Asphalt

Who hasn’t admired the energy of Antique Olive Nord? All other ultrabolds seem sluggish in comparison. Nord exudes Roger Excoffon’s animation and Gallic impatience with the rules. Tobias Frere-Jones cross-bred the weight, proportion, and rhythms of Nord with the casual grace of his own Cafeteria, gaining informality and a dancing vitality on the page. In his words, Asphalt swings with “a lively, if faintly inebriated gyration”. [store.typenetwork.com]

Originally released by Font Bureau in 1995 and moved to Frere–Jones Type in 2020 [fontsinuse.com], available through Type Network and added to the foundry’s website in December 2024.