Phiz is a diverse suite of 28 decorative fonts based on Figgins Sans Extra Bold. Classic (10 fonts), Rounded (7 fonts), Rough (4 fonts) and Particles (7 fonts). The Rough and Particles styles emerge as a unique niche—neither imitating distressed printing (e.g. the “rusty” look), nor casual, hand-drawn styles. These type designs are conceived and executed as complex algorithmically-generated graphic procedures, in which repetitive elements have been artfully applied to the Sans capitals, and manually nuanced. As such they also differ substantially from textured glyph shapes that have been cut out from larger pattern fields, for the constituent particles are disposed in relation to the specific shape of each character they define. The caps-with-small-caps format was chosen for two reasons. Firstly, titling display usage is predominantly capitals, and secondly, rather like optical scaling, having the same resolution of texture available in two different “sizes” (upper and lower case) should prove useful in the hierarchy of page layout—not primarily for setting upper and lower case text as caps-with-small-capitals, although this is of course an option. All figures and major symbols (punctuation and currency) are provided in both cap and small cap height.

Looking for something new for setting powerful headlines? Need a font that can create logos with ease? How about something masculine, a design with authority and panache? Then ITC’s newest typeface, ITC Sportbet™, may be the perfect choice. ITC Sportbet is a design that should be set tight, creating an arresting graphic image as well as words. Although a capital-only typeface, it benefits from a large suite of alternate characters that enable individual words and headlines to be customized with a distinctive personality. In addition to the obvious power of ITC Sportbet’s square-jawed character shapes, it’s fun to use. Exchange one or two letters with their alternative designs and a brand new headline or logo appears. ITC Sportbet was designed by Dane Wilson, the principal of the London-based design firm of Dane Design. Although this is his first commercial typeface design, Wilson has ample experience creating logos and custom typefaces for corporate branding. In fact, Sportbet grew out of such a project. “The idea initially came from wanting to provide a client with a stylish, modern and graphically impactful corporate identity logo font,” recalls Wilson. “Although the first sketches looked promising as a typeface, because of time and budget constraints, developing an entire alphabet would be overambitious.” Not to be deterred, Wilson continued to work on the design when time permitted. He eventually completed the font and started final application tests. The results looked good to Wilson, but he felt that the design was missing something. “I hit upon the idea of breaking out the left side of all the closed counters,” Wilson wrote about the design. “This simple device gave Sportbet the kick it needed.” Although one weight and a capital-only typeface, Wilson’s ITC Sportbet should prove to be a powerful and versatile communicator.