Univers : typographie

Almost is a typeface between gothic and roman. It was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in five weights and many alternates. They can be endlessly combined, taking either a roman or gothic direction, without falling in a strong, broken script nor becoming a “pure” roman design. Above, uncialesque and bizarre (Byzantine) letterforms and a full set of initials complete the fonts. All take their inspiration in the fifteenth century, specifically in the period of 1459–1482 with Gotico-Antiqua typefaces, like the Durandus of Fust & Schöffer, the first type to present a humanistic tendency. A few years later, Sweynheim & Pannartz used a type in Subiaco that some consider to be the first roman, although gothic influences remain clearly visible. Roman type was finally defined in 1469–1470 in Venice by the de Spira brothers and Nicolas Jenson. But roman did not precipitate the death of gothic forms; mixtures of gothic and roman were tried out and the two coexisted for some time. Almost is an homage to these types, which represent a unique, transitory moment in history of typography.

Concept A single-style display typeface, an act of play and a search for pleasure. It starts an argument with consistency. It is not a servant of legibility. It will not be your problem solver, your workhorse, or your crystal goblet. And don’t you ever dare calling it a “tool”! Why design it or use it? Well, the real question is why not? Birra Saison is to be published as part of the Birra type flight by Darden Studio in early 2020.

Falling Script is an experimental font that adapts Latin type to the vertical orientation used in various Asian scripts. Since Western script developed in a horizontal style, it had to be reexamined to determine what would look natural in vertical writing. When letters are written vertically, the weight distribution of the strokes goes mainly from top right to bottom left. That creates different stem proportions from those of typical scripts. Another particular challenge was creating this script’s continuous style. My solution: categorizing the characters into four groups. The shape of the characters is determined by the character that follows.

Spec shows both the graphic and functional sides of abstraction. Half of the family is designed for short-distance viewing, and the other half is for long-distance: Spec Near and Spec Far. Near compresses the alphabet, simplifying shapes and crunching the letter widths. Far interprets the same shapes in an even cruder manner. Across the family, Spec lets the reader’s mind do some of the work.