The display version differs from the text in the refinement of several details. The serifs are thinner and a bit more delicate. The contrast is higher — i.e., the thins are relatively thinner — giving an overall more elegant feeling in larger sizes. Some of the sharp junctions of the text design, while not eliminated from the display, have been softened slightly, so that they aren’t jarring or distracting.

Moreover, the overall vertical proportions have been adjusted. The display design is taller on the body, filling the em of the font more. This has the effect of making Whitman Display appear ever so slightly narrower. The fitting of the Display fonts is proportionately tighter, as befits display setting.

In the narrower widths, the cap height and x-height remain the same, but the ascenders and descenders are slightly shorter. I felt that as the design was compressed, the extenders appeared relatively longer. The slightly shorter extenders maintain a visual balance between the widths.