In reply to MATD 2012:
The binocular g is the normative shape that evolved in the Italian humanist formal book hand.
I didn't say that there was only a single normative shape for each letter; indeed, I specifically said that orthographic integrity is a continuum. Your example of the three letter y shapes actually makes my point, I think: these are recognised normative shapes in which one can see the relationship of each to each as well as their stylistic distinctions, and we know how each evolved. My point is that you can't simply invent a new shape and proclaim it normative, without in the process throwing out any useful application of that term. So, for example, the lowercase pi in the album lettering is an innovation that I would say is counter-normative for the lowercase Greek alphabet. That doesn't imply that it is a failure in itself or within the particular mini-system of the type style in which it occurs, but to call it normative of the writing system is meaningless. If a genre of type styles develops in which this shape is typical, then one can say it is normative of the genre, but as I said, this is a different use of the term.
