Based on Element by Max Bittrof, Stamm takes the next step in adaptation to modern environment. Using it's own construction logic it makes the design far more consistent and considerably expands the character set, supporting hundreds of languages, including Vietnamese and extended Cyrillic. Generous amount of OpenType features allows various localization options, automatic fractions, super- and subscripts, oldstyle and tabular figures, small caps and ligatures to suit almost every need. There are 15 Stylistic Sets available to customize the font (some of them duplicate locl-features in case they're not supported by applications): ss01 (Traditional glyphs): changes modern shapes used by default to old-style forms; ss02 (Alternate historical glyphs): changes the shape of several characters to a more obscure historical form; ss03 (Catalan middle dot): replaces middle dot between two l's by Catalan variant for better spacing; ss04 (German ligatures): activates historical ch, ck and tz ligatures used in German blackletter typesetting; ss05 (Dutch IJ-acute): replaces j after i-acute with j-acute; ss06 (Marshallese cedilla): replaces commas under certain letters with cedillas; ss07 (Romanian/Moldovan comma): changes cedilla-glyphs to comma-glyphs; ss08 (Turkish i): replaces regular i with dotted Turkish variant; ss09 (Cyrillic alternates): changes several Cyrillic glyphs to alternate variants; ss10 (Bulgarian Cyrillic): activates Bulgarian shapes; ss11 (Serbo-Macedonian Cyrillic): activates Serbo-Macedonian shapes; ss12 (Double-story a): replaces default glyph with it's double-story variant; ss13 (Alternate asterisk): replaces default asterisk with 5-pointed shape; ss14 (Enclosed figures): replaces standard figures with enclosed variants; ss15 (Slashed zero): replaces default zero with slashed variant.

It's been said that creativity requires ten parts to perspiration to one part inspiration. But not always. According to its creator, Mira Vucko, ITC Needlescript was designed in one breath." An accomplished lettering artist, Vucko was sketching letters one afternoon. "I was using a calligraphy nib and was drawing the alphabet without much thought," she recalls. "When I allowed the down strokes of a couple of letters to fall below the baseline, I realized that I had created the impression of movement. I kept drawing letters in this fashion and did the same with horizontal lines. I added a firm ending to the descenders. Instead of dots above the 'i' and 'j,' I placed strokes in the opposite direction." In this way, the first characters that were to become ITC Needlescript emerged. The finished design is a lively, distinctive alphabet that produces a striking texture on the page. Letters intertwine and overlap to create a sense of movement and graphic intensity, especially when reversed out of a dark background. Vucko lives, works and was educated in Zagreb, Croatia. She lived in France and Sweden while in her twenties, but then returned to Croatia to work as a graphic designer for the country's largest newspaper. It was here that her passion for type and typography was born. Vucko has since gone on to become one of Croatia's leading graphic designers, and has won many awards for her advertising and packaging design. Vucko recommends that ITC Needlescript be used for "titling, lively but 'thorny' content, and anywhere that a little typographic drama is called for.""