Recent releases #33, catch-up edition (Apr 17, 2025)
Back from a short break to almost a month’s worth of typeface releases and type-related announcements. To keep things manageable, I’ve saved some of the most recent news for next week’s edition.
APK Type released APK Narrative, a contemporary grotesque family combining the best aspects of recent APK fonts
, designed by Peter Korsman. Available in seven weights in roman and italic styles, plus a monospaced variant of the regular weight. [apk-type.com]
Blaze Type released Phill, a sans serif designed by Karol Mularczyk which offers endless possibilities for creating bold, attention-grabbing headlines
through variation axes for weight, width, and slant. [blazetype.eu]
East of Rome released Menhir, a Jugendstil-inspired typeface designed by Lewis McGuffie, whose cited influences include Tip-Top (Klinkhardt, 1902), Wodan (Stempel, 1902), Herold (Berthold, 1901), Eckmann-Schrift (Rudhard’sche, 1900), and Block (Berthold, 1908). The typeface supports the Latin and Cyrillic scripts and is complemented by a set of icons designed by Renée Clarke. [eastofrome.com]
F37 Foundry also published the initial version of F37 Azadi, a bi-scriptual, single-style, heavy display typeface with incision-like counterforms that seeks to blend Latin and Arabic scripts seamlessly, designed by Shaqa Bovand. [f37foundry.com]
Fatype released the initial version of States, a single-style sans serif with letterforms that celebrate an array of grotesque eccentricities that undeservedly ended up in the dustbin of history
, designed by Anton Koovit. States is available in sharp and rounded versions (with the latter being a reference to clogged up printed letters
), interpolated in the variable font on a ‘pressure’ axis. [fatype.com]
Also from Giulia Boggio, DGM Typeset is a typeface in sans and slab serif variants that blends the vintage feel of a classic Olivetti Type with a digital flare and a modern duality
. [giuliaboggio.xyz]
Gradient released MSCHN, a geometric sans combining sharp and soft corners inspired by the typography of factories, machinery, and architectural signage, where utility and clarity take precedence
, designed by Milos Mitrovic. [wearegradient.net]
M59 published on Future Fonts the initial version of MF Normavaganza Extra, the OG free range, all cap, no sweat, double contrast slabby slab
, designed by Fabio Pop with origins in the designer’s KABK Type and Media final project. [future-fonts.com]
Noir Blanc Rouge released Obliqa Glitch, a single-weight pixel typeface designed by Bastien Sozeau, available as a variable font whose italic axis controls the slant by shifting successive rows of pixels to the right. As the slant increases, characters subtly fragment and shift, simulating a real-time digital glitch that adds movement and drama to each letterform.
[noirblancrouge.com]
Plau released Spalla, a high-waisted, caps-only display typeface with classical proportions, touches of Italian Art Deco, and a spirit that shifts between the dramatic and the elegant
, designed by Rodrigo Saiani. [plau.design]
Source Type released Bernie, a rounded slab serif designed by Laurenz Brunner and Stefan Fitze, and presented as the latest in the offbeat tradition of soft-serifs, a style that traces back to German designer Lucian Bernhard, renowned for his bold lettering on iconic 1920s poster advertisements
. [sourcetype.com]
Type-Ø-Tones released Brise, a stencil serif typeface designed by Laura Meseguer. Rooted in the architectural idea of the brise-soleil, Brise explores how deliberate gaps can give rhythm, clarity, and breath to type.
[type-o-tones.com]
Updates, reissues, and expansions:
The DJR Font of the Month Club update is a lowercase design for the informal script typeface Indoor Kid, designed by David Jonathan Ross in collaboration with comics writer/editor/publisher Ellis Bojar and originally released in March 2024. The lowercase design blends influences from the pre-digital era of comic books. [djr.com]
Jad Maza published on Future Fonts an update to Bantayog Sans, a bi-scriptual softened sans forged from the characters cast on historical markers in the Philippines
, supporting the Latin and Baybayin scripts. Initially released in 2023, the typeface now features an expanded character set, and a crisp companion named Bantayog Sharp. [future-fonts.com]
James Plattner published on Future Fonts an update to Egads, a display sans that leans into the energy of classic geo-sans typefaces like ITC Kabel and Grizzly, but subverts that familiar feeling of order with its highly exaggerated bottom-heaviness
, initially released in February. The new version features three weights and an expanded character set. [future-fonts.com]
Just Another Foundry updated JAF Lapture, an interpretation of Leipziger Antiqua (Typoart, 1971) with distinctive characteristics that combine elements of both blackletter and roman type
, designed by Tim Ahrens and originally released in 2004. The new version includes condensed styles, as well as a range of extra-heavy weights. Support for the Cyrillic script, designed by Oleg Macujev in 2019 for the regular text styles, has now been extended to the entire collection. [justanotherfoundry.com].
Manic Type published on Future Fonts an update to Zeplin, a reverse-contrast display typeface that is all about expression and chill vibes
, designed by Jamie Chang based on research into the forms of Antique Olive (Fonderie Olive, 1962) and initially released in 2022. The new version features two variations axes that enable the redistribution of weight by shifting the position of the counters. [future-fonts.com]
Ornamental & Title Type updated Neuf, a revival of Gravure Taille-Douce (Fonderie Typographique Française, 1920s), designed by Eliott Grunewald and originally released in 2022 in a single bold weight closely following the source material. The new version features four weights, and a rounded variant. An additional weight in upright and italic styles is currently in development. [ott-foundry.com]
Simplebits updated Cartridge, a geometric sans inspired by 1970s-era type used on Atari 2600 video game packaging, designed by Dan Cederholm and originally released in 2021. The new version features five weights, in sharp and softened variants. [simplebits.shop]
Store Norske Skriftkompani updated Gangster, a Renaissance-style serif designed by Arve Båtevik as what I think Garamont, Jannon, Granjon, Grandjean, and Goudy’s fonts would look like, if they had the tools we have today
. Initially released in 2022 as a single-weight roman and italic pair, Gangster has now been expanded to a range of seven weights. [skriftkompani.no]
Teo Tuominen published on Future Fonts an update to Kerub, an incisive, condensed display serif originally released in 2023 as Ra. The shapes have been redrawn for the new version, which also features two additional weights. [future-fonts.com]
Brian Dove’s type designs, previously available through Big Fog, the design studio he co-founded with Valerie Burgess in 2021, are now available from the newly launched Big Fog Foundry. Updates include:
The expansion of Gayot New, a contemporary interpretation of Gayot (Mecanorma, 1973) initially released in 2022 in a single black style. The design has now been extrapolated to a range of eight weights. [foundry.bigfog.co]
The expansion of Clearly, a condensed flared serif typeface inspired by a range of Old-style and Victorian era serifs (as well as their modern interpretations)
, initially released in 2023 as a single style. It’s now available in a range of seven weights. [foundry.bigfog.co]
Alex Slobzheninov established a new font distribution platform named Contemporary Type. The platform features seven foundries, with a series of previously-unreleased typefaces:
Daria Cohen released Onlysans, a uniwidth ‘postgeometric’ sans that maintains the appearance of rationality – clean, precise, modern – yet harbors strange mischievous details
. [contemporarytype.com]
Morula Type released MRL Transit, a display typeface that draws inspiration from Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) fonts, reimagining their functional origins with a rounded, retro flair
, designed by Valerio Monopoli. The typeface features a width variation axis. [contemporarytype.com]
Also from Rüdiger, RR Repose is a single-weight, caps-only, condensed display sans available in quadrospaced and proportional variants. Each variant comes in three styles that control the amount of rounded corners. [contemporarytype.com]
Along with Contemporary Type, Alex Slobzheninov also launched the Flight Mode foundry, featured on the platform with four releases:
FL Prefere is a serif typeface resulting from a font-a-day creative exercise: forcing elements to align along an imaginary horizontal resulted in flat counters, brutal geometry and some blind letters
. [contemporarytype.com]
FL Rare is an efficient grotesk fused with traces of handwriting
, organized along variation axes for weight, optical size, and slant. The accompanying Cursive styles provide an expressive alternative to the obliques. [contemporarytype.com]
FL Art Grotesk is a neo-grotesque sans that pushes its weights and widths beyond the norm, becoming almost ornamental in its most narrow, wide, thick and thin cuts
. [contemporarytype.com]
The other two foundries on Contemporary Type are ArrowType and Plain Form.
Laucke Siebein Type is a new type foundry established by Dirk Laucke, Johanna Siebein, and Clemens Buchegger. The foundry’s initial catalogue includes:
Notch, a typeface conceived as a visualization for sythetic sound. It’s a constructed and variable typeface orchestrating its appearance by four visual axes: Notch shifts from sharp to rounded corners, Slope adds weight/volume, Gain amplifies weight unproportionally and on top Band provokes conical shapes
. [type.studio-laucke-siebein.com]
In other news:
- The ANRT Nancy video archive now contains the final presentations for the research projects from the class of 2023–2025, featuring talks from Khải Nguyễn, Jeanne Saliou, Johannes Ammon, Juliette Ogier, Fangzheng Li, Camille Martinet, and Ariq Syauqi.
- I took so much to publish this post that it’s now the final day of Glenn Fleishman’s (successful in the meantime) crowdfunding campaign for a new edition of Six Centuries of Type & Printing which,
starting with early documented efforts and surviving artifacts from China and Korea, […] takes you through each generation of increasing sophistication in metal and relief printing until the abrupt 20th century shift into flat offset printing, which was made possible through photographic and digital improvements, and phototypesetting and digital composition
.
- For Typeroom, Giannis Papaioannou interviews George D. Matthiopoulos, author of the recently-published Ελληνική Τυπογραφία [Greek Typography],
as he reflects on the artistry, heritage, and evolution of Greek typography
.
- TypeTogether released Letters for the future: Ten years of the Gerard Unger Scholarship, a publication edited by Linda Kudrnovská that
provides a comprehensive history of the scholarship, introduces the typefaces produced thus far, and features interviews with the scholarship recipients
.
- Read the preface written by Stephen Coles for Emigre Fonts, Type Specimens, 1986–2024, recently published by Letterform Archive.
- New from Lazy Dog, Il disegno del carattere. 1460–2014 (IT), edited by Alessandro Colizzi and Riccardo Olocco, is the third anthology in a series dedicated to the history of visual communication.
The book offers a comprehensive selection of documents, highlighting key moments in Western typographic history with an approach that balances historical significance and contemporary relevance. Through original texts by engravers, designers, and computer scientists, Il disegno del carattere guides readers in understanding the creative and technological foundations that have shaped the evolution of typographic aesthetics.
- Triest is preparing a second edition of
History and Form of the Latin Script (DE/EN/FR), edited by Rudolf Barmettler, Rupert Kalkofen, and Roland Stieger, and originally published in 2024.
Based on Hans Eduard Meier’s (1923–2015) standard work The Development of Script and Type (first published in 1959), the editors have completely revised the book, supplementing and expanding it with state-of-the-art scientific findings.
- The tenth installment in the Poem Pamphlets series focuses on the craft of silent film intertitles: in Victor Vance, title-artist, Julien Van Anholt tells the story of the Warner Bros-associated letterer whose
distinctive style of lettering, constant over the years, was based on a virtuosic use of the brush
.
- Relatedly, the complete run of Poem Pamphlets is now available as a box set.
- Safari Technology Preview 126 added support for
text-wrap: pretty, a CSS property to enable a better text layout algorithm. The specification states that the precise set of improvements is user agent dependent, and may include things such as: reducing the variation in length between lines; avoiding typographic rivers; prioritizing different classes of soft wrap opportunities, hyphenation opportunities, or justification opportunities; avoiding hyphenation on too many consecutive lines…
, and Safari’s implementation seems to be more sophisticated than the one Chromium-based browsers have been employing since 2023.
- Future Fonts’s HyperTalks, now at its third edition,
features lightning talks and special performances from type and graphic designers from around the world
. The event will be livestreamed free of charge on May 9, 2025 at 10AM-12 PDT.
- One for your RSS reader: the Fontra blog features periodic updates on the development of the open source, web-based font editor.
On the Atlas website, I haven’t made much progress on infrastructure work but there’s a new page that groups foundries by the year they were founded.
A double-feature look at the typeface releases of the past two weeks.
Bea Korsh released Cake4Freaks, a typeface inspired by Gerrit Noordzij’s sketching technique. At large sizes, the zigzags carve the page into abstraction—darting, curving, crossing in a labyrinth of letterforms organic and bizarre. At small sizes, however, they solidify into the silvery shapes of a textface modeled on the broad nib pen.
[futurefonts.xyz]
DualType published on Future Fonts the initial version of Dual Casual, an all-caps informal script typeface designed by Gen Ramírez. With origins in a design called Tejuino, it evolved into a variable font with axes for weight, width, and slant. [futurefonts.xyz]
Hot Type released Exat, a neo-grotesque sans designed by Mihael Šandro and Marko Hrastovec that references Helvetica (Haas, 1957) through the lens of Croatia’s assimilation of the International Style, propelled by the art & architecture collective EXAT 51 and its co-founder, artist/designer Ivan Picelj. Exat is available as a variable font with width and weight axes. [exat.hottype.co]
Tiro Typeworks and Microsoft released Skeena Indigenous, an indigenous-first project, in which priority is given to supporting orthographic and typographic norms of indigenous languages of North America, rather than prioritizing those of European settler languages
, designed by Paul Hanslow and John Hudson as an expansion of the modulated humanist sans Skeena, which in 2021 was proposed as one of the five possible successors to Calibri. Skeena Indigenous is made available under the OFL license and features extensive documentation, including discussion of common issues in indigenous text such as presence of confusable Unicode characters and unstable encodings, language specific variant letterforms, and OpenType Layout implementation
. [microsoft.github.io]
TPTQ Arabic released Roshan (Persian for bright or enlightenment), a high contrast multiscript typeface with close connections to calligraphic traditions
, designed by Sina Fakour with assistance from Peter Biľak and Kristyan Sarkis. It features an incised Latin design, and an Arabic design inspired by the rounded forms of Persian Naskh and Maghrebi writing styles
. [tptq-arabic.com]
Cast Type Foundry has a new website, featuring three additions to the Alfabeti Modernisti series of revivals:
AM Novecento is a revival by Alessandro Bombieri of Novecento (Xilografia di Verona, 1937-1940), a dark geometric all-caps sans of elementary construction, with a striking rounded feel due to the abundance of arcs and circles that make up its design
. [c-a-s-t.com]
Device Fonts has published several of what the reverse-chronological sorting on the foundry website suggests are new typeface designs by proprietor Rian Hughes. In the absence of design notes, you’re stuck with my speculation.
Carbak Stamp is a single-style, all-caps distressed sans evoking rubber stamp impression, supplemented by ornaments for chromatic layering. [devicefonts.co.uk]
Remarque is a heavy, single-style display typeface that likely references a cluster of designs from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Dreamline (Mecanorma, 1969). [devicefonts.co.uk]
Warminster is a flared serif typeface available in two solid widths, with the condensed supplemented by a Shaded variant. [devicefonts.co.uk]
Updates, reissues, and expansions:
Bold Monday added a monospaced variant to Rigby, a sans serif designed by Pieter van Rosmalen, started as a custom typeface developed for Dutch public broadcaster NTR and originally released for retail in 2023. The name is a play on RIBBI, an acronym for the traditional Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic palette that emphasizes a conceptual commitment to a minimal but practical set of styles. [boldmonday.com]
CubicType expanded the character set for Arugula, a stencil sans serif designed by David Jones, developed from found stencilling on the side of a case of rocket ammunition
, and originally released in 2023. [drj11.itch.io]
CSTM Fonts published on Future Fonts an update to Zhivov, a multi-purpose typeface based on early Cyrillic graphics
designed by Yury Ostromentsky and initially released in 2022. The new version unifies the character set (Extended Latin, Standard Cyrillic, and Old Slavonic scripts) and OpenType features of the typeface’s three styles. [futurefonts.xyz]
DSType also released a bold, dark, and striking evolution
to Rigor and Rigor Ionic, a pairing of a grotesque sans and slab serif designed to bring together distinct historical sources into a cohesive system, designed by Pedro Leal and Dino dos Santos, originally published in 2024 as early-access releases. These families were updated with the heavyweights Rigor XL and Rigor Ionic XL, each available in three optical sizes. [dstype.com]
Huy! Fonts revamped Ultramarina, a display serif typeface halfway between nineteenth century display wood letters and the American grotesk sans-serif of the early twentieth
, designed by Juanjo López and originally released in 2011. The redrawn version also features an expanded character set. [juanjez.com]
LettError expanded the character set for LTR Very Bauble, a Tuscan-coded display typeface that uses advanced interpolation between five designs to orchestrate intensifying ornamentation along a variable ‘serif’ axis, designed by Erik van Blokland and originally released in 2024. [letterror.com]
Optimo updated Dada Grotesk, a sans serif based on Aurora Grotesk (Wagner & Schmidt, ~1908) originally designed by Gaël Etienne and deValence for the 2005 Dada exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and initially released for retail in 2007. The current version was completly redrawn and completed with a new range of weights going from Light to Super
, with a new multi-script version covering the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic scripts distributed as Dada Grotesk Pan. [optimo.ch]
Sumotype published on Future Fonts an update to Fuga, a hybrid sans serif typeface designed in order to explore the principles of the broad nib pen in a contemporary context
, designed by Oscar Guerrero Cañizares and intially released in 2021. The new version features italic styles for four of the typeface’s eight weights. [futurefonts.xyz]
In other news:
- Identita is a multi-faceted project documenting the history of Czech graphic design. Among the materials produced (which include a book, an exhibition, and a feature-length film), a seven-part TV series is now available on YouTube (via Typographica).
- A look inside the first three volumes from Letterform’s Archive new series of type specimen facsimiles conceived by Alice Chau, dedicated to the work of Lucian Bernhard, Roger Excoffon, and Aldo Novarese.
- In Bill 5, Tschichold 6, Robin Kinross sorts out a bibliographic puzzle pertaining to the 1946 debate between Max Bill and Jan Tschichold.
- Caren Litherland in conversation with Shiva Nallaperumal about Delegate (Commercial Type, 2023), design, and November’s new website.
- Matthijs Sluiter talks to André Baldinger and Toan Vu-Huu of BVH Type about the creation of Dina Chaumont (2023), in
the first of what I hope will be a series of interviews with type designers about their relationship with the typeface families they designed
.
- The KABK TypeMedia class of 2022–2023 student showcase is now online.
- The out-of-print, 512-pages Emigre No. 70: The Look Back Issue is back as a PDF download.
A look at the type releases of the past week.
205TF released Naancy, a filiform display sans drawing from architecture—its rhythm, the juxtaposition of styles, the play of light and shadow, the layout of facades, motifs and ornaments—and from nature, with its unexpected forms, curves, and intertwining shapes
, designed by Damien Gautier. With several alternate letterforms and discretionary ligatures available as stylistic sets, the typeface invites letter-by-letter compositions. Naancy is available in two grades with matching ornaments. [205.tf]
Adriana Garcidueñas published on Future Fonts the initial version of Tlayuda, a single-weight, reverse-contrast display typeface whose upcoming versions will include vertical variation axes for waist and x-height, as well as horizontal axes for width and serif extensions. The design concept originates from a TypeCooker session organized by the Letrástica community, and the design space was developed with the guidance of Romina Hernández. [futurefonts.xyz]
Blaze Type released Booster, an interpretation of Modern Gothic (Barnhart Brothers & Spindler, ~1897) designed by Maksym Kobuzan. The original Sans is supplemented with five treatments enhancing different aspects of a design’s personality and function
: Rounded, Pixel, Polygonal, Stencil, and Inktrap. The collection is available as variable fonts with axes for width, weight, and slant. [blazetype.eu]
Also from Blaze Type, Macrosoma Grotesque is the first subfamily of the upcoming Macrosoma collection, which at almost two thousand individual cuts the foundry says might very well be the most expansive type family ever created
. Designed by Valerio Monopoli and Fred Wiltshire, Macrosoma Grotesque is available as a variable font with axes for width and weight. [blazetype.eu]
A third release from Blaze Type, Quadro is a squared squared sans designed by Giuseppe Tangaro, available as a variable font with width, weight, and slant variation axes. [blazetype.eu]
Capitalics released Regards, a kind of homage to the aesthetics of the streets of London, in which the works of the greatest masters of typography are interwoven alongside neo-Gothic architecture or Brutalist insets
, designed by Mateusz Machalski. [capitalics.wtf]
Dương Trần published an update on Future Fonts for Thow, a serif typeface that captures the essence of transitional mixed with modern genre while introducing unique and contemporary flourishes that evoke a heritage of historical elegance
, designed by Dương Trần and initially released in 2024. The new version features matching italic styles for all weights. [futurefonts.xyz]
Gruppo Due released G2 Airdancer, a formalist approach to bold, compressed, display sans-serifs
that rather explores technological properties of type design than a revivalist narrative
. Originally designed by Massimiliano Audretsch, Moritz Appich, and Bruno Jacoby for an installation in the Lichthof of Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, G2 Airdancer features regular, semi-round, and round styles. These styles are made available, along with width, as variation axes. [gruppo-due.com]
Inga Plönnigs published on Future Fonts an update to Zetkin, a sans serif typeface informed by Venus (Bauer, 1907), designed by Inga Plönnigs, initially released in 2020. The new version features six weights across four widths, in upright and oblique styles. [futurefonts.xyz]
Martha Sue Coursey published on Future Fonts the initial version of Magik Wanda, a typeface that began as inky drawings hand-lettered with a Speedball Series B nib
and was influenced by the lettering styles of the Vienna Secession movement and the illustration and lettering in Wanda Gág’s children’s books. [futurefonts.xyz]
Rosetta released Only Yours, a generative typeface that contains thousands of unique variations, each featuring a different combination of characteristics
, designed by David Březina. Every variant, of which nine are generated each day, comes with an exclusive license. [rosettatype.com]
Guido Schneider’s Brass Fonts is now known as Bfgs.studio and has a new foundry website. The streamlined catalog contains four typefaces updated in the last year:
Rotwang, a typeface that plays with the character traits of high-contrast transitional serif typefaces and Didone-style typefaces
, originally released in 2013. [brass-fonts.de]
Corpa Gothic, a condensed sans inspired by hand-drawn geometric poster typefaces from the 1920s
. originally released in 1997. [brass-fonts.de]
In other news:
- All the presentations from Automatic Type Design 3, a conference on
digital typography yesterday and tomorrow
held in February 2025 at ENSAD in Nancy, France are now available on Vimeo.
- John D. Berry is currently raising funds to
complete the history of ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) that I began before the pandemic, including research, writing, and publication in final form
.
A look at the typeface releases of the past week.
Aieou Tools released Zetal, a geometric sans designed by Andrea Biggio, inspired by the industrial modernism of signage on water tanks and cargo containers, blending the strong typographic heritage of the Enschedé foundry with mid-20th-century American influences
. [aeiou.tools]
Also designed by Karol Mularczyk and released with Blaze Type, Galice is a humanist sans available in nine weights and their corresponding italics, and as a two-axis variable font. [blazetype.eu]
Eliott Grunewald’s eponymous foundry is now known as Ornamental & Title Type. With the launch of the new foundry website, two new typefaces were introduced:
Dank is an interpretation by Axel Pelletanche of Bank Gothic (ATF, 1930). The first installment of the typeface is caps-only, with terminals reminiscent of Morris Fuller Benton’s design available as a stylistic set. [ott-foundry.com]
Horizon is a reverse-contrast, caps-only, condensed display slab font with a wooden type feeling
designed by Quentin Coulombier as a synthesis of various 20th-century typefaces in the French Antique style. [ott-foundry.com]
Formagari released Yet Grotesk, a utilitarian sans designed by Emmanuel Besse which seeks balance, stays humble, and aims to straightforwardly convey its intended message
, influenced by Akzidenz-Grotesk (Berthold, 1898), Record Gothic (Ludlow, 1927), and Gerstner-Program (Berthold, 1964), as well as more recent references such as Arial (Monotype, 1982). [formagari.com]
Jason Santa Maria released the initial version of Citywide, a sans serif inspired by the type on midcentury bus and train destination blinds. Available in five weights and five widths in upright and italic styles, and as a multi-axis variable font. Currently caps-only, with a lowercase planned for a future release. [shop.jasonsantamaria.com]
Lineto released LL Kristall, a humanist sans designed by Laurenz Brunner that completes a trilogy of sans serif designs started with the neo-grotesque LL Akkurat (2004) and continued with the geometric LL Circular (2013). Originally designed for the Arnhem Fashion Biennale in 2011 and further developed as a custom typeface for Kaleidoscope Magazine, LL Kristal is influenced by various strands of the UK typographic tradition, such as Edward Johnston’s typeface for London Underground and Margaret Calvert’s Transport. [lineto.com]
MuirMcNeil released Flip, a collection of seven sans serif typefaces designed by Hamish Muir and Paul McNeil that explore aspects of symmetry in the roman alphabet. Based on Sans Sans, the character set of each individual variant font is governed throughout by a single axis of symmetry: either vertical, horizontal, rotational, biaxial or multiaxial
. [muirmcneil.com]
Shapes for Cash released EnjoyFun, a weighty, slightly italicised counterless collection of rascals
designed by Timothy Donaldson. The initial release includes two weight extremes: the heavy, counterless Squodge, and the thin, quasi-monolinear Bone. All styles in the family are planned to be metrically compatible, enabling chromatic effects via layering. [shapesforcash.com]
Zetafonts also released a series of condensed styles for some of its typefaces:
In other news:
- In 2017, Typotheque started researching type design for the Thai script,
taking a slow, deliberate approach and engaging in conversations with native designers, studying the script’s history, and analysing its unique features
. The effort culminated this month with the release of several new Thai typefaces, as well as the publication New Thai Type, featuring an essay by Pracha Suveeranont on the history of Thai typography and research by Héctor Mangas Afonso on the contemporary effects of loops.
- Remarkable Renaissance Books, John Boardley’s newest book telling
the story of eighteen extraordinary early printed volumes, from the very first titles printed in the fifteenth century to the groundbreaking scientific texts of the Enlightenment
, will be published in November with Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.
- Version 2.0 of Frederik Berlaen’s UFOstretch is now available in the RoboFont extensions store.
- Stephen Nixon explains How to make a font in Glyphs, starting from Illustrator.
- Read Marcin Wichary’s meticulously produced ode to Gorton, The hardest working font in Manhattan.
Just in time for the weekend, a look at the type releases of the past week.
Alanna Munro released Angus Hand, a single-weight handwriting typeface based on samples of love letters written from Victoria, Canada in 1955
by the designer’s grandfather. The original handwriting was preserved as the Casual style, interpolated with the more formal Calligraphy style along a ‘tidiness’ variation axis. [alannamunro.com]
DualType released on Future Fonts the initial version of Raketa, a modulated display sans that draws from the study of expressive calligraphic brushwork, translating its fluidity into clean, structured forms
, designed by Gen Ramírez. The typeface is inspired by mid-century lettering, such as the work of Roger Excoffon, Oscar Ogg, and Oldřich Menhart. [futurefonts.xyz]
Holdon Type is a new foundry, launched by Fadhl Haqq earlier this month. The initial catalogue features HD Koncert, a sans serif which takes inspiration from lettering styles of 1960s music posters. The typeface is available as a variable font with a weight axis. [holdontype.design]
HD Sinar, a reverse-contrast serif by Fadhl Haqq originally released in 2019 as Hailgen, was also updated for the occasion. The new version, featuring a more extensive set of weights, is offered as an open-source release. [holdontype.design]
Lift Type released Hublot, a monospaced typeface originally designed by Sandrine Nugue for La Fenêtre, an art center in Montpellier, France. With a concept that plays on the contrast and graphic rhythm between very round shapes and triangular endings
, it’s available in five weights plus a display version of the upright Bold with more radical letterforms. [lift-type.fr]
Plau released Amarta, a sports-inspired slab serif designed by Diego Maldonado, named after Brazilian football player Marta Silva. The family includes a text style with a weight axis, plus a heavy poster style with a variable width. [plau.design]
Positype released Analogy, an interpretation of Nicolas Jenson’s 15th-century types refined for modern sensibilities
, designed by Neil Summerour. Available in six weights with matching italic styles. [positype.com]
Prologue Type is a new foundry established by Ellis Carson Jones. The foundry’s first typeface is Posthumous, a semi-connected Blackletter script with softened joints, available as a variable font with a weight axis. An disconnected variant is available as a stylistic set. [prologuetype.co].
Storm Type released Kingdom, a calligraphic typeface designed by František Štorm as the user interface typeface for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, a historical fantasy video game set in the Late Middle Ages. The typeface features dripping terminals, initially used to influence the perception of whitespace in a rendering environment lacking support for kerning or ligatures. The remastered retail release does away with these constraints, and is available in a variety of weights and optical sizes. [stormtype.com].
Typonym finalized Marsam, a slab serif that roams that arid desert between the severe, enboldened geometry of the ‘Egyptian’ neo-grotesque slab serifs and the graceful, bracketed serif forms of traditional Clarendons
, designed by Evan Deterling and originally published in 2024 as an early-access release.
Otherwhere Collective released OC Oly, a neo-grotesque sans designed by Andrew Bellamy that draws inspiration from the typographic design of Olympic identities, notably Munich ’72, Montreal ’76, and Sarajevo ’84
, with references to Univers 55 (Deberny & Peignot, 1957) and Helvetica Light (Haas, 1957). The typeface features a weight axis and is supplemented with icons that use a variation axis for animation. It appears to be a part of Emblème, proposed as the world’s first kinetic visual identity system packaged in a font file
for exclusive licensing. [otherwherecollective.com]
Olivia King updated Inclusive Sans, a sans serif inspired by the friendly personality of contemporary neo-grotesques while incorporating key features to make it highly legible in all uses
. Originally released in 2022 in a single weight in upright and italic styles, it now features three weights, plus a variable font. [oliviaking.com]
Teo Tuominen published on Future Fonts the initial version of Core Mono, a monospaced typeface that has a neutral overall feel on the surface but the details blend a subtle mix of mechanical and humanist shapes
. The typeface is available in six weights. [futurefonts.xyz]
Hot Type debuted their early-release section named Hot WIP on the foundry’s website.
Dial is a caps-only geometric typeface designed by Marko Hrastovec, originated as a redrawing practice of numbers found on a vintage Quartz wall clock
. [hottype.co]
Pincar, a display typeface designed by Luka Nera Sibila, stemmed from an exercise in writing with unconventional tools. In this case, tweezers were modified to leave a trace of ink on paper
. [hottype.co]
Brum is a display typeface influenced by flat-brush and marker lettering with an overall soft character and simplified shape construction
, designed by Marko Hrastovec. [hottype.co]
Crespo is a condensed geometric sans influenced by the lettering on a shopfront sign in Milan, Italy. The typeface, designed by Marko Hrastovec and Mihael Šandro, is available in a variety of weights with upright, oblique and backslated styles in three different cap heights. [hottype.co]
In other news:
- Enabling Typography. Towards a general model of OpenType Layout is the updated version of an article oiginally written by John Hudson in 2014, with a new conclusion reflecting on the developments of the intervening decade.
- The weeklong Automatic Type Design 3, a conference on
digital typography yesterday and tomorrow
held at ENSAD in Nancy, France, starts on Monday. The programme sounds brilliant, and while the conference is sold out, a free-to-join livestream will be available on the website.
- Launching at the conference will be Impact Type: Manufacturing Type for Typewriters in Switzerland, 1941–1997, edited by Sophie Wietlisbach and published by Triest (via Typography.Guru).
- Victionary published two additional volumes in their Type in use series, which debuted last year with Sans in use and Serif in use. The new titles are Stencil in use and Display in use, each featuring around a hundred typefaces.
- Type designers of the 20th century, a new book from David Jury due for publication this summer with Bodleian Libraries,
describes the achievements (and occasional failures) of thirty-seven key type designers to explore the evolution of the designer, the rise of the advertising agency and the changing function of the printer.
Updated February 24, 2025 to reflect the name change from Hebden Recast to Hebden Recut.
Atypical released Luxurious, a display serif initially designed by George Triantafyllakos for the Athens-based design studio Another Practice. Available in a single weight with support for the Latin and Greek scripts.
Blaze Type released Narri, a display typeface inspired by the dancing shapes of flames, designed by Elsa Drevous. The system is created with curvy lines, strong inverted contrast and sharp endings, resulting of organic calligraphic shapes.
Brandon Nickerson released BN Ventura, a bold, condensed display sans with curved diagonals. Straight-edged alternate letterforms are also available.
Commercial Type published to the foundry’s Vault section a first version of Jargon, a condesend flared serif with a large x-height designed by Thomas Bouillet. Expanded to seven weights from a single condensed style of Tandem, the designer’s graduation project at Type]Media 2020, Jargon is influenced by Dutch newspaper types, with italic styles referencing François Ganeau and Roger Excoffon’s Vendôme (Fonderie Olive, 1951).
DSType released the initial version of Verbo, a refreshing fusion of pure geometry and subtle warmth, reinterpreting the disciplined precision of Bauhaus typefaces through a humanist lens
, designed by Dino dos Santos. Along with a set of eight weights and their corresponding italic styles, the family includes Verbo XL, a heavy display version with an increased x-height.
F37 Foundry published a first version of F37 Club, a display typeface that draws inspiration from sound waves and vibrations, bringing rhythm to every letter
, designed by Rodrigo Fuenzalida. The typeface’s construction through composited overlapping shapes evokes the optic effect used for Electric Circus (~1960).
Heavyweight Type released Animo, a display typeface inspired by Spanish vernacular lettering, designed by Jan Horčík and Arnaud Chemin. Since much of the overall work was created during the pandemic and lockdown, the first use of the font was on a large flag that was displayed facing the street to encourage passersby, already sort of tired of not being able to function normally.
Animo comes in eleven widths, in solid and outline styles for chromatic layering.
Tiro Typeworks added two new families to the foundry’s collection of Indic script fonts designed by John Hudson and Fiona Ross, a project started in 2012 as a commission from Harvard University Press. The italic styles for these families were designed by Kaja Słojewska and Paul Hanslow of Tandem Type.
Tiro Malayalam is available in two orthographic flavors: the standard fonts supporting the traditional orthography for Malayalam, Sanskrit, and Pāli texts, and the ‘R’ fonts supporting the simplified, reformed orthography for Malayalam introduced in the early 1970s
.
Tiro Sinhala features a design informed by the conventions of 19th Century metal types, but particularly inspired by handwritten and engraved lettering of that period, reflecting the transition from Sri Lankan palm leaf manuscripts to writing with European pens
.
Type Du Nord released Yolker, a typeface designed by Libbie Bischoff to look like eggs just dropped into a pan
, with the letters occupying approximately the same area. Yolker was originally shown in June 2021 as part of the designer’s 52 Fonts Project. The typeface is also available in a counterless variant.
Typotheque added to Zed, the global type system designed by Peter Biľak and released last year, a set of icons designed by Ondrej Jób. Comprised of more than two thousand symbols, Zed Icons features variation axes for weight, optical size, and roundness.
Black Foundry released initial versions for five display typefaces designed by Gaëtan Baehr. The typefaces are single-style, uppercase-only, and share a set of variation axes to distort the letterforms, enabling the creation of novel text effects. This is showcased with Tavern, a web tool that composes multi-line wavy text by applying the appropriate axis values to each letter.
Genepi is a flared typeface with Art Nouveau accents, inspired by the lettering on the signs at the Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York City.
![Absinthe [Black Foundry]](/img/typeface/absinthe-black-foundry-sample.png)
Absinthe is a blobby typeface that draws its inspiration from the free-spirited, vibrant energy of the 1960s hippie era
.
With a similar structure, Spritz is defined not by its filled forms but by the ethereal silhouettes its letters cast, leaving the characters themselves transparent and open to interpretation
.
Jack is an ultra-heavy, space-filling, quasi-monospaced design with simplified letterforms.
Amaretto is a serif typeface which, along with the regular capital letters, offers an alternative experimental set where circles seamlessly integrate into the letterforms
.
Storm Type updated Hercules, a serif typeface of Modern/Scotch influence designed by František Štorm and originally released in 2005, with additional weights, optical sizes, as well as an (upcoming?) sans serif companion. The collection is now known as Hercules Neo.
Fabrizio Schiavi expanded the character set for Seitu, a geometric sans serif informed by Futura and Gill Sans and inspired by the Coop logo (Bob Noorda, 1985), to support the Cyrillic script.
Love Letters updated on Future Fonts Optic, a heavy, squarish display typeface with a large x-height and softened outlines, designed by Sebastien Sanfilippo and initially released in 2023. The new version features improved kerning and outlines, as well as an expanded Latin character set.
Tipografies updated Glucosa, a condensed sans with slight modulation and roundness designed by Jordi Embodas and originally released in October 2024, with a metrically-compatible display counterpart. Glucosa Display features increased overall contrast and a combination of fully-rounded and sharp details.
DJR updated Ottavio, a dynamic humanist sans informed by cycling, with lighter weights and overall improvements in contrast and spacing. Ottavio was originally designed by David Jonathan Ross for Caterina Piatti (of Reber 41) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her great-grandfather Ottavio Bottecchia’s victory in the 1924 Tour de France.
Inga Plönnigs published on Future Fonts an update to Zetkin, a sans serif typeface informed by Venus (Bauer, 1907), available in six weights supplemented by a single-weight wide style, all with matching obliques. The new version features overall improvements and a recalibrated Medium weight.
James Plattner published on Future Fonts the finalized version of Bitzer, a serif typeface that selectively observes and breaks the established rules of Latin flat brush calligraphy
, originally released in 2024. The new version includes optical size axis, as well as improvements to spacing and letterforms for setting text at smaller sizes.
Muhittin Güneş has a new foundry website and a streamlined catalog consisting of new and updated typefaces:
Amnes, the newest release, is a neo-grotesk sans available in two flavors, one solid, and the other using a stylized inktrap motif.
Originally released in 2020 and updated for the launch, Ranua is a previous exploration of inktraps as an aesthetic device in a sans serif typeface.
Gronland is a sans serif inspired by Swiss public transport signages, NYC way finding systems
, originally released in 2021.
Bugrino is a display sans serif with a distinctive combination of smooth and structured elements
, influenced by FF Blur (FontFont, 1992) and Huit (VGC, 1972) and originally released in 2022.
Olten is a single-weight display serif with a Didone structure, originally released in 2022. The typeface’s distinctive letterforms emerged from an exploration of the lowercase ‘a’, whose three alternate variants served as the model for the entire design.
Nergiz is a single-weight, high-contrast calligraphic display serif with dripping terminals, originally released in 2023.
In other news:
- Good news from Elliot Jay Stocks: the Fine Specimens book, originally publicized through a Kickstarter campaign, is getting published next spring by Quarto.
- The Alphabettes collective have been posting short, multilingual reviews of typefaces released in 2024.
Atipo released Swiza, a sans serif inspired by the timeless principles of Swiss design, reimagined for today’s needs
.
Blaze Type released the Dean collection designed by Tim Vanhille and Inès Davodeau, a tribute to the musical and cinematic culture of mid-20th century America
. The collection is comprised of two families of identical proportions, Dean Gothic and Dean Slab, expressed as variable fonts with width, weight, and slant axes.
After releasing the text family earlier this month, DSType finalized the other three optical sizes of the Pulso collection designed by Pedro Leal and Dino dos Santos and first made available in 2024 as an early-access release. All families are available in Latin-only and Latin/Greek/Cyrillic multiscript packages.
Fontfabric released Nexa Round, the latest variant, designed by Ivelina Martinova, of the geometric sans Nexa, designed by Svetoslav Simov and originally released in 2012. Along with the more conventionally interpolated weight range, the typeface features a stylized Ultra weight available in solid and highlighted styles.
Inga Plönnigs released on Future Fonts the initial version of Ringi, a condensed, monolinear, stoically engineered
sans inspired by the LED typeface of Berlin S-Bahn displays, available in a variety of optically-uncorrected slants and backslants of up to 45° in tilt.
Public Type released Contro, a geometric display sans inspired by 20th-century Italian modernist typography, with a conceptual backbone that pays homage to iconic figures such as Tschichold, Renner, Bill, and Bayer
, designed by Harsh Patel and Michael Cina. Several alternate letterforms are available through stylistic sets.
Signal Type finalized Jarlath, a digital revival of Jarlath Hayes’s Tuam Uncial (Letraset, 1974), designed by Max Phillips under the supervision of Hayes’s daughter and initially published in 2020 as an early-access release. Jarlath is available in seriffed and sans-serif variants, with upright and italic styles.
Skritur released Principio, a free typographic interpretation of the capitals found on the title pages of illuminated Irish and English manuscripts dating back to the 7th century
, designed by Malou Verlomme. The typeface includes an extensive set of ligatures and uncial alternates.
For her Future Fonts debut, Tamara Pilz published the initial version of Fizz, a sharp, streamlined, reverse-contrasted display serif.
In December 2024, the foundry released Contradictor, a condensed serif typeface also designed by Dušan Jelesijević.
Type-Ø-Tones released Scena, a geometric sans with simplified connections between arches and stems, designed by José Manuel Urós and Sabina Kipară. The design began from slanted lowercase letters with bottom loops and was streamlined into a simplified upright style, with the original features available as alternates.
Also from Type-Ø-Tones, Gotta Scotch, a serif typeface of Scotch/Modern inspiration incorporating contemporary and transitional influences, emerged from Marcela Aguilera’s final project for the Master in Typographic Design at the Eina School of Barcelona and designed in collaboration with Pedro González.
In other news:
A look at the typefaces released this past week.
bb-bureau released Resum, a dot-matrix typeface designed by Benoît Bodhuin whose variable weight axis influences the dot size and, through subtle movement, the perceived resolution.
Céline Hurka published on Future Fonts an update to Seasummer, the single-weight, all-caps informal script based on the handwriting of illustrator and sea rescue activist Adrian Pourviseh. The new version includes a Cyrillic character set designed by Stefaniia Bodnia.
DJR updated Ottavio, a dynamic humanist sans informed by cycling and the idea that an inherently unbalanced object can achieve balance through a sense of constant motion
, with thicker weights, small caps, and italic styles. It was originally designed by David Jonathan Ross for Caterina Piatti (of Reber 41) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her great-grandfather Ottavio Bottecchia’s victory in the 1924 Tour de France.
FDI Type released FDI Wunder, a revival by Ralf Herrmann of Laudahn-Kanzlei (Bauer, 1913) produced from the original letterpress fonts. Initially offered in 2023 as a free download for Typography.guru supporters, it is now available for general licensing. Along with a faithful blackletter digitization, FDI Wunder includes a variant with romanized letterforms.
Giulia Boggio expanded to a multiweight family the condensed display sans serif Feraz Condensed, initially released in 2024 as a single style.
Also designed by Giulia Boggio, the high-contrast sans Revetra is now available from Gradient as a family of four weights. It was initially released in 2024 as a single style through the designer’s own label.
JTD Type published on Future Fonts an update to Enfilade, a condensed grotesk with four optical variations initially designed by James Hultquist–Todd in 2023. The new version captures the four optical sizes, along with the range of weights, in a dual-axis variable font.
Optimo renamed Signa77, the subtly flared typeface originally designed by Team’77 for Bobst Graphic’s Lettre d’Or 1978 competition and reissued last month, to Signa Set.
![Greed [Positype]](/img/typeface/greed-positype-sample.png)
Positype released Greed, a single-style, high-contrast serif typeface inspired by the intricate lettering of U.S. currency
, designed by Neil Summerour.
Production Type released Terrane, a humanist collection conceived by Emmanuel Besse as a low-contrast sans-serif paired with a serif typeface of identical proportions. In its sans variant, it appears to incorporate the influence of Antique Olive (Fonderie Olive, 1962), while for its serif counterpart the Petit Serif-inspired approach stands apart as a thoughtful and functional reimagining of classical forms but also of some photo-lettering exploration of the 70s
such as ITC Quorum (ITC, 1977).
Simplebits released Spagetty, a slab serif with softened outlines inspired by the Wild East West, Ennio Morricone's spring-reverb-laden Spaghetti Western scores, sasparilla, swinging saloon doors, and 80s cartoons
, designed by Dan Cederholm.
TypeMates released Resonay Text, designed by Andrej Dieneš as the text companion to the layered chromatic Resonay (2021). It shares with its display precursor an extensive set of swashes and uppercase ligatures.
Typogama released Gonia, a slab serif designed by Michael Parson to work well for both titling and body text. A distinctive feature: rather than working with a rectangular block, the serifs employ a wedge shape, with very slight diagonals on the sides and a pointed central axis.
![Pilot [VJ Type]](/img/typeface/pilot-vj-sample.png)
VJ Type released Pilot, a serif typeface born from the desire to create a contemporary extended typeface of undeniable elegance
, designed by Jérémy Schneider. It marks the foundry’s first deep dive into italic design
.
Zetafonts Beats, the foundry’s early-release section, also features another couple of new(?) faces which, as far as I can tell, have not been publicized:
Mezura, a uniwidth, biscriptual typeface that combines Naskh-style Arabic calligraphy with old-style Latin seriffed letterforms, designed by Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini.
In other news:
- The excellent Words of Type Encyclopedia, an educational project by Lisa Huang that
brings together the terms used in typography, illustrated and explained in multiple languages
, was officially released at the Face/Interface 2025 conference this past weekend.
- Thinking through Graphic Design History. Challenging the canon by Aggie Toppins, due for release tomorrow with Bloomsbury,
shows how students and practicing designers can enrich their work by thinking historically about design
(via Paul Soulellis).
- In Type and Context,
learning from the inscription in the courtyard of the Ducal Palace of Urbino, typeface designer Radim Peško considers different approaches based on the original letterforms from the Renaissance. This leads to experimentation with technologies, using different methods, and constructing new typefaces to not only demonstrate the resulting fonts but also give context to their origins
. Roma Publications shows more spreads from the book.
- An insightful interview with Erik van Blokland, here in conversation with Ilya Ruderman for the type.today journal: “Drawing is thinking”.
- From Sharp Type, My-Lan Thuong
decided to research what would be necessary for a better representation of all the Latin-based languages
, resulting in The OmniLatin Research and an open-source RoboFont extension (via Aleksandra Samuļenkova).
- An interview for Its Nice That with the founders of Kyiv Type Foundry discussing the recent revival project KTF Metro Fonts (2024).
A look at the type releases of the past week. (Now with some corrections and additions.)
Earlier in December 2024, the foundry released Fliper, another geometric sans by Machalski that provides rotated letterforms via stylistic sets.
Céline Hurka released Idyll, a set of decorated capital letters and floral ornaments inspired by Tuscany.
DSType finalized the text family from the Pulso collection designed by Pedro Leal and Dino dos Santos, first made available in 2024 as an early-access release in four optical sizes. The text family is available in Latin-only and Latin/Greek/Cyrillic multiscript packages as Pulso and Pulso Pro, respectively. Across the collection, upright styles are paired with two sets of italics and are available in three grades for finer adjustments to the typographic color.
Positype released Overture, an interpretation of the types of Giambattista Bodoni designed by Neil Summerour. It’s the designer’s second engagement with the source material, following Donatora in 2004. Overture features italic styles with three different slants (Adagio, Andante, and Allegro), and is available in three optical sizes.
Sudtipos released KWINC Grotesk in collaboration with New York design studio Karlssonwilker. Loosely inspired by vernacular dimensional letters available in home improvement stores
, it’s used as the studio’s house typeface (via Typecache).
Typeji released on Future Fonts the initial version of Paragraf, a serif typeface with high-waisted structures, a tall x-height, and slightly narrow proportions
designed by TienMin Liao.
In other news:
- Lessons from letters, Pooja Saxena on the richness of Indic signage and her decade-long work on the India Street Lettering archive.
- Chopstick Sleeves as Emissaries of Japanese Typography and Culture, designer and educator Angie Wang
deciphers a collection of over 500 sleeves recently donated to the [Letterform] Archive
.
- Face/Interface 2025 brings together
scholars, designers, engineers, and technologists to explore global type design, book design, interface design, and human-computer interaction
. The conference takes place this Friday & Saturday in Stanford, California. In-person seats are sold out but the livestream can be joined free of charge.
- The latest pamphlet from Poem Editions, Philly Hands is a
concise but in-depth survey description of Philadelphian street penmanship, written and photographed by François Chastanet
.
- Manifold / Colin Sackett, publishing 1984–2024
details and illustrates the ideas and methods that contributed to over a hundred and fifty individual projects, by way of page plans, annotation, and quoted and explanatory texts
from the prolific Uniformbooks founder. The individual pages can be accessed as PDF files, with the physical book coming later this January. So, so good.
