Searching for a font that resembled true children's handwriting, this font's creator designed a font from his own first grade penmanship assignments. Ideal for anything related to children.

Geometric sans fonts in the Bauhaus tradition were the inspiration for the design of FF Mark®, for example the Universal font by Herbert Bayer, Erbar® Grotesk, Kabel®, Neuzeit Grotesk and of course Paul Renner's Futura®. From an aesthetic point of view, FF Mark is a descendant of these classics of German typeface design that intends to meet the needs of modern communication. Hannes von Döhren and Christoph Koeberlin had the support of the entire FontFont Type Department in the design of FF Mark, including Erik Spiekermann, who took over the artistic direction of the project. The teamwork resulted in carefully planned, balanced forms, which are responsible for the harmonious overall impression of the font. The capitals are not based on Roman square capitals; rather, they have a uniformly wide letter form in a comfortable ratio to the x-height. Thanks to the x-height, which is significantly larger compared to the historical models, FF Mark is also very legible in small sizes. This makes it a very flexible font in terms of its range of applications. A contrast in the stroke width is barely noticeable. At the same time, light modulation supports readability, especially in the bold styles in small sizes. The uniform line ends are obvious for a contemporary sans family nowadays (unlike some of the historical precedents, which evolved over years). Other details from the predecessors are consciously maintained and provide for added individuality in FF Mark. For example, the limbs in the uppercase "K" and "R" are offset slightly from the stem. Alternative characters with crossbars are available for the numbers "0", "1", "7" and the uppercase "Z" and the lowercase "a" also has an alternative with an open form. German typesetters have the option of uppercase umlauts with points that are set lower, as well as a long "s" from the Fraktur. And last but not least, FF Mark has the very characteristic ft-ligature of Futura. FF Mark is available in ten finely tuned weights ranging from Hairline to Black. A Book style for text setting further emphasizes the well-rounded features of this contemporary typeface. When the font was published, it also included ten carefully designed cursives for all weights. Users also have the option of various numeral sets with old-style and uppercase numbers as well as small capitals. FF Mark also has some geometric shapes and arrows based on the features of Futura. FF Mark is a modern, full-featured, geometric sans serif that you can use without hesitation for large projects in headlines as well as in texts. FF Mark's design is a nod to the historical models and transports their charm, elegance and in some cases unusual design applications into a modern font family equipped with the most current typographical features. NEW: the new FF Mark W1G versions features a pan-European character set for international communications. The W1G character set supports almost all the popular languages/writing systems in western, eastern, and central Europe based on the Latin alphabet and also several based on Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

Out of a lifelong inner struggle, Philip Bouwsma unleashes a masterpiece that reconciles classic calligraphy with type in a way never before attempted. Maestro takes its cue from the Italian chancery cursive of the early sixteenth century. By this time type ruled the publishing world, but official court documents were still presented in calligraphy, in a new formal style of the high Renaissance that was integrated with Roman letters and matched the refined order of type. The copybooks of Arrighi and others, printed from engraved wood blocks, spread the Italian cancellaresca across Europe, but the medium was too clumsy and the size too small to show what was really happening in the stroke. Arrighi and others also made metal fonts that pushed type in the direction of calligraphy, but again the medium did not support the superb artistry of these masters or sustain the vitality in their work. As the elegant sensitive moving stroke of the broad pen was reduced to a static outline, the human quality, the variety and the excitement of a living act were lost. Because the high level of skill could not be reproduced, the broad pen was largely replaced by the pointed tool. The modern italic handwriting revival is based on a simplified model and does not approach the level of this formal calligraphy with its relationship to the Roman forms. Maestro is the font that Arrighi and his colleagues would have made if they had had digital technology. Like the calligraphic system of the papal chancery on which it is modelled, it was not drawn as a single finished alphabet, but evolved from a confluence of script and Roman; the script is formalized by the Roman to stand proudly in a world of type. Maestro came together on screen over the course of several years, through many versions ranging widely in style, formality, width, slant, weight and other parameters. On one end of the spectrum, looking back to tradition it embodies the formal harmony of the Roman capitals and the minuscule which became the lower case. On the other it is a flowing script letter drawing on the spirit of later pointed pen and engravers scripts. As its original designers intended, it works with simple Roman capitals and serifs or swash capitals and baroque flourishes. The broad pen supplies weight and substance to the stroke which carries energy through tension in balanced s-curves. Above all it is meant to convey the life and motion of formal calligraphy as a worthy counterbalance to the stolid gravity of metal type. The Maestro family consists of forty fonts distributed over two weights. The OpenType version compresses the family considerably down to two fonts, regular and bold, each containing the entire character set of twenty fonts, for a total of more than 3350 characters per font. These include a wide variety of stylistic alternates, ligatures, beginning and ending letters, flourishes, borders, rules, and other extras. The Pro version also includes extended linguistic support for Latin-based scripts (Western, Central and Eastern European, Baltic, Turkish, Welsh/Celtic, Maltese) as well as Greek. For more thoughts on Maestro, its background and character sets, please read the PDF accompanying the family.

DIN Stencil Pro on Behance. DIN Stencil Pro: Specimen Manual PDF. Despite the fact that over the years several designers have manually created stencil lettering based on DIN for various projects, there had never been a professional digital stencil version of a DIN-based typeface until 2010 when the original DIN Stencil was first released. The Pro version was released in 2014 and adds multiscript support for Cyrillic and Greek. DIN Stencil Pro was based on its original counterpart DIN Text Pro and was particularly designed to address contemporary projects, by incorporating elements and weights which are akin to industries such as fashion, music, video, architecture, sports and communications. Traditionally, stencils have been used extensively for military equipment, goods packaging, transportation, shop signs, seed sacks and prison uniforms. In the old days, stencilled markings of ownership were printed on personal possessions, while stencilled signatures on shirts were typical of 19th century stencilling. Two companies dominated the market in the mid-twentieth century: the Marsh Stencil Machine Company in the United States and the Sächsische Metall Schablonen Fabrik in Germany. Ever since the late 1930s, it was the German Sächsische Metall Schablonen Fabrik which used heavily the new DIN 1451 standard font (introduced in 1936), attempting to overthrow the reign of the Didot-style modern roman which was at the time the most common stencil letter in Germany. These letters were manufactured mainly as individual zinc stencils which could be ordered in sizes between 10 and 100mm. The DIN Stencil family manages to preserve several traditional stencil features, but introduces additional modernities which enhance its pleasing characteristics which make it an ideal choice for a large number of contemporary projects. Furthermore, the spacing attributes of the glyphs were redefined and legibility was improved by revising the shape of the letterforms. The DIN Stencil Pro family is an enhanced version of the popular DIN Stencil. It consists of 8 diverse weights from the elegant Hairline to the muscular Black and supports Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Eastern European, Turkish and Baltic. The new version 3.0 includes several additions such the recently unicode encoded character of the German uppercase Eszett (ẞ), the Russian currency symbol for Rouble (₽), Ukrainian Hryvnia (₴), Azeri and Kazakh letterforms.

One of the good practices of today’s type foundries is that they release their type families as systems including both serif and sans serif type. Usually, the sources of inspiration need to be well tried with time and practice, since production of a type family is such a laborious and complex process. From the beginning, it needs to be clear that the result will be suited for universal use. Such systems, complete with the broad, multi-lingual variations permitted by the OpenType format, have become the elementary, default instrument of visual communication. Non-Latin scripts are useful for a wide scope of academic publications, for packaging and corporate systems alike. And what about outdoor advertisement designated for markets in developing countries? Cyrillics and Greek have become an integral part of our OpenType font systems. Maybe you noticed that the sans serif cuts have richer variety of the light – black scale. This is due to the fact that sans serif families tend to be less susceptible to deformities in form, and thus they are able to retain their original character throughout the full range of weights. On the other hand, the nature of serifed, contrasted cuts does not permit such extremes without sacrificing their characteristic features. Both weights were drawn by hand, only the Medium cut has been interpolated. Anselm Ten is a unique family of four cuts, slightly strengthened and adjusted for the setting in sizes around 10 pt and smaller, as its name indicates. The ancestry of Anselm goes back to Jannon, a slightly modified Old Style Roman. I drew Serapion back in 1997, so its spirit is youthful, a bit frisky, and it is charmed by romantic, playful details. Anselm succeeds it after ten years of evolution, it is a sober, reliable laborer, immune to all eccentricities. The most significant difference between Sebastian/Serapion and Anselm is the raised x-height of lowercase, which makes it ideal for applications in extensive texts. Our goal was to create an all-round type family, equally suitable for poetry, magazines, books, posters, and information systems.

Introducing Quasix—the typeface that defies logic! With its compact industrial headline design, this font is the perfect choice for anyone looking to add an edge to their design work. But beware, its quirky design might have you scratching your head at first. Just like the inside of a machine, Quasix is full of moving parts, each with its own unique purpose—but don’t worry, you don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate its beauty. This typeface is perfect for those who want to convey the concept of engineering devices without using typical techno typefaces or cliche physical symbols like gears and bolts. Quasix will elevate your design to the next level, and its versatility makes it suitable for a range of themes, from retro to modern and even futuristic. Don’t be afraid to get creative with Quasix—this typeface was made to be bold and unconventional. Let it take center stage and watch as it transforms your design into something truly unique. Quasix defies convention and breaks the mold, making it the perfect choice for those who aren’t afraid to think outside the box. Try it out and see for yourself! Most Latin-based European writing systems are supported, including the following languages. Afaan Oromo, Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, Aromanian, Aymara, Bashkir (Latin), Basque, Belarusian (Latin), Bemba, Bikol, Bosnian, Breton, Cape Verdean, Creole, Catalan, Cebuano, Chamorro, Chavacano, Chichewa, Crimean Tatar (Latin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dawan, Dholuo, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Fijian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Frisian, Friulian, Gagauz (Latin), Galician, Ganda, Genoese, German, Greenlandic, Guadeloupean Creole, Haitian Creole, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ilocano, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Kaqchikel, Karakalpak (Latin), Kashubian, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kurdish (Latin), Latvian, Lithuanian, Lombard, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Maasai, Makhuwa, Malay, Maltese, Māori, Moldovan, Montenegrin, Ndebele, Neapolitan, Norwegian, Novial, Occitan, Ossetian (Latin), Papiamento, Piedmontese, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, Rarotongan, Romanian, Romansh, Sami, Sango, Saramaccan, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian (Latin), Shona, Sicilian, Silesian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Sorbian, Sotho, Spanish, Swahili, Swazi, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Tetum, Tongan, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Turkish, Turkmen (Latin), Tuvaluan, Uzbek (Latin), Venetian, Vepsian, Võro, Walloon, Waray-Waray, Wayuu, Welsh, Wolof, Xhosa, Yapese, Zapotec Zulu and Zuni.

One of the good practices of today’s type foundries is that they release their type families as systems including both serif and sans serif type. Usually, the sources of inspiration need to be well tried with time and practice, since production of a type family is such a laborious and complex process. From the beginning, it needs to be clear that the result will be suited for universal use. Such systems, complete with the broad, multi-lingual variations permitted by the OpenType format, have become the elementary, default instrument of visual communication. Non-Latin scripts are useful for a wide scope of academic publications, for packaging and corporate systems alike. And what about outdoor advertisement designated for markets in developing countries? Cyrillics and Greek have become an integral part of our OpenType font systems. Maybe you noticed that the sans serif cuts have richer variety of the light – black scale. This is due to the fact that sans serif families tend to be less susceptible to deformities in form, and thus they are able to retain their original character throughout the full range of weights. On the other hand, the nature of serifed, contrasted cuts does not permit such extremes without sacrificing their characteristic features. Both weights were drawn by hand, only the Medium cut has been interpolated. Anselm Ten is a unique family of four cuts, slightly strengthened and adjusted for the setting in sizes around 10 pt and smaller, as its name indicates. The ancestry of Anselm goes back to Jannon , a slightly modified Old Style Roman. I drew Serapion back in 1997, so its spirit is youthful, a bit frisky, and it is charmed by romantic, playful details. Anselm succeeds it after ten years of evolution, it is a sober, reliable laborer, immune to all eccentricities. The most significant difference between Sebastian/Serapion and Anselm is the raised x-height of lowercase, which makes it ideal for applications in extensive texts. Our goal was to create an all-round type family, equally suitable for poetry, magazines, books, posters, and information systems.

Looking for a typeface that packs a punch and leaves a lasting impression on your audience? Look no further than Astrochemistry! This hefty, square typeface is the perfect choice for delivering magnificent headlines that demand attention and leave a lasting impact. With its seamless contrast with sans-serif body copy, Astrochemistry is the ultimate choice for those seeking to cut through difficult situations and rigid systems with ease. It’s the perfect choice for those seeking to expand their reach and influence, helping clients envision product brands that connect with their target audience and establish preference. In a world where every moment counts, Astrochemistry is the ultimate weapon for winning the battle at the moment of truth. With its bold and striking design, this font is sure to leave a lasting impression on your audience, ensuring that your brand stands out from the competition and remains top of mind for years to come. So if you’re ready to take your brand to the next level and make a lasting impression on your audience, choose Astrochemistry today and experience the power of cutting-edge design! Most Latin-based European, Greek, and some Cyrillic-based writing systems are supported, including the following languages. Afaan Oromo, Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, Aromanian, Aymara, Bashkir (Latin), Basque, Belarusian (Latin), Bemba, Bikol, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Cape Verdean, Creole, Catalan, Cebuano, Chamorro, Chavacano, Chichewa, Crimean Tatar (Latin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dawan, Dholuo, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Fijian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Frisian, Friulian, Gagauz (Latin), Galician, Ganda, Genoese, German, Greek, Greenlandic, Guadeloupean Creole, Haitian Creole, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ilocano, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Kaqchikel, Karakalpak (Latin), Kashubian, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Komi-Permyak, Kurdish (Latin), Latvian, Lithuanian, Lombard, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Maasai, Macedonian, Makhuwa, Malay, Maltese, Māori, Moldovan, Montenegrin, Ndebele, Neapolitan, Norwegian, Novial, Occitan, Ossetian, Ossetian (Latin), Papiamento, Piedmontese, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, Rarotongan, Romanian, Romansh, Russian, Sami, Sango, Saramaccan, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Serbian (Latin), Shona, Sicilian, Silesian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Sorbian, Sotho, Spanish, Swahili, Swazi, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Tetum, Tongan, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Turkish, Turkmen (Latin), Tuvaluan, Uzbek (Latin), Ukrainian, Venetian, Vepsian, Võro, Walloon, Waray-Waray, Wayuu, Welsh, Wolof, Xhosa, Yapese, Zapotec Zulu and Zuni.

Plantin is a family of text typefaces created by Monotype in 1913. Their namesake, Christophe Plantin (Christoffel Plantijn in Dutch), was born in France during the year 1520. In 1549, he moved to Antwerp, located in present-day Belgium. There he began printing in 1555. For a brief time, he also worked at the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands. Typefaces used in Christophe Plantin's books inspired future typographic developments. In 1913, the English Monotype Corporation's manager Frank Hinman Pierpont directed the Plantin revival. Based on 16th century specimens from the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, specifically a type cut by Robert Granjon and a separate cursive Italic, the Plantin" typeface was conceived. Plantin was drawn for use in mechanical typesetting on the international publishing markets. Plantin, and the historical models that inspired it, are old-style typefaces in the French manner, but with x-height that are larger than those found in Claude Garamond's work. Plantin would go on to influence another Monotype design, Times New Roman. Stanley Morison and Victor Larent used Plantin as a reference during that typeface's cutting. Like Garamond, Plantin is exceptionally legible and makes a classic, elegant impression. Plantin is indeed a remarkably accommodating type face. The firm modelling of the strokes and the serifs in the letters make the mass appearance stronger than usual; the absence of thin elements ensures a good result on coated papers; and the compact structure of the letters, without loss of size makes Plantin one of the economical faces in use. In short, it is essentially an all-purpose face, excellent for periodical or jobbing work, and very effective in many sorts of book and magazine publishing. Plantin's Bold weight was especially optimized to provide ample contrast: bulkiness was avoided by introducing a slight sharpening to the serifs' forms."

Rahere is a humanist sans with subtle features that give the typeface a distinctive, warm appearance without distracting the reader. Legible at large and small sizes, Rahere is a versatile family suitable for a wide range of applications such as annual reports, advertising, brochures, catalogues, information signage, screen text and visual identities. For projects that need to convey a sense of authority or credibility, this is the ideal sans serif to use. The family consists of six weights ranging from light to extra bold with corresponding italics and the character set covers most of the major European languages. Each weight contains lining & non-aligning numerals in both proportional & tabular spacing. The tabular numerals share the same width across all weights and styles – a must for financial tables in annual reports. Spirited and lively, the italic lowercase is more cursive and calligraphic than the roman, although it harmonises perfectly, displaying enough character to create emphasis without looking out of place. When used on its own, for pull-out quotes or poetry, the italic exudes a charm that draws attention to the text. The typeface is named after Rahere, a 12th-century Anglo-Norman priest, who founded St Bartholomew's Hospital, London in 1123. I will always be indebted to Barts (as it is now commonly known) because in 2007 I was successfully treated for relapsed testicular cancer. Way back in 1992 I designed my first sans serif, Charlotte Sans, and although it was relatively successful, I was never really satisfied with the end result: not enough weights & italics, a small character set, lack of accented characters, and my design skills were still in their infancy. Whilst Rahere shares many common elements with Charlotte Sans, it is much more than just a reworking; it represents over 20 years of accumulated knowledge and experience as a designer.

“More is better” may have been the motto of Richard Austin of Austin and Son’s Imperial Letter-Foundry on Worship Street at Finsbury Square in London when he designed and cut his Antique typeface. The year it was created is uncertain, but it is known to have appeared in a specimen book produced in 1827. At first glance, the upper case letters of Austin Antique look very much like Figgins Antique. But, upon examination, one will note that the Austin face is much darker. In general, the letters designed and cut by Richard Austin have fatter strokes, larger serifs and smaller counters -- more metal and less daylight. The premise was that the darker the letter, the more attention an ad using the typeface would receive. In old pictures of London and Paris one may see walls crowded with posters and “bills” -- competing for the attention of the passerby. Morris and Updike aside, the early nineteenth century marked the beginning of a commercial as well as industrial revolution. Patterns of commerce were changing. With new methods of marketing came the need for new typefaces to support the new methods. Foundries found the display types were very profitable and competed most energetically and creatively for the trade. There was a lot of trial-and-error. Some ideas faded away. Others, like the Antiques or Egyptians, were refined and developed. From them came the Clarendons that were to prove both popular and long lasting -- because they worked. Their job was to sell goods, not please the aesthetic sensibilities of the critics. They did their job well. Austin Antique has a full Western European character set, plus the following ligatures: ct, st, fi, fl, ff, ffi and ffl. Tabular numbers. Surprisingly readable.

Hispania Script is a distinctive and distinctly nineteenth century script. It was released by Schelter & Giesecke of Leipzig, Germany around 1890. Particularly noteworthy are the sharply-pointed legs of the upper case ‘K’ & ‘R’ that seem to be characteristic of the period. Similar strokes, often with a slight curve, may be seen in typefaces like Alt-Romanish and Tinteretto by Schelter & Giesecke, Artistic and Lateinsch by Bauer and Berthold and the poster lettering of Edward Penfield. The angle of this script (approximately 24 degrees) and the sharp delicate points must have made the manufacture of this face in metal type a challenge. The resulting type was probably quite fragile and subject to accidental damage. Additionally, the sharp points would be subject to wear. With digital type, these concerns are eliminated. As far as I know, no one has ever dropped a digital letter on the floor. Nonetheless, creating a digital outline for a typeface like Hispania Script, with many crossing strokes, can be quite time-consuming. Even with an accurate scan of a good quality original, it is usually necessary to construct each crossing stroke separately and then remove the overlap in order to obtain a sharp and convincing intersection. Steep internal angles are often defined with two points, rather than one, to minimize ink or toner fill that can muddy the rendering in smaller sizes. Like all formal scripts, Hispania Script is always useful for announcements and invitations. However, the distinctiveness of of this design strongly suggests that there are other applications that may benefit from its use. Step outside the box and try it in some unexpected places. It is the unexpected that often draws a person’s eye.

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. This version of Bodoni was done by Morris Fuller Benton for American Typefounders between 1907 and 1911. Although some of the finer details of the original Bodoni types are missing, this family has the high contrast and vertical stress typical of modern types. It works well for headlines, logos, advertising, and text."