LaTeX challenge: how to reproduce this layout and typography

Question

I would like to create a document in latex (whatever \documentclass) to reproduce the layout below and its typography style. I'd like to know if there is any open font at FontSquirrel or anywhere else, like the one in the picture.

Let's break through my research in steps:

• The font seems Futura BT (see Edit 2)
• Which 'sectional header' style would you use?
• Which margins?
• Which \documentclass ? memoir?

EDIT: I've found the origin of the book from where the image is taken. Is a book from the ISOTYPE collection. I added a useless (for the purpose of this question) photo below.

EDIT2: Thanks to the comment from thrope, using identifont I discovered that the type-face is Futura BT (or BQ). I could buy a license for the font at linotype or I could find a free font like that somewhere. I'll post updates about this.

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Answer 1

I'm going through the list in your question, step by step.

• Regarding the font Bitstream Futura BT, that you found out, here are instructions: Using Bitstream Futura with LaTeX. It belongs to Michael Gährkens page Bitstream-Fonts for TeX/LaTeX.

• The sectioning could be designed for instance using the titlesec package and its commands \titleformat and titlespacing.

• Measure the margins out and specify their exact values to the geometry package using its margin options. If you are not bound to that margins: a typographically very good page design could be achieved using the typearea package. It calculates the margins from a typographical point of view, letting you decide the basic page partitioning.

• memoir is a very capable class, but I would prefer scrbook. But both classes offer many ways for customization.

Answer 2

This seems like a fun question, although, would meta seem more apt place for these? I hope people can contribute plain/context/etc. answers as well.

I think I got close, but no cigar (in Plain XeTeX):

\uselanguage{ngerman}
\def\myfont{Futura}
\font\futten="\myfont"
\font\futbf="\myfont/B"
\font\futtwelwe="\myfont" at 12pt
\font\futfourteen="\myfont" at 14pt
\futten
\def\bf{\futbf}
\baselineskip=14pt
\parindent=1.4em
\hsize=8.4cm
\setbox0=\hbox{i}
\spaceskip=\wd0 plus 0.5em minus 0.15em % to enable those gaping holes
\frenchspacing
\line{{\futfourteen Überblick}\hfil Zu Tafel 18, 19, 20, 21}
\kern.5ex
\leftline{{\futtwelwe Von 1700 bis zur Gegenwart}}
\kern1ex
Die moderne Wirlschaftsordnung ist charakterisiert durch {\bf koloniale Expansion} und {\bf Industrialisierung, bürgerliche Revolution, Beginn der proletarischen Revolution.}

Um 1700 hat Spanien mit seinen Kolonien ungefähr dieselbe Bevölkerungszahl wie Deutschland oder Frankreich, doppelt soviel wie Großbritannien samt Kolonien oder Rußland. Der gewaltigste Staat war damals China.

Von 1700 bis zur Gegenwart findet eine ungeheure Umwälzung statt auf dem Gebiet der internationalen Beziehungen, der Produktionsweise und der gesellschaftlichen Struktur; das moderne Unternehmerturn bildet sich heraus auf dem Boden des Handels, des Kolonial- und Fabrikwesens. Entwicklung des Proletariats. Die führende Macht war zunächst das Britische Reich, dessen Hauptkonkurrent gegenwärtig die U.S.A. sind.
\bye

At least the font is wrong; the original seems a bit wider. I was using whatever Futura that came with OSX. Also, I didn't measure anything, just went ahead with the first setting that looked somewhat similar. Also, I don't know how to read the German language, so if I made mistakes reading that blurry image, I'm sorry!