The object of Grover was to join two distinctive typeface designs: the basic European gothic of the late nineteenth century and the ‘rounded’ style found in 1960s America. The result is a clear, friendly face with subtle yet unforgettable features. Named after Grover Washington, Jr., the jazz saxophone player, Grover is geometrically constructed and yet very human in appearance. Sans and slab serif variations, true italic weights, as well as small caps afford Grover versatility and unique display characteristics.

The object of Grover was to join two distinctive typeface designs: the basic European gothic of the late nineteenth century and the ‘rounded’ style found in 1960s America. The result is a clear, friendly face with subtle yet unforgettable features. Named after Grover Washington, Jr., the jazz saxophone player, Grover is geometrically constructed and yet very human in appearance. Sans and slab serif variations, true italic weights, as well as small caps afford Grover versatility and unique display characteristics.

I spend a lot of time following two obsessions: packaging and hand lettering. Alongside a few other minor obsessions, those two have been my major ones for so many years now, I've finally reached the point where I can actually claim them as “obsessions” without getting a dramatic reaction from the little voice in the back of my head. When you spend so much time researching and studying a subject, you become very focused, directionally and objectively. But of course some of the research material you run into turns out to be tangential to whatever your focus happens to be at the time, so you absorb what you can from it, then shelf it — like the celebrity bobblehead that amused you for a while, but is now an almost invisible ornament eating dust and feathers somewhere in your environment. And just like the bobblehead may fall off the shelf one day to remind you of its existence, some of my lettering research material unveiled itself in my head one day for no particular reason. Hand lettering is now mostly perceived as an American art. Someone with my historical knowledge about lettering may be snooty enough to go as far as pointing out the British origins of almost everything American, including lettering — but for the most part, the contemporary perspective associates great lettering with America. The same perspective also associates blackletter, gothics and sans serifs with Germany. So you can imagine my simultaneous surprise and impatience when, in my research for one of my American lettering-based fonts, I ran into a German lettering book from 1953, by an artist called Bentele. It was no use for me because it didn't propel my focus at that particular time, but a few months ago I was marveling at what we take for granted — the sky is blue, blackletter is German, lettering is American — and found myself flipping through the pages of that book again. The lettering in that book is upbeat and casual sign making stuff, but it has a slightly strange and youthful experimentation at its heart. I suppose I find it strange because it deviates a lot from the American stuff I'm used to working with for so long now. To make a long story short, what’s inside that German book served as the semilla, which is Spanish for seed, for the typeface you see all over these pages. With Semilla, my normal routine went out the window. My life for a while was all Bezier all the time. No special analog or digital brushes or pens were used in drawing these forms. They're the product of a true Bezier process, all starting with a point creating a curve to another point, which draws a curve to another point, and so on. It’s a very time-consuming process, but at the end I am satisfied that it can get to pretty much the same results easier and more traditional methods accomplish. And as usual with my fonts, the OpenType is plenty and a lot of fun. Experimenting with substitution and automation is still a great pleasure for me. It is the OpenType that always saves me from the seemingly endless work hours every type designer must inevitably have to face at one point in his career. The artful photos used in this booklet are by French photographer and designer Stéphane Giner. He is very deserving of your patronage, so please keep an eye out for his marvelous work. I hope you like Semilla and enjoy using it. I have a feeling that it marks a transition to a more curious and flexible period in my career, but only time will tell.

I was listening to the radio and a song caught my attention. It was ‘Demagogue’ by a band called the Urban Dance Squad. That song brought back memories from when I was a student, so I decided to name this font after it. Demagogue was made using a Sharpie pen and a piece of expensive paper. The result is a very legible, very neat and very bold font. Demagogue is ideal for when you want to get your message across, but hopefully not in a demagogue-ish way! ;-)

A book in the library of University of Wisconsin caught David Berlow’s attention. It was set in a clear text face - a predecessor of Bookman, cast by the Western Type Foundry who called it Custer. Upon noting how well the typeface worked in 6 and 7 points, he developed it into a member of the Reading Edge series specifically designed for small text on screen. Custer RE was a broad and approachable typeface drawn large on the body with a tall x-height to maximize its size when set very small.

Scritta Nuova was born to transpose my personal handwriting and evolved today into a smart typeface that maintains the original feel with improved legibility and visual balance. The steady rhythm and roundness of Scritta Nuova give the impression of a smooth, girlish and gentle writing. It also evokes retro calligraphic styles taught in Italian schools around the 1950s, which might have influenced in one way or another my original handwriting. Note that the capital letters can be nicely set next to each other without overlapping, unlike script typefaces with swashy capitals created as initials.

NorB Felt Tip was inspired from the lettering of my grand-brother Med Bahha who taught several kinds of letterings. It is a handwritten text font mimicking a felt pen and can be used with any word processing program for text and display use, print and web projects, apps and ePub, comic books, graphic identities, branding, editorial, advertising, scrapbooking, cards and invitations and any casual lettering purpose… or even just for fun! NorB Felt Tip comes with 6 weights each with their matching italics and in a Light, Normal, Bold and Heavy version.

Big Jim Roberts was my dad. A dedicated family man who taught us about faith, values and love is missed by our family. Jim just about did it all. He was a military man, a police officer, a power company engineer and a photographer. This typeface (which is comprised of a bold lower-case alphabet) has a 70s retro feel. Jim might have like it. The net profits from my font sales help defer medical expenses for my siblings, who both suffer with Cystic Fibrosis and diabetes. Thank you.

Mikagi is a textured form of the 2008 Miyagi typeface, giving the original creation a new personality along with its makeover. The rough texture is a different direction from the original, smooth line style of its predecessor, instead creating something that might be described as lean and tough. Worn and weary, Mikagi emphasises everything it says, taking care to slow itself down and not get caught up in the speed of its youth. Use Mikagi for a range of design work, to add a blend of smooth easiness and faded cynicism to your creation.

Kennerley Old Style was designed by Goudy for publisher Mitchell Kennerley in 1911. Goudy described it as a "book letter with strong serifs, firm hairlines, and makes a solid, compact page." One of Goudy's best text faces, Kennerley is considered an original American classic as it is not based on historical type designs.

American type designer Jim Parkinson created this display FontFont in 1996. The font is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions, film and tv as well as poster and billboards. FF Motel Gothic provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and stylistic alternates. It comes with proportional lining figures.

English by influence with an American disposition and modernist details, Steady Sans is a blend of styles from multiple eras. Decidedly expansive letterforms make for an overall lively presence. Fluid italics, multiple weights, and alternate forms provide a variety of tone for headline use and solid construction works well for text settings.

Designed specifically for AT&T to set telephone directories by Chauncey Griffith at Mergenthaler in 1938, Bell Gothic was the standard American directory typeface for forty years. Limited in performance by linecaster matrix requirements, Bell Gothic was replaced by Bell Centennial. Furlong is a version of Bell Gothic adapted for the racing form.

This is a stylized blackletter font with many OpenType features and 403 characters -- many of which are presently unknown for blackletter fonts: Caps, lower case, small caps, old style figures, numerators, denominators, accents characters and so on. The idea is a modern blackletter that is readable and usable for the American eye.

Hexide JNL was modeled and modified from an original design created by the late sign artist Alf R. Becker for Signs of the Times® Magazine. Thanks to Tod Swormstedt of ST Publications, Inc. and the American Sign Museum of Cincinnati, Ohio for providing the reference material used to make this font.

The Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Observer dated June 12, 1917 had the following headline running across its front page: “American Steamer Sunk by German U Boat”. The condensed slab serif typeface used to set that headline has been recreated digitally as Newspaper Publisher JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A sales catalog sheet from the American Decalcomania Company circa the late 1940s-early 1950s provided some hand lettering that served as the inspiration for Sign Painter JNL. Emulating the look of characters made with a round pen nib, this Deco-style typeface conveys nostalgia and charm seldom found in advertising of today.

American type designer Jim Parkinson created this display FontFont in 1996. The font is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions, film and tv as well as poster and billboards. FF Matinee Gothic provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and stylistic alternates. It comes with proportional lining figures.

Oakland is a Streamline era design inspired by some hand-drawn lettering on a 1930's French poster advertising a certain brand of Car (Automobile for our American cousins). It's ideal for giving poster and design work that late 1930s to mid 1950s feel. Make a bold statement with this all capitals typeface!

African Jazz is an informal and vigorous font that moves to the rhythms of Africa. Its angular shapes are reminiscent of the syncopated jazz beat that grew out of the heart of Africa. African Jazz has carefully crafted spacing and kerning, making it easy to use in any display setting. It also includes all punctuation, symbols, special characters and diacritical marks.

Duquesne Dark Woodcut is a new typeface in the spirit of 19th century American wood cut typefaces. There is an almost rustic simplicity to its heavily serifed letter forms, ideal for capturing the spirit of the mid-west, or early Victorian Britain. Long live the era of the Cowboy and the Steam Navigation Canal!

The pattern for this elegant, if slightly quirky, Art Deco typeface was drawn by Gustav Jensen for the 1931 classic, American Alphabets. Perfect for suggesting the exotic, the font also includes several graphic elements in Jensen’s inimitable style. Both versions of the font include 1252 Latin, 1250 CE (with localization for Romanian and Moldovan).

The Federal Music Project was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's WPA (Works Progress Administration), putting many people back to work in the Depression years of the 1930s. A hand-lettered poster advertising an "American Music Festival" featuring the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra offered up the extra bold Art Deco inspiration which became Music Festival JNL

The original Franklin Gothic was designed in 1903 by Morris Fuller Benton. Franklin Gothic is named after Benjamin Franklin, America’s greatest printer. Our Franklin Gothic Black Condensed is unique because it is designed to set properly in all display applications. It contains all the high-end features expected in a quality OpenType Pro font.

The American Type Founders 1923 Specimen Book and Catalogue called the inspiration for this typeface Engravers Text; it could easily be called elegant, enchanting and erudite, as well. The inline version of this font includes the complete 1252 Latin and 1250 Central European character sets; the Solid version includes the Turkish 1254 set in addition.

A poster for the publication “The Quartier Latin – A Magazine Devoted to the Arts” featured the magazine’s name in a light Art Nouveau serif style. The Quartier Latin was published between 1896 and 1899 by the American Art Association of Paris. This is now available as Nouveau Meadow JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

This typeface takes its inspiration from Will Bradley's Ultra Modern Initials, released by American Type Founders in 1934. Unlike the caps-only original version, both versions of this font contain complete Unicode 1252 (Latin) and Unicode 1250 (Central European) character sets, with localization for Romanian and Moldovan, and the Macintosh Roman character set, as well.

This typeface is a faithful reproduction of an elegant and somewhat quaint design by Morris Fuller Benton, which first appeared in the American Type Founders 1913 specimen book. It's equally at home as a text or a headline face. Both versions of this font include the complete Latin 1252 and Central European 1250 character sets.

ITC Snap is the work of American designer David Sagorski and represents both the creativity and humor of the native Kansan. It clealy displays the influence of cartoon graphics of the 1960s and 70s, but does not need to be limited to period or animated graphics. ITC Snap is ideal for headlines which demand attention.

The 1912 American Type Founders specimen catalog carried the pattern for this typeface, under the rather unimaginative name of "Pen Print". Its irrepressible insouciance makes it equally suitable for downtown or down home applications. Both versions of this font include the complete Latin 1252 and CE 1250 character sets, with localization for Romanian and Moldovan.

Riley is an elegant brush Script with its roots in the 1950s American sign painting. Riley has Stylistic Alternates for every lowercase standard character and it’s equipped with Contextual Alternates and Ligatures that keep the flow and connections smooth. Riley is great for headlines and posters or as a logotype with an elegant touch.

ITC Juice is the work of American designer David Sagorski and shows a clear influence of cartoon graphics of the 1960s and 70s. The typeface has a number of unique letter forms as well as an extensive set of alternate characters. The creative, humorous ITC Juice hides a subtle sophistication beneath its funky exterior.

Based on wood type designed by William H. Page & Company in 1872, Aldine Extended is one of many variations within the Aldine family. The characters are extremely wide relative to their height, and have heavy, thick serifs. Aldine was extremely popular in broadside printing during the late 19th century and conveys America’s enthusiastic westward expansion.

American type designer Jim Parkinson created this display and sans FontFont in 1996. The font is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions, film and tv as well as poster and billboards. FF Golden Gate Gothic provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and stylistic alternates. It comes with proportional lining figures.

Ludwig Sans is a modern Sans Serif Font Family inspired by american Gothics. It also contains many Alternates that are inspired by Ludwig Sütterlin’s Latin Script from 1911. All those Alternates can be combined seamlessly within the neutral Sans Serif Typeface, so you get both: a bread-and-butter type and a display font.

A 1930s travel poster from American Airlines had the airline’s name in a classic thick-and-thin Art Deco design of hand lettering. With the addition of angular spurs, some of the characters become semi-serif in nature. This type style is now available as Travel Plans JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

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.

Hibagon is the Japanese equivalent of the Yeti from the Himalayas, or Bigfoot from North America. It is usually sighted on Mt. Hiba (Hiroshima prefecture), hence the name. I have never seen Hibagon myself, even though I have visited Hiroshima several times. Hibagon font is a nice, handpainted, all caps font with a mythical feel to it. It probably won’t scare you, but it will look good on anything that needs a bit of brushwork, or a bit of roughness.

Rogsant Soft is a luxurious sans serif typeface that masterfully blends contrasting letterforms with a gentle flow and delicate rounded edges. Created by Mans Greback & Delaga, this fine and tasteful font emanates beauty and sophistication, making it a perfect choice for luxury branding, high-end fashion, and elegant design projects. The allure of Rogsant Soft lies in its attention to detail and meticulously crafted letterforms, which create a harmonious balance between refinement and legibility. With its clean and polished appearance, Rogsant Soft is an ideal choice for both print and digital designs that demand a touch of finesse and grace. 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 typeface designer from Sweden, whose love for design and typography drives him to create innovative and versatile fonts. His commitment to quality and originality has earned him respect and appreciation from designers worldwide.