Font designed from this who was used by an unknown printer in Lyon (France) to print the “Conte de Griseldis ” (Griseldis' tale), from Petrarque, inspired by Boccace, in 1495. The original font has a relatively small number of special characters and ligature, for the time. This font includes “long s”, naturally, as typicaly medieval but numerous letters - as accented ones - were added for this version. A render sheet, enclosed with the file, helps to identify them on keyboard. It is used variously in web-site titles, posters and fliers design, editing ancient texts or greeting cards as a very decorative and fine font... This font works at a small size like 9, remaining clear and easy to read on screen, but always better when printed.

Towards the end of the 1400s, in Lyon (France), was living Barthélémy Buyer, descendant of a rich family of merchants. In the end of 1472, he engaged a typographist from Liège (Belgium): Guillaume Le Roy. The first book stemming from their print shop was the Compendium breve ( by Pope Innocent III.) using Blackletter “textura”. Many books followed, most often illustrated with wood carving. In 1483, to print a French translated “Eneide”, they used a venetian “Rotunda” blackletter. Our font was inspired by this “Rotunda” set, with historical forms and ligatures enriched with accented letters and other characters not existing in the original.

Font designed from work by an anonymous printer in Lyon (France) to print the French popular novel Les Grandes et inestimables Chroniques du grand et enorme geant Gargantua [...] in 1532. The original font has a relatively small number of characters. This font include a “long s”, as typicaly medieval, but also a few ligatures . A render sheet, enclosed with files help to identify them and accented or special others characters on keyboard. It can be used as web-site titles, posters and fliers, editing ancient texts, menus or greeting cards as a very decorative font... Although this font remains clear and easy to read from 8 or 9 points on screen, it is clearly designed for print works.

Designed and built in London by TypeUnion, Karlsen is a structured, functional typeface which embraces harmony, flow and versatility. The Karlsen Family is made up of 14 styles, which range from a delicate thin, all the way through to a substantial Extra-bold and each carry a versatility for multiple applications and uses. Karlsen provides extensive language support to provide a flexible, substantial user experience.

Designed and built in London by TypeUnion, Silo is a fluid sans serif typeface embodying energetic curves and a clean, functional structure. The Silo Family is made up of 6 weights, which range from a delicate Extra-Light, all the way through to a punchy, loud Extra-bold and each carry a versatility for multiple applications and uses. Silo features open type alternate characters, and extensive language support to provide a flexible, substantial user experience.

Designed and built in London by TypeUnion, Silo soft is a fluid sans serif typeface embodying energetic curves and a clean, functional structure. The Silo Soft Family is made up of 6 weights, which range from a delicate Extra-Light, all the way through to a punchy, loud Extra-bold and each carry a versatility for multiple applications and uses. Silo soft features open type alternate characters, and extensive language support to provide a flexible, substantial user experience.

Designed and built in London by TypeUnion, Karlsen Round is a structured, functional typeface which embraces harmony, flow and versatility, but with a cheeky twist. The Karlsen Round Family is made up of 14 styles, which range from a delicate thin, all the way through to a substantial extra-bold and each carry a versatility for multiple applications and uses. Karlsen Round provides extensive language support to provide a flexible, substantial user experience. Please also see our Karlsen family.

Designed and built in London by TypeUnion, Silo Slab is a fluid slab serif typeface embodying energetic curves and a clean, functional structure. The Silo Slab Family is made up of 6 weights, which range from a delicate Extra-Light, all the way through to a punchy, loud Extra-bold and each carry a versatility for multiple applications and uses. Each weight has a matching italic. Silo Slab features open type alternate characters, and extensive language support to provide a flexible, substantial user experience.

Based on the original typeface from Face, London, circa 1972.

In the 1970s, Face Photosetting in London was known as the preeminent typesetting house in London. Steve worked in the studio in Newman Street and Hanway Place. El Paso Pro is a family of typefaces based on a unique single font design from the Face Collection, called El Paso.

An authentic collection of engineered fonts, constructed in East London. Docklands is a handmade font family inspired by the creation of the London docks in the early 18th century. The rough edged sign written style is evocative of the era when iron works and boatbuilding wharfs lined the River Thames.

London is one of my favourite cities, so it was about time I named a font after it. Well, technically, I named a font after one of London’s districts. Southwark comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Suthriganaweorc, which means ‘Fort of the men of Surrey’. The font Southwork is a handmade Clarendon. I used a Japanese brush pen to create the outlines. I gave the glyphs texture by filling them in with a brush and Chinese ink. Southwark, therefore, has an uneven look and a brushy texture. It looks good on just about anything, but posters, greeting cards and product packaging come to mind.

ITC Johnston is the result of the combined talents of Dave Farey and Richard Dawson, based on the work of Edward Johnston. In developing ITC Johnston, says London type designer Dave Farey, he did “lots of research on not only the face but the man.” Edward Johnston was something of an eccentric, “famous for sitting in a deck chair and carrying toast in his pockets.” (The deck chair was his preferred furniture in his own living room; the toast was so that he’d always have sustenance near at hand.) Johnston was also almost single-handedly responsible, early in this century, for the revival in Britain of the Renaissance calligraphic tradition of the chancery italic. His book Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering (with its peculiar extraneous comma in the title) is a classic on its subject, and his influence on his contemporaries was tremendous. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for the alphabet that he designed in 1916 for the London Underground Railway (now London Transport), which was based on his original “block letter” model. Johnston’s letters were constructed very carefully, based on his study of historical writing techniques at the British Museum. His capital letters took their form from the best classical Roman inscriptions. “He had serious rules for his sans serif style,” says Farey, “particularly the height-to-weight ratio of 1:7 for the construction of line weight, and therefore horizontals and verticals were to be the same thickness. Johnston’s O’s and C’s and G’s and even his S’s were constructions of perfect circles. This was a bit of a problem as far as text sizes were concerned, or in reality sizes smaller than half an inch. It also precluded any other weight but medium ‘ any weight lighter or heavier than his 1:7 relationship.” Johnston was famously slow at any project he undertook, says Farey. “He did eventually, under protest, create a bolder weight, in capitals only ‘ which took twenty years to complete.” Farey and his colleague Richard Dawson have based ITC Johnston on Edward Johnston’s original block letters, expanding them into a three-weight type family. Johnston himself never called his Underground lettering a typeface, according to Farey. It was an alphabet meant for signage and other display purposes, designed to be legible at a glance rather than readable in passages of text. Farey and Dawson’s adaptation retains the sparkling starkness of Johnston’s letters while combining comfortably into text. Johnston’s block letter bears an obvious resemblance to Gill Sans, the highly successful type family developed by Monotype in the 1920s. The young Eric Gill had studied under Johnston at the London College of Printing, worked on the Underground project with him, and followed many of the same principles in developing his own sans serif typeface. The Johnston letters gave a characteristic look to London’s transport system after the First World War, but it was Gill Sans that became the emblematic letter form of British graphic design for decades. (Johnston’s sans serif continued in use in the Underground until the early ‘80s, when a revised and modernized version, with a tighter fit and a larger x-height, was designed by the London design firm Banks and Miles.) Farey and Dawson, working from their studio in London’s Clerkenwell, wanted to create a type family that was neither a museum piece nor a bastardization, and that would “provide an alternative of the same school” to the omnipresent Gill Sans. “These alphabets,” says Farey, referring to the Johnston letters, “have never been developed as contemporary styles.” He and Dawson not only devised three weights of ITC Johnston but gave it a full set of small capitals in each weight ‘ something that neither the original Johnston face nor the Gill faces have ‘ as well as old-style figures and several alternate characters.

Redrawn from an old wood type we picked up in London. The original manufacturer is unknown. We added the lowercase to increase is usefulness.

POWERPLAY a monospace lowercase alphabet with a 3D twist. Designed by André Toet in 1976 (during his study at Central School of Art & Design, London, UK) and he redesigned this in 2011. The name Powerplay is based on the Battersea Power Station, London. The remarkable architecture of the building is also used as a decor for films and for one of the covers by Pink Floyd (Animals, the flying pig). Concept/Art Direction/ Design: André Toet © 2017

Picadilly family was made after my short visit in London and huge impression of Edward Johnston works. I've designed family of 20 modern typefaces with strong personality.

Originally developed as a logotype proposal for the Metropolitan Hotel in Park Lane, London. Available in upper case only, Metropolitan is a pure, streamlined, contemporary display typeface.