In this experiment, I presented the word „STRAẞE“ in uppercase using different forms of the Eszett character. The letterforms I designed were based on the Mabry typeface. Participants were asked to choose their favorite form from the five presented options. There were no wrong choices, as all letterforms are officially recognized. The experiment was solely about personal preference and intuition. I conducted this experiment with individuals who predominantly have a strong design background. In the future, it would be interesting to conduct this experiment with non-designers as well.
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The majority of respondents in this experiment selected the Leipzig Skeleton as the best visualization of an uppercase Eszett. When combining the votes for both the super soft and soft variants of the Dresden Skeleton, it ties with the Leipzig design. I believe the results were strongly influenced by the fact that my participants were from the design industry, where there is a constant pursuit of new and modern approaches. According to German type designer Ralph Hermann, when typefaces include an uppercase Eszett, the Dresden Skeleton is often the most commonly designed option. This outcome aligns with my expectations, as in the intuitive exercise of drawing a large sharp S, many participants were inspired by the lowercase form, creating a broader and larger variant of the Sulzbach design. I still find it very intriguing that many participants were open to a more modern approach that doesn‘t closely resemble an uppercase B.
