[1] It is influenced by Bembo, a popular book typeface by Monotype, and is also similar to Carter's previous ITC Galliard.

[7] Some of Yale's unique characteristics are its curved leg of the "h", its flat-topped "A", its open apertures of the "c" and "e", and the bent tops of its lowercase ascenders.

In addition to converting the typeface to the OpenType format, Carter reorganized the family and supplemented its fonts with additional accented characters, floating accents, a complete set of f-ligatures, true fractions, lowercase Greek characters, and manicules (fists).

Carter developed these from hands found in a woodcut illustration in the Hypnerotomachia Polifili, published in 1499 by Aldus Manutius.

With a large x-height and influences of signpainting, it was intended to be particularly readable, especially in book text and (in the bolder weights) on signage.