry.’ The piece focuses on information gathered by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe, the first spacecraft to stick with a comet throughout a portion of its orbit around the Sun and monitor the comet’s evolution.

The historical illustration of a comet that ended up on the cover was just one of the ideas that came from early brainstorming. Inspired by Sammie Buzzard’s feature article, ‘The surface hydrology of Antarctica’s floating ice,’ Physics Today editor Alex Lopatka suggested a satellite image of polar ice. And Rosetta produced beautiful photos of its target, 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, that were in the running. Physics Today’s books editor Ryan Dahn urged taking a broader view of Altwegg’s article and looking to historical images.

When Physics Today’s senior graphic designer, Freddie Pagani, circulated mock-up covers based on each of the ideas, comets were the clear staff favorite. The photograph of comet 67P garnered some interest, as did a drawing of the Great Comet of 1881. But with its blaze of orange and yellow against a steel-blue sky, a 16th-century illustration from The Book of Miracles won the day.

Consensus came easily for the cover image, but not for the headline font. Pagani’s first suggestion (at left in the image below), chosen for its medieval feel, was ruled out by Physics Today’s editor-in-chief, Charles Day. He worried about misleading readers into thinking the article was historical when in fact it focused on a recent space mission. He also pointed out that although the depicted comet appeared in the early 15th century, the illustration itself dated from the mid 16th century—no longer the Middle Ages.

With that in mind, Pagani’s next headline used Lucida Blackletter (center image above), a font that echoes the style used in 15th- and 16th-century printing. It also evokes The Book of Miracles’ German origin; Fraktur, another blackletter font, was used there through the 19th century. (To learn about the connection between Fraktur and Einstein’s early publications, see ‘Analyzing Einstein’s handwriting,’Physics Today online, 26 August 2021.) But Physics Today’s art director, Donna Padian, felt that the font was too bold, and toning down the color from orange to a slightly transparent white (at right in the image) didn’t allay her concern.

Pagani settled on a mixed font. For the capital letter C she used Amador, another blackletter font, and the rest of the headline is in Kepler, a serif font that she found to be complementary. ‘It’s less decorative,’ she says, comparing it with the earlier versions, ‘but I think it still carries the feeling I was looking for.’