Designer Steven Skaggs wanted a versatile uncial typeface that was not simply decorative. Traditionally, a true uncial is a majuscule form, entirely lacking in ascenders and descenders. However, by designing Rieven Uncial, Skaggs found a way to use the true uncial as inspiration but retained a lowercase look and feel. Typically, uncials do not have italic forms but in order for Rieven to be a truly versatile face, it was imperative that it should be accompanied by an italic. The italic form owes much to the historical roots in the letra antigua cursiva of the 15th century humanist masters. Rieven Uncial was awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Type Design in the 2010 TDC2.

Among many of Alf Becker’s contributions to Signs of the Times magazine was 1 1935 offering named Chicago Modern Thick and Thin, which provided the inspiration for this face. It’s a perfect choice for friendly headlines with an Art Deco vibe. Both versions include the complete Unicode Latin 1252, Central European 1250 and Turkish 1254 character sets, as well as localization for Lithuanian, Moldovan and Romanian.