Prana Pro is a modern, young and fresh slab serif created by Christoph Ulherr during his studies with Prof. Gertrud Nolte at the faculty of design of the Hochschule Würzburg under the direction of Volker Schnebel, URW's type director. Prana Pro is an excellent headline and display font while, at the same time, very well readable at small sizes. It can be used for any kind of publication including posters and book covers.

Hi, friends! Sitting under the starry sky, I thought about extraterrestrial life and was inspired. I imagined if there was extraterrestrial life and their means of communication. The outline of this font popped up in my mind and I quickly sketched it out so I wouldn't forget it! This font is great for logos, quotes, space-themed inscriptions, it's also just pleasing to the eye and makes you think about the extraterrestrial!

After creating the all-caps version of Supper Club JNL, a conversation between Jeff Levine and fellow font designer Ray Larabie brought forth the idea that one of Ray's freeware fonts had a lower case that would perfectly fit Jeff's design. With Ray's permission, Jeff adapted the lower case to his capital letters and the final version of Supper Club was born. Two separate ideas become one stylish Art Deco type design.

ITC Mona Lisa was designed by Pat Hickson, a stark and elegant typeface originally drawn in the 1930s by Albert Auspurg. The original drawings were long gone and the surviving metal type was already severely worn when Hickson studied Auspurg's design for his recreation. The result is a typeface which melds the flavor of the 1930s with current design standards. ITC Mona Lisa displays all the suave sophistication of Fred Astaire and Greta Garbo.

Hi, Everyone! If you’re looking for a gorgeous font to attract your audiences or customers then we’ve got the font for you! Introducing Kelvingi Rodrige - A Serif Font This handmade font typeface with modern style looks very interesting for loads of different projects and promotions. It is perfect to be used on your website, for your social media branding, Pinterest banners, printed products, and more! Features: Multilingual Support Ligatures Alternates PUA Encoded Numerals and Punctuation

Say Hi to Cloud Dancer. It is bold and high-contrast display serif typeface with delightful nostalgic feeling. Cloud Dancer contain several stylistic alternates that can make it unique and different. This typeface is perfect for corporate identities, websites, publications, titles, books, magazines, business cards, logos, product labels, packaging, or any kind of advertising purpose. Features : · All Uppercase and Lowercase · Number & Symbol · Supported Languages · Alternates and Ligatures · PUA Encoded Hope you enjoy with our font!

Hi, introducing a script font named Tasha. It's a trendy typeface with smooth flowing shape. Tasha font supports english and most of european latin languages and also has ukrainian cyryllic alphabet (check out the screenshot with all available glyphs). There are also 9 special underscore glyphs, you can access them by typing "_1" with turned on standard ligatures feature (Check out a presented screenshot). Please make sure that your software supports OpenType Features.

Hi, Introducing the latest styles Bortane Brush with the kind of modern hand scratches, I hope you are interested in this font, if you want to use for your work this font can be used easily and simply because there are a lot of features in it to contain a complete set of letters lower and uppercase letters, assorted punctuation, numbers, and multilingual support. font also contains several ligatures and alternate style Stylistic.

Hi, friends! Introducing new typeface - Asterlight. It is a new display font with 2 styles and cool characters. Asterlight has multilingual support includes cyrillic. Many ligatures make your typography most variable. It works well with normal size text and for large displays or short words. You may combine uppercase and smallcase in the text body, as alternates symbols. The Asterlight typeface is suitable for : product packaging, labeling, logo, classic shop, ethnic shop, titles, etc

Hi, Introducing the latest styles Chelson Brush with the kind of modern hand scratches, I hope you are interested in this font, if you want to use for your work this font can be used easily and simply because there are a lot of features in it to contain a complete set of letters lower and uppercase letters, assorted punctuation, numbers, and multilingual support. font also contains several ligatures and alternate style Stylistic.

Hi, Introducing the latest styles Hello Yasmin with the kind of modern hand scratches, I hope you are interested in this font, if you want to use for your work this font can be used easily and simply because there are a lot of features in it to contain a complete set of letters lower and uppercase letters, assorted punctuation, numbers, and multilingual support. font also contains several ligatures and alternate style Stylistic.

Hello everyone, we hope you have a great day. Say hi to Mirallove Restimond a new casual modern font that is very perfect for branding, wedding designs, quotes, posters, business cards, logotype, display, watermarks, signatures, etc. This font also has a special character in terms of thickness and thinness on each side, so it will give a neat handwritten impression that will make your design look very attractive and it is PUA Encoded.

Eckhardt Signwriter JNL is based on a casual display lettering face popular with many sign painters and show card writers of yesteryear, best suited for large print projects. Jeff Levine has named this font (along with others in a series) after the late Albert Eckhardt, Jr. (1929-2005) who had owned Allied Signs in Miami, Florida from 1959 until his passing. Al was a talented lettering artist and a good friend to Jeff.

Hi, Introducing the latest styles Love Style with the kind of modern hand scratches, I hope you are interested in this font, if you want to use for your work this font can be used easily and simply because there are a lot of features in it to contain a complete set of letters lower and uppercase letters, assorted punctuation, numbers, and multilingual support. font also contains several ligatures and alternate style Stylistic.

Hi, Introducing the latest styles Beach Rock with the kind of modern hand scratches, I hope you are interested in this font, if you want to use for your work this font can be used easily and simply because there are a lot of features in it to contain a complete set of letters lower and uppercase letters, assorted punctuation, numbers, and multilingual support. font also contains several ligatures and alternate style Stylistic.

Kastella Script is essentially an artist's dream tool. It feels as if you're not just typing but crafting a visual narrative, almost like putting the finishing touches on a piece of design art. It's not about the text; it's about the story it tells. The font is equipped with heavy letterforms and a range of stylistic swashes, providing a versatile toolset for modern design projects, from branding to editorial layouts. Use underscore _ to make an underline. Example: Bea_uty Use multiple underscore for different swashes. Example: Super____human Kastella Script is built with advanced OpenType functionality and has a guaranteed top-notch quality, containing stylistic and contextual alternates, ligatures, and more features; all to give you full control and customizability. It has extensive lingual support, covering all Latin-based languages, and includes all the characters and symbols you'll ever need. Behind this exquisite creation is Mans Greback. Known for pushing the boundaries of type design, Greback has ventured into the intricacies of aesthetic diversity with Kastella Script. His portfolio is a testament to his versatility and daring, turning simple alphabets into powerful visual narratives.

Empresario Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) is considered by many the “Father of Texas” for leading the first Anglo-American colony into the then-Mexican territory back in the 1820s. A few years later, while on a diplomatic mission to Mexico City, Austin was arrested on suspicion of plotting Texas independence and imprisoned for virtually all of 1834. During this time he kept a secret diary of his thoughts and musings—much of it written in Spanish. Austin Pen is my interpretation of Austin’s scribblings in this miniature prison journal (now in the collection of the wonderful Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, in the Texas city that bears his name). The little leather-bound book is filled with notes in ink and pencil—some of the faded penciled pages traced in ink years later by Austin’s nephew Moses Bryan. A genuine replication of 19th century cursive, Austin Pen has two styles: a fine regular weight, along with a bold style that replicates passages written with an over-inked pen. Each is legible and evocative of commonplace American penmanship of two centuries ago.

The Englishman William Caslon (1672-1766) first cut his typeface Caslon in 1725. His major influences were the Dutch designers Christoffel van Dijcks and Dirck Voskens. The Caslon font was long known as the script of kings, although on the other side of the political spectrum, the Americans used it as well for their Declaration of Independence. The characteristics of the earlier Renaissance typefaces are only barely detectable. The serifs are finer and the axis of the curvature is almost or completely vertical. The overall impression which Caslon makes is serious, elegant and linear. Next to Baskerville, Caslon font is known as the embodiment of the English Baroque-Antiqua and has gone through numerous new interpretations, meaning that every Caslon is slightly different. ITC Caslon 224 was designed by Edward Benguiat and appeared with ITC in 1982. It is the text font which expanded upon the title font ITC Caslon 223. The alterations in the proportions of the letters make this Caslon 224 a noticeable departure from the original, but make the font overall more legible.

Flexion developed out of design philosophy and ambigramatic artwork of John Langdon. Based on the contents in John’s book Wordplay, author Dan Brown hired John to create ambigrams for his forthcoming novel Angels & Demons. Mr. Brown was so impressed with his work he even named the main character Robert Langdon after John. After the success of Angels & Demons, Dan Brown wrote The Da Vinci Code. When the movie adaptation of that book was in the works, Dan suggested that John create titles for the movie based on ambigrams. John contacted Hal Taylor to create a font based on the lettering treatment to be used for the credits at the end of the movie. Unfortunately, it was decided that the film was running long and the original title concept was scrapped. By this time, Hal was well into developing a full type family, including small caps, alternate characters, lining and ranging figures. John was impressed with the way the design was turning out and decided that it had enough merit to be released as Flexion.

Bonspire Script is a dynamic and creative script typeface. Brimming with lively swashes and optimistic flair, Bonspire Script embodies the essence of movement and creativity. Its swirly strokes lend it an air of playful sophistication, making it equally suitable for heartfelt love letters or eye-catching advertisements. Its handwriting-inspired design gives it an approachable and personal feel. The typeface dances across the page, infusing any text with a sense of joy and possibility. Use underscore _ anywhere in a word for swashes. Example: Love_rose Use multiple underscore for different swashes. Example: Wonder________woman Use Bonspire Script's built-in swashes and stylistic alternates to fully express your creativity. Its OpenType functionality ensures top-notch quality and customizability. The typeface offers extensive lingual support, covering all Latin-based languages, and includes all the characters and symbols you'll ever need. The creative force behind Bonspire Script is Mans Greback. Renowned for his ability to evoke emotion through typography, Greback has outdone himself with this lighthearted yet intricate design. His extensive portfolio showcases a knack for blending practicality with artistic flair, making each font a unique masterpiece.

Campana Script is your go-to for classical elegance. Picture walking into an old bookstore and discovering a handwritten love letter tucked inside a dusty novel. This font brings that level of intimacy and nostalgia to your designs. Designed with heavy lines and intricate swashes, Campana Script suits formal applications like wedding invitations, certificates, and classic logotypes. Use underscore _ to make a swash. Example: Deco_rative Use multiple underscores to make different underlines. Example: Candy__shop Campana Script is built with advanced OpenType functionality and has a guaranteed top-notch quality, containing stylistic and contextual alternates, ligatures, and more features; all to give you full control and customizability. It has extensive lingual support, covering all Latin-based languages, and includes all the characters and symbols you'll ever need. Behind this exquisite creation is Mans Greback. Known for pushing the boundaries of type design, Greback has ventured into the intricate intricacies of aesthetic diversity with Campana Script. His portfolio is a testament to his versatility and daring, turning simple alphabets into powerful visual narratives.

Gradl Highstep is an archetypical Art Nouveau face by the prolific and mysterious Max Joseph Gradl. It epitomizes the visual language of elegance and sophistication. It seems strange that so little information is available today about Max Gradl: He seems to have been well known in his day. In addition to his jewelry design, he did advertising work for customers in Naples, London and New York in addition to customers in cities all over Germany. Gradl Highstep is an all-cap font with a wide range of ligatures: 094=SA, 123=CH, 125=CK, 126=TS, 167=FA, 172=PA, 177=TA, 188=WA and 190=YA. In addtion, 137=Gradl’s dated monogram “MJG 1903,” 175=LLC abbreviation, 181=alternate S. This is a subtle font with thin, variable strokes. It is best used at 28 points and larger to give it the presence it needs to be be appreciated. Gradl Highstep Initials is a companion font, incorporating a deft line drawing of a fashionable woman of the period who is every bit as elegant as the underlying font.

Cartier was Canada’s first roman text typeface, created in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s centennial. Its designer, Carl Dair, was one of the country’s most celebrated graphic design pioneers, and a fine designer indeed — but he was not a trained type designer. He had spent a year at the Enschedé type foundry and printing works in the Netherlands, but that probably wasn’t enough to fully grasp all that was required to make an effective text face. It is also possible that Dair simply compromised his own design by not allowing any of the much needed alterations to be made to his working drawings when they were handed over to Linotype for production. Cartier, though a strikingly original oldstyle, never became the influential allround text face it might have been. A display typeface derived from it, Raleigh, was more successful. Realizing that Dair’s design was sound in concept, if not in execution, Rod McDonald began working on a new digital version in 1997. The final family is convincing proof that Cartier could have been the functional text face that Dair originally wanted.

Poetica font was designed by Robert Slimbach in 1992 with particularly generous characters. The typeface family consists of 21 weights to allow for an unusual variety of design possibilities within one typeface family. Numerous swash letters, ornaments and ligatures remind one of the early Renaissance and its unforgettable masters, for example, Giambattista Palatino, who later gave his name to Hermann Zapf's creation. Slimbach used the Lettera Cancellaresca as a model for his typeface, the cultivated humanistic italic which later served as a point of departure for the development of italics of the Renaissance and thereafter. Lettera Cancellaresca is very legible, extremely harmonic and impressively beautiful. The early forms display two different compositional tendencies, namely the static of the simple vertical capitals and the italic dynamic of the slanted lower case alphabet, as shown in the weight Chancery 4. The capitals later conform to the slant of the lower case, as shown in the weights Chancery 1-3. Poetica font should be set according to the included suggestion in order to see the full benefit of its grace and beauty.

Ares is a crisp all-caps display typeface suitable for sci-fi logos and titles. It owes its peculiar futuristic vibe to angular, top-heavy letters that hang from the cap-height instead of sitting on the baseline. The typeface consists of six subfamilies available in 10 weights, as well as as two variable fonts of three axes: Weight [wght], ranging from 1 to 1000, Mid-height [MHGT], ranginf from 0 to 1000, Tracking [TRAK], ranging from 0 to -40. The mid-height axis affects the typeface's waistline, including crossbars, and divides the fonts into three subfamilies: Ares Lo, Ares, and Ares Hi. These three families are solid-stroked, and the other three families are their stencil-stylized counterparts: Ares Broken Hi, Ares Broken, and Ares Broken Lo. The tracking axis is only available in the variable versions, and proportionally affects the kerning, thus helping set the type more tightly without effort. Ares supports a wide range of Latin-based orthographies, including not only European, but also Vietnamese as well as major African languages like Hausa, Fula or Ewe.

Labyrindo is inspired on the classic Labyrinth. The oldest known labyrinth is 3200 years old and is to be found in Greece. The mythological king Minos held the monstrous son of his wife ‘Minotaurus’ prison in a labyrinth. Much later the labyrinth made his appearance in the medieval churches, this time as a pattern on the church floor. During the Italian renaissance the multiple gate labyrinth came in fashion. Paths led trough green hedges in beautiful palace gardens. These hedges where perfectly cut in rectangular shapes. Mainly meant as an aesthetic statement. Besides the origin of the physic labyrinth, it has always been a great source of story-telling and myths. I mention a few personal favourites (film) like, Pan’s Labyrinth (a journey to the underworld), Labyrinth (with David Bowie) and the Shining with Jack Nicholson (where a horrific scene takes place in a labyrinth). Not the most cheerful stories but fascinating and intriguing. A Labyrinth is mind boggling and mysterious but wonderful. I made graphic translation in this typeface.

The design of the Tabwa font was inspired by the font Neuland designed by Rudolf Koch in 1923. Rather than attempting to re-create his font in a digital form as so many others have done, I have tried to capture the "spirit" of his font and merge this with the spirit of Africa. As a result the characters differ markedly from Koch's original styles and have much less of an "Art Deco" look to them. To further modernize the font I have included all the characters missing in Koch's original (a full lower case, as well as all punctuation, diacritics, special characters etc). The result is a thoroughly modern re-interpretation of the original "Neuland". The numbers (0 to 9) bear no relation to Koch's originals but, I believe, are far more in keeping with the alphabetic characters in the font. The triangles that decorate the characters of this African font are typical of the patterns found in the Tabwa culture of central and west Africa (in the Congo region).

Boge LP is a new font family designed to communicate lucidly in text as well as in headlines and titles. The family consists of Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic & Black. Character sets include a full compliment of multi-language support and fine-tuned kerning to make Boge™ a smart choice for professional quality typography from text to billboard-sized advertising. Regular and Bold styles include designed small caps and old-style numerals accessed as OpenType features. An original serif design, Boge blends traditional aesthetic with contemporary refinement. Its hallmarks are: clarity, readability, geniality, competence. The five related styles provide a strong palette for coloring words, text and ideas with quiet authority. Garrett Boge has been designing type for over 30 years, working with Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Disney and numerous corporate clients. His background in calligraphy, commercial lettering, graphic design, and typography has been channeled into creating this namesake design. Boge Text joins his other popular faces — Spring, Florens, Bermuda, Spumoni, Longhand, Tomboy, Wendy — under the LetterPerfect Fonts brand, marketed through Monotype and its partners.

ITC Merss proves that sometimes accidents work out just fine. Late one evening Eduardo Manso, an Argentinean graphic and type designer, spilled coffee on his desk. When he began to wipe up the mess, he noticed that one of the splashes looked like a roman letter 'l' - complete with serifs. This triggered his imagination. “What if a complete alphabet was created with this same irregular flow to the character designs?” ITC Merss was the result of Manso's experiments with “fluid” letter shapes. The oddly handsome design looks aged and spontaneous at the same time. Its irregular texture is striking-the result of careful modeling of character shapes. While Manso wanted to maintain the free-form character of spilled liquid, he also knew the individual letters had to work together with an underlying harmony. When not experimenting with typefaces - or spilled coffee - Manso creates award-winning graphic and publication designs. A contributor to the design magazine el Huevo (the Egg), he also writes articles on type and typography and is part of the publication's design team.

The Englishman William Caslon punchcut many roman, italic, and non-Latin typefaces from 1720 until his death in 1766. At that time most types were being imported to England from Dutch sources, so Caslon was influenced by the characteristics of Dutch types. He did, however, achieve a level of craft that enabled his recognition as the first great English punchcutter. Caslon's roman became so popular that it was known as the script of kings, although on the other side of the political spectrum (and the ocean), the Americans used it for their Declaration of Independence in 1776. The original Caslon specimen sheets and punches have long provided a fertile source for the range of types bearing his name. Identifying characteristics of most Caslons include a cap A with a scooped-out apex; a cap C with two full serifs; and in the italic, a swashed lowercase v and w. Caslon's types have achieved legendary status among printers and typographers, and are considered safe, solid, and dependable. A few of the many interpretations from the early twentieth century were true to the source, as well as strong enough to last into the digital era. These include two from the American Type Founders Company, Caslon 540 and the slightly heavier Caslon #3. Both fonts are relatively wide, and come complete with small caps, Old style Figures, and italics. Caslon Open Face first appeared in 1915 from the Barnhart Bros & Spindler Foundry, and is not anything like the true Caslon types despite the name. It is intended exclusively for titles, headlines and initials, and looks elegant whether used with the more authentic Caslon types or by itself.

Scandinavia Brush is a wild calligraphy font by Mans Greback, inspired by the untamed beauty of Nordic nature. It captures a rugged essence, with each stroke reflecting the raw energy and grace of natural environments. This brush-painted typeface is perfect for logos, handwritten designs, and tattoo art with its active and streetwise feel. Designed with a professional touch and high-quality craftsmanship, Scandinavia Brush comes in six versatile styles: Regular, Upright, Bold, Italic, and the combinations Bold Italic and Bold Upright. The range of styles allows you to create unique, expressive designs that capture the spirit of adventure, speed, and beauty. Use underscores _ anywhere in a word to make an underline swash. Example: Nord___ic Bru_sh Ideal for designer and art projects, or high-end handcrafted products, Scandinavia Brush brings a bold, authentic, and captivating touch to your creative endeavors. The font is built with advanced OpenType functionality and has a guaranteed top-notch quality, containing stylistic and contextual alternates, ligatures, and more features; all to give you full control and customizability. It has extensive lingual support, covering all Latin-based languages, from Northern Europe to South Africa, from America to South-East Asia. It contains all characters and symbols you'll ever need, including all punctuation and numbers. Mans Greback is a Swedish typeface designer with a passion for creating unique and versatile fonts. With an extensive background in design and typography, Mans has built a reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and prolific craftsmanship. His many fonts are widely used by designers around the world, making his work synonymous with creativity and innovation.

Vette Letters are thrilled to add maverick designer Dirk Uhlenbrock to the family, with the release of VLNL Bromfiets. Bromfiets (the Dutch word for moped) is a ‘holiday child’, the basic idea coming from a stop at a road junction in the Dutch coastal province of Zeeland. The Dutch signage, the black and white rings of traffic light poles, the symbols for brom- and snorfiets have always appealed to Dirk. While on vacation in Zeeland the first scribbles and digital drafts were created, always in mind that the typeface had to be striking, clear and friendly. The end result is more than that, a strong and instantly recognisable font with a matching dingbat weight full of icons and arrows. Stencil fonts have always interested Dirk, the informal character and the possible universal use as a paint- or spray-stencil on a wide variety of surfaces makes this type of font so interesting for me. The technically necessary dissolution of closed font contours always ensures a special aesthetic: What’HAT and HOW MUCH has to be removed or left, in order to make words easy to read and to avoid a fractal impression. Dirk Uhlenbrock has been working as graphic designer and illustrator in his hometown Essen, Germany for over 30 years. Always interested in typedesign he got in contact with Fontographer in 1996 and started to create and distribute loads of free fonts through his online platforms ‘Eyesaw’ and ‘Fontomas’. A bunch of these type experiments have been extented on request to complete fonts. Still located in Essen in 2009 Dirk started his second owner-based business erste liga büro für gestaltung - ersteliga.de

Beauty Style is a luxurious font collection that includes both a signature script and a sans serif typeface. Beauty Style scripts come in four weights including 12 alternates and 56 ligatures. Programming has been added to the scripts for flow and elegance. Use Beauty Style for sophisticated designing. Fonts designed by Cindy Kinash. See font details below. SANS FEATURES: All caps letters Condensed Sans OpenType Common ff fi fl ffi ffl ligatures Available in Extended Latin Pro (Standard) or American (US) version. SCRIPT FEATURES: Signature style OpenType Common ff fi fl ffi ffl ligatures Available in Extended Latin Pro (Standard) or American (US) version. 12 alternates and 56 ligatures Programmed ligature feature for optimization. Every time you type specific pairs, ligatures are programmed to pop up to avoid letter pair collisions. Programming ligatures gives the script a more elegant and pretty flow. Make sure to turn on the feature in your preferred program that supports ligatures. FREE WORDS FEATURES: 52 free words useful for beauty and sales promoting. Keyword examples include you, sale, and beautiful. Intended use for beauty, fashion, newsletters, websites, magazines, sales, commercials and packaging. VERSIONS: American and Extended Latin Pro AMERICAN (US) Shorter version 12 alternates and 56 ligatures (scripts only) Common ff fi fl ffi ffl ligatures OpenType Includes the common alphabet, numbers, American symbols and punctuation. EXTENDED LATIN PRO (Standard) Extended version of the American. 12 alternates and 56 ligatures (scripts only) Common ff fi fl ffi ffl ligatures OpenType Includes characters for Albanian, Basque, Catalan, Cornish, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Feroese, Finnish Scots, French, Gaelic, Galician, German, Greek Transliterated, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Nynorsk Bokmal Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh. TIPS: Try the OpenType ligatures by turning on the feature in your preferred program that supports ligatures. FONT LAYERING — Layer the script over the sans to give a cool retro effect. There are so many fun and creative possibilities. FONT CONNECTING — Interconnect the sans and script letters together creating TYPE ART. All you need to do is convert the font into an object and have fun! (Watch the upcoming tutorials on the cultivatedmindtype Instagram) SANS — When sans text is small, widen the text tracking for legibility and style variety. Sans is diverse and can work as tight or loose tracking. Use Beauty and Style for type art, beauty marketing, fashion, apparel, product design, music, websites, promotions and film. Last tip…Always have fun when creating. This isn’t a race. Creating should always be enjoyed. TUTORIALS: For more Beauty Style font tips including font layering, vlogs and tutorials, check out @cultivatedmindtype on Instagram.

Pure and not-so-simple Maybe it’s the air of purity, openness and transparency that they transmit, but geometric typefaces are more popular than ever among leading brands. Based on near-perfect circles, triangles and squares, geometric letterforms look uncomplicated, even though making them readable is anything but – something the designers of the first wave of geometric fonts discovered nearly a century ago. Many of the world’s most recognisable brands in technology, retail, travel, food, manufacturing and other industries continue to be drawn to the straightforward, honest character that geometric fonts convey. Fontsmith set out in 2015 to develop a typeface in the same tradition, but optimised for the demands of modern brands – online and offline usage, readability and accessibility. And, of course, with the all-important Fontsmith x-factor built in. FS Lucas is the bold and deceptively simple result. Handle with care The letterforms of FS Lucas are round and generous, along the lines of Trajan Column lettering stripped of its serifs. But beware their thorns. Their designer, Stuart de Rozario, who also crafted the award-winning FS Millbank, wanted a contrast between spiky and soft, giving sharp apexes to the more angular letterforms, such as A, M, N, v, w and z. Among his inspirations were the colourful, geometric compositions of Frank Stella, the 1920s art deco poster designs of AM Cassandre, and the triangular cosmic element symbol, which led him to tackle the capital A first, instead of the usual H. The proportions and angles of the triangular form would set the template for many of the other characters. It was this form, and the light-scattering effects of triangular prisms, that lit the path to a name for the typeface: Lucas is derived from lux, the Latin word for light. Recommended reading Early geometric typefaces were accused of putting mathematical integrity before readability. FS Lucas achieves the trick of appearing geometric, while taking the edge off elements that make reading difficult. Perfectly circlular shapes don’t read well. The way around that is to slightly thicken the vertical strokes, and pull out the curves at the corners to compensate; the O and o of FS Lucas are optical illusions. Pointed apexes aren’t as sharp as they look; the flattened tips are an essential design feature. And distinctive details such as the open terminals of the c, e, f, g, j, r and s, and the x-height bar on the i and j, aid legibility, especially on-screen. These and many other features, the product of sketching the letterforms in the first instance by hand rather than mapping them out mechanically by computer, give FS Lucas the built-in humanity and character that make it a better, easier read all-round. Marks of distinction Unlike some of its more buttoned-up geometric bedfellows, FS Lucas can’t contain its natural personality and quirks: the flick of the foot of the l, for example, and the flattish tail on the g and j. The unusual bar on the J improves character recognition, and the G is circular, without a straight stem. There’s a touch of Fontsmith about the t, too, with the curve across the left cross section in the lighter weights, and the ampersand is one of a kind. There’s a lot to like about Lucas. With its 9 weights, perfect proportions and soft but spiky take on the classic geometric font, it’s a typeface that could light up any brand.

Pure and not-so-simple Maybe it’s the air of purity, openness and transparency that they transmit, but geometric typefaces are more popular than ever among leading brands. Based on near-perfect circles, triangles and squares, geometric letterforms look uncomplicated, even though making them readable is anything but – something the designers of the first wave of geometric fonts discovered nearly a century ago. Many of the world’s most recognisable brands in technology, retail, travel, food, manufacturing and other industries continue to be drawn to the straightforward, honest character that geometric fonts convey. Fontsmith set out in 2015 to develop a typeface in the same tradition, but optimised for the demands of modern brands – online and offline usage, readability and accessibility. And, of course, with the all-important Fontsmith x-factor built in. FS Lucas is the bold and deceptively simple result. Handle with care The letterforms of FS Lucas are round and generous, along the lines of Trajan Column lettering stripped of its serifs. But beware their thorns. Their designer, Stuart de Rozario, who also crafted the award-winning FS Millbank, wanted a contrast between spiky and soft, giving sharp apexes to the more angular letterforms, such as A, M, N, v, w and z. Among his inspirations were the colourful, geometric compositions of Frank Stella, the 1920s art deco poster designs of AM Cassandre, and the triangular cosmic element symbol, which led him to tackle the capital A first, instead of the usual H. The proportions and angles of the triangular form would set the template for many of the other characters. It was this form, and the light-scattering effects of triangular prisms, that lit the path to a name for the typeface: Lucas is derived from lux, the Latin word for light. Recommended reading Early geometric typefaces were accused of putting mathematical integrity before readability. FS Lucas achieves the trick of appearing geometric, while taking the edge off elements that make reading difficult. Perfectly circlular shapes don’t read well. The way around that is to slightly thicken the vertical strokes, and pull out the curves at the corners to compensate; the O and o of FS Lucas are optical illusions. Pointed apexes aren’t as sharp as they look; the flattened tips are an essential design feature. And distinctive details such as the open terminals of the c, e, f, g, j, r and s, and the x-height bar on the i and j, aid legibility, especially on-screen. These and many other features, the product of sketching the letterforms in the first instance by hand rather than mapping them out mechanically by computer, give FS Lucas the built-in humanity and character that make it a better, easier read all-round. Marks of distinction Unlike some of its more buttoned-up geometric bedfellows, FS Lucas can’t contain its natural personality and quirks: the flick of the foot of the l, for example, and the flattish tail on the g and j. The unusual bar on the J improves character recognition, and the G is circular, without a straight stem. There’s a touch of Fontsmith about the t, too, with the curve across the left cross section in the lighter weights, and the ampersand is one of a kind. There’s a lot to like about Lucas. With its 9 weights, perfect proportions and soft but spiky take on the classic geometric font, it’s a typeface that could light up any brand.

Worldly Even though it’s a new arrival, FS Brabo has seen the world. Designed by a Brazilian working in London and studying in Belgium under a Dutchman, it’s certainly well-travelled. And it was inspired by the extraordinary archive of early book typefaces at the world-renowned Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, while Fernando Mello was attending Frank Blokland’s Expert class Type Design course at the Plantin Institute of Typography. It was there that Fernando became engrossed in the collection of early metal type, matrices, punches and type samples by figures such as Garamond and Granjon. So much so that he took on the mighty task of developing ‘a beautiful, functional, serifed text font’ of his own. Heroic FS Brabo’s journey from sketch to font family took an epic three years, starting in Antwerp, continuing at Fontsmith in London, and reaching its conclusion back in Fernando’s home city of São Paulo. No wonder Fernando was reminded of another titanic face-off: that of Antwerp’s Roman hero of legend, Silvius Brabo, and the evil ogre, Antigoon. Brabo came to the town’s rescue after the tyrannical giant had been charging ships’ captains extortionate taxes and chopping off the hands of those who refused to pay up. Having finally downed Antigoon after a long and terrible duel, Brabo cut off the giant’s own hand and threw it into the river Scheldt, unwittingly giving the town its name: the Dutch for ‘hand-throw’ is hand werpen. What better way for Fernando to name his literary typeface than after the hero of Antwerp’s oldest tale? The garalde factor FS Brabo is not a revival, but a very much a contemporary, personal interpretation of a garalde – a class of typeface originating in the 16th century that includes Bembo, Garamond and Plantin, with characteristically rounded serifs and moderate contrast between strokes. Brabo’s ‘ct’ and ‘st’ ligatures, upper-case italic swashes and contextual ending ligatures – ‘as’, ‘is’, ‘us’ – all preserve the beauty and character of traditional typefaces, but its serifs are chunkier than a garalde. Their sharp cuts and squared edges give them a crispness at text sizes, helping to bring a beautifully bookish personality to hardworking modern applications. A workhorse with pedigree It may give the appearance of a simple, four-weight typeface, but FS Brabo has hidden depths beneath its simplicity and beauty. OpenType features such as cap italic swashes, contextual ending swashes – programmed only to appear at the end of words – and stylistic alternatives make this a complete and well-equipped typeface. Comprehensive testing was carried out at text and display sizes, too, to prevent counters from filling in. All of which makes FS Brabo a very modern take on a traditional workhorse serif typeface: colourful and versatile enough to adorn not just editorial projects but also signage, advertising and logotypes.

Worldly Even though it’s a new arrival, FS Brabo has seen the world. Designed by a Brazilian working in London and studying in Belgium under a Dutchman, it’s certainly well-travelled. And it was inspired by the extraordinary archive of early book typefaces at the world-renowned Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, while Fernando Mello was attending Frank Blokland’s Expert class Type Design course at the Plantin Institute of Typography. It was there that Fernando became engrossed in the collection of early metal type, matrices, punches and type samples by figures such as Garamond and Granjon. So much so that he took on the mighty task of developing ‘a beautiful, functional, serifed text font’ of his own. Heroic FS Brabo’s journey from sketch to font family took an epic three years, starting in Antwerp, continuing at Fontsmith in London, and reaching its conclusion back in Fernando’s home city of São Paulo. No wonder Fernando was reminded of another titanic face-off: that of Antwerp’s Roman hero of legend, Silvius Brabo, and the evil ogre, Antigoon. Brabo came to the town’s rescue after the tyrannical giant had been charging ships’ captains extortionate taxes and chopping off the hands of those who refused to pay up. Having finally downed Antigoon after a long and terrible duel, Brabo cut off the giant’s own hand and threw it into the river Scheldt, unwittingly giving the town its name: the Dutch for ‘hand-throw’ is hand werpen. What better way for Fernando to name his literary typeface than after the hero of Antwerp’s oldest tale? The garalde factor FS Brabo is not a revival, but a very much a contemporary, personal interpretation of a garalde – a class of typeface originating in the 16th century that includes Bembo, Garamond and Plantin, with characteristically rounded serifs and moderate contrast between strokes. Brabo’s ‘ct’ and ‘st’ ligatures, upper-case italic swashes and contextual ending ligatures – ‘as’, ‘is’, ‘us’ – all preserve the beauty and character of traditional typefaces, but its serifs are chunkier than a garalde. Their sharp cuts and squared edges give them a crispness at text sizes, helping to bring a beautifully bookish personality to hardworking modern applications. A workhorse with pedigree It may give the appearance of a simple, four-weight typeface, but FS Brabo has hidden depths beneath its simplicity and beauty. OpenType features such as cap italic swashes, contextual ending swashes – programmed only to appear at the end of words – and stylistic alternatives make this a complete and well-equipped typeface. Comprehensive testing was carried out at text and display sizes, too, to prevent counters from filling in. All of which makes FS Brabo a very modern take on a traditional workhorse serif typeface: colourful and versatile enough to adorn not just editorial projects but also signage, advertising and logotypes.

David Berlow undertook the revival of Frederic W. Goudy’s Village family in the early ’90s as the first real step in the successful redesign of Esquire magazine. Goudy originally cut Village No. 2 in 1932 to bring early ideas up to date, adding the italic a year or two later for his own satisfaction. Font Bureau expanded Village, the model for Goudy’s mature style, into a ten-part series designed for Esquire’s use in text and display; FB 1994

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

Motor Mouth provides racy type, oozing of high octane gasoline and selfconfidence. Designer Martin Fredrikson CORE, graffiti artist turned typeface designer and car paint expert, combines his sense of speed with raw power lettering. Sloped and cocky, Motor Mouth is an original design in the great tradition of Nascar and Indy 500 and makes you think of roaring muscle cars and hot asphalt. Swedish type foundry T4 premiere new fonts every month. Motor Mouth is our fourth introduction.