The requirements of Middle Ages scribes who copied and produced books in monasteries were fundamentally to preserve space, due to the high cost of the writing surface. During this long period of the development of Gothic forms, many other variations of the style of black letters appear: Textur or “Gothic-antique”, another group called Rotunda preferred by Italian and Spanish scribes. In 1490, the style "Bâtarde" (according to the the French classification) began to be widely used in Germany with more rounded shapes and named Scwabacher (probably derived from the city of Schwabach, but not certified) Fractur is a more condensed and narrower form than Schwabacher. This style is attributed to Johann Neudörfer of Nuremberg, cut in 1513; it was quickly imitated, therefore a few years later became to be a German national identity that extended over the next four centuries. The shape of its characters can be considered as a fusion of Texture and Schwabacher: the lowercase actually has medium strictly vertical and half curved strokes. The first expressions of the baroque influence this writing whose appearance of movement is due to the ornaments applied to the uppercase letters and the ascending and descending features of the lowercase. Despite having spent so many years and being a typeface not suitable for extensive reading texts, the Gothic Fractur has endured over time for possessing a strong and solid characteristic, as well as being closely linked to the spirit of gothic cathedrals of countries in northen Europe. In fact, it is probably that this expressive feature leads them to be chosen in the most varied graphic communication needs, which run from from banks and financial companies, insurers, law offices, publishers, newspapers and TV networks, till alcoholic drinks, funeral tombstones, packaging and even tattoos.

Unconventional beauty FS Kim is bold and intriguing – exuberant and unmissable, but playing a supporting role when needed. This typeface shines brightest as a display font, and is perfect for applications across fashion, theatre, cultural projects and pretty much any brand that wants to make a statement. While FS Kim is dramatic, it’s incredibly versatile, too, and works to showcase content in a stylish, striking way. This font makes you look, and makes you curious – perfect for brands and publishers that relish unconventional beauty. A playful text version While FS Kim’s text version is more constrained than the display, the strength and playfulness remain. Modifications for the text version include larger x-heights, longer ascenders and descenders, wider proportions and spacing, longer and more defined serifs and a lower contrast. “The overall idea is that it’s not an optical size,” Radoeva explains. Text and display maintain a strong connection that mean they can be used together. A display with a twist The calligraphic starting point helped to create familiar forms, while a contemporary display feel is achieved through short wedge serifs, with bold touches added through the font’s exaggerated forms and details. FS Kim’s narrow proportions, short ascenders and descenders, and tighter spacing make the font suitably compact for display use. The overall aesthetic feels bold and sharp, but closer inspection reveals that all the corners are softened. Decorative inlines In an unusual twist, FS Kim’s display version was first drawn using a broad-nib pen to create familiar forms and elegance while still breaking from serif traditions and making it all about standout character. There are also two additional styles, based on the Regular and Black with inlines – in uppercase, figures and symbols. The inline brings an extra option for an even stronger, more decorative display use.

Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813) was called the King of Printers; he was a prolific type designer, a masterful engraver of punches and the most widely admired printer of his time. His books and typefaces were created during the 45 years he was the director of the fine press and publishing house of the Duke of Parma in Italy. He produced the best of what are known as modern" style types, basing them on the finest writing of his time. Modern types represented the ultimate typographic development of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They have characteristics quite different from the types that preceded them; such as extreme vertical stress, fine hairlines contrasted by bold main strokes, and very subtle, almost non-existent bracketing of sharply defined hairline serifs. Bodoni saw this style as beautiful and harmonious-the natural result of writing done with a well-cut pen, and the look was fashionable and admired. Other punchcutters, such as the Didot family (1689-1853) in France, and J. E. Walbaum (1768-1839) in Germany made their own versions of the modern faces. Even though some nineteenth century critics turned up their noses and called such types shattering and chilly, today the Bodoni moderns are seen in much the same light as they were in his own time. When used with care, the Bodoni types are both romantic and elegant, with a presence that adds tasteful sparkle to headlines and advertising. Parma was designed by the monotype Design Team after studying Bodoni's steel punches at the Museo Bodoniana in Parma, Italy. They also referred to specimens from the "Manuale Tipografico," a monumental collection of Bodoni's work published by his widow in 1818.

Breaking from our catalog of typefaces to create a new handwritten font family, Modern Love was born out of our desire to see what would happen if we took a step back from the norm. We weren’t looking for the perfection of the many calligraphy techniques, but more of a natural way of writing with the same tools. Our escapist experiment into casual lettering culminated into 4 fonts: Modern Love Regular, Grunge, Rough and Caps. Modern Love Regular is a hand-painted script, each glyph individually designed with a pointed brush and walnut ink. The aim was to create an effortless hand-drawn feel while keeping the contrast high density. Playful, yet polished, this font works very well when accentuated with the family’s two distinctive styles: Modern Love Grunge, simulating a washed-out effect, perfect to add a vintage look to your projects; and Modern Love Rough, with its crunchy borders, makes letters visibly rough-around-the edges and gives large letters an unmistakeable pop. All three fonts include a hand-painted set of ornaments, swashes and alternates to limitlessly customize and decorate your texts, accessible through Opentype features. Modern Love Caps is the fourth font, a handwritten Sans Serif that ties the family together with its simplicity and readability. Designed with a pointed nib and Indian ink, this font boasts a different style that perfectly complements Modern Love Regular, Grunge and Rough. The result is a fresh font family perfect to create headlines, posters, DIY hand-lettered artwork, books, holiday cards, wrapping paper, invitations, T-shirts, labels, packaging for cosmetics, fashion supplies, food products, artisanal goods, and an endless array of options for your projects. Modern Love…when brush meets passion. Check out also ‘Modern Love Slanted’ Turquoise Nautica

What comes to your mind if I say Architype, Geometric, Gaelic, and Uncial? An impossible combination of features? An unrealistic setup of tastes as weird as your music list? Or some part of a joke told by your favourite comedian? Just chill and stick to the idea that is possible. Gallos combines the conceptual historical elegance of the Uncials with the practical rationalism of the Geometric style. Moreover, this typeface is composed by two sub families: Gallos Uncial and Gallos Architype. The letters “M”, “N”, “W”, “a”, “m”, “n”, “r”, and “w” differ between these two models. The first one is related to both: The Uncial script aspect displaying the leaned “a” with a closed bowl, and the classical geometric style depicting more conventional uppercase and lowercase letters “m” and “n”. The Architype one is inspired by Paul Renner’s Architype model, thus the leaned “a” has an open counter, the “r” is composed by a stem and a dot, and the rest of the mentioned letters were built using square rational features. Both models are connected by classical Uncial features such as the curved stroke “e” and curved shaft “t”, and with Gaelic vibes which can be seen in uppercase and lowercase letters “K” and “X”. Also, the curved descender “g” and “y”, alongside the curved stem “z” connect really well with the rest of the system and provide more uniqueness to the Gallos type family. Without further ado, we say to you: let’s make Uncials popular again!