It was FontFont's first sans-serif intended for corporate communication, and a design community weary of Helvetica transformed it into an instant hit. It has remained a perennial favorite, although curiously without a sans equivalent.

FF Meta Serif apparently required the work of Spiekermann and two other designers over a three-year period. The result is a face with metrics that are not mathematically identical to FF Meta, but are optically the same. As a result, the two families can be mixed in the same line and can be used to accentuate each other. FF Meta Serif is available in Book, Medium, Bold and Black weights, each with Italics. All styles include Small Caps, lining and oldstyle figures in proportional and tabular widths, and a range of arrows and other symbols. The OpenType versions provide easy access to all available glyphs and features such as extra ligatures, case-sensitive punctuation, and support for Eastern European languages.

Given the continuing popularity of Meta, the serif addition to the family should find rapid acceptance. Oh, and the typeface the corporate client decided to keep using, instead of the custom one that was designed for them by Spiekermann? You guessed it, Helvetica.