The sister fonts Andron 2 English and Andron 2 Deutsch provide a groundbreaking new possibility to render literature text bodies in a sophisticated traditional and yet modern way of type. In German typographic history there has once been a long-lasting struggle called the Frakturstreit (the blackletter quarrel). It was about wether German text ought to be composed in blackletter or rather in Roman type, a question upon which even Goethe, Schiller and other period celebrities got grey over time. However, blackletter type remained alive and has just recently seen an astonishing renaissance. This is not about a blackletter revisionism or some ‘mixture’ concept arguably bridging the gap between either worlds. Andron 2 English and Andron 2 Deutsch offer a new approach to circumvent that old antagonism. As for the lowercase letters I applied certain features of blackletter type onto the glyphs – but entirely abandoned the principle of the broken stroke as such. The result is a lowercase alphabet in the classical Andron style which may be considered an attractive alternative for text in English, German or even other languages. So it’s no longer entirely about choosing between ‘modern’ Roman or ‘ancient’ blackletter only. Andron 2 English Regular and Andron 2 Deutsch Regular feature the same lowercase glyphs but differ in the majuscules (Andron 2 English has normal Latin capitals). ++++ 2012 + NEW! +++ In response to its growing popularity we now present five new fonts as part of the Andron 2 series. Andron 2 English is completed by an Italic and a Bold font. Andron 2 Deutsch now contains three interesting alternative fonts: Italic, Scriptive and Laendlich. Last but not least – A new set of wonderful classical typographic ornaments is part of the Italic and Scriptive fonts. – You can also purchase these ornaments separately as “Andron Ornamente”.

Born in the 70s Personal influences are unavoidable in type design and usually find their way through into finished fonts. At Fontsmith, one period in particular provides inspiration, according to FS Pimlico designer, Fernando Mello. “Jason and Phil have always known that I’m very into the visual language of the 70s. I know that Jason shares my love of the 70s and Phil will sometimes admit to being a fan, too. I think that’s the reason they were both so supportive in the development of this font. “And, of course, we all share an interest in good-humoured and intelligent design. We like to think it’s a Fontsmith characteristic.” Back from black FS Pimlico started in an unusual place: with a tubby, penguin-like lowercase “a” that Fernando Mello had been sketching. From “a” grew the rest of the alphabet – a bubbly, fat, friendly family with a brush-written quality that became FS Pimlico Black. The black weight certainly isn’t the normal starting point for creating a regular and bold weight, but Fernando pressed on, driven by a glut of influences: brush-writing; Letraset and early digital systems catalogues; the type of Herb Lubalin and Tony di Spigna; 70s clothes and vinyl; and 70s revival disco nights in London’s Pimlico and Vauxhall. Natural or flourished Not often do fonts come along that seem to span the ages. FS Pimlico is at home in an office environment providing a fresh clear identity in communications or providing text that’s clear and easy to read. But it likes to party, too, 70s style. With the OpenType features switched on, a designer can totally change the look of their work, and create point-of-sale, headlines and titles that stand out and get noticed.