While researching the history of Onitsuka Tiger's branding and graphic design, I came across an odd, yet highly appealing piece of custom lettering on the company's ONICK ski boots from the 1970s. Reminiscent of aspects of the typeface Black-Out by Eli Carrico (released by my type foundry Wordshape), yet vertically compressed with razor-sliced counters and odd stencil element that makes up one of the legs of the "K", the ONICK lettering is a potential source for an intriguing modular font. I immediately thought of Ryoichi Tsunekawa as a potential collaborator to bring this piece of lettering to full-fledged life in the contemporary context. Based in Nagoya, Tsunekawa runs an independent type foundry called Dharma Type, including three specialized foundry sub-labels: Flat-It, devoted to display lettering; Prop-A-Ganda, a series of fonts inspired by and based on retro propaganda posters, movie posters, retail sign lettering & advertisements in the early 20th century; and Holiday Type, a series of decorative and retro scripts for holiday use. The past year has seen a flurry of notice of his work abroad, having been featured in both MyFonts' "Creative Characters" and YouWorkForThem's newsletter. As the work of most Japanese type designers is almost wholly unnoticed abroad, for Tsunekawa to be interviewed by two of the most popular type distribution companies in the world is definitely something beyond the norm. Perhaps it is because he works independently, or perhaps it is due to the charm and friendliness with which his typefaces are infused. Either way, this attention is both welcome and appreciated. Beyond mere charm, Tsunekawa's work is nuanced, detailed, and accessible due to its high level of finish. His fonts stand apart from his contemporaries in Latin typeface design in Japan due to his fascination with pop, vernacular and historical lettering from "non-pure" sources- whereas type designers like Kunihiko Okano and Akira Kobayashi have spent years analyzing the essence of Western letterform construction and unlocking the essence of Latin forms, Tsunekawa views surface and the awkward nature of his sources as being of value, as well. His irreverence for the formal doctrines of history imbue his typeface designs with a rugged inventiveness that would be missed by most- glyphs without source designs are guessed at and approximated, often in a manner wildly divergent from what Western eyes would assume. It is in these moments that I find sheer delight in Tsunekawa’s work and what make me most pleased to invite him aboard Neojaponisme and Onitsuka Tiger’s type development project. His assorted typefaces show an eclecticism in finish and as holistic systems- Tsunekawa's return email to me about the proposed type project showed a digital sketch of how a completed typeface family from the source lettering might look, rendered with an effortlessness and dedication to detail that belies a skilled craftsperson. Further development showed Tsunekawa’s rigor- the typeface in development rapidly featured glyphs ignored by many: a full set of fractions, Eastern European diacritics and accents, superior and inferior numerals, alternate characters, and custom ligatures - all designed with regulated, detailed spacing. ONICK is a typeface Tsunekawa should be proud of- an homage to a moment in history rendered in the absolute best fashion. We are proud to present it to the world! --Ian Lynam

Varidox, a variable typeface design, allows users to connect with specific design combinations with slightly varied differences in style. These variations in design enable the user to reach a wider scope of audiences. As the name suggests, Varidox is a paradox of sorts--that is, a combination of two disparate forms with two major driving influences. In the case of type design, the conflict lies in the age-old conundrum of artistic expression versus marketplace demand. Should the focus center primarily on functionality for the customer or err on the side of advancing creativity? If both are required, where does the proper balance lie? Viewed as an art, type design selections are often guided by the pulse of the industry, usually emphasizing unique and contemporary shapes. Critics are often leading indicators of where the marketplace will move. Currently, many design mavens have an eye favoring reverse stress. However, these forms have largely failed to penetrate the marketplace, another major driving factor influencing the font world. Clients now (as well as presumably for the foreseeable future) demand the more conservative forms of monoline sans serifs. Typeface designers are left with a predicament. Variable typefaces hand a great deal of creative control to the consumers of type. The demands of type design critics, personal influences of the typeface designer and the demands of the marketplace can all now be inserted into a single font and adjusted to best suit the end user. Varidox tries to blend the extremes of critical feature demands and the bleeding edge of fashionable type with perceptive usability on a scalable spectrum. The consumer of the typeface can choose a number between one and one-thousand. Using a more conservative style would mean staying between zero and five hundred, while gradually moving higher toward one thousand at the high end of the spectrum would produce increasingly contemporary results. Essentially, variable fonts offer the ability to satisfy the needs of the many versus the needs of the few along an axis with a thousand articulations, stabilizing this delicate balance with a single number that represents a specific form between the two masters, a form specifically targeted towards the end user. Practically, a user in some cases may wish to use more conservative slab form of Varidox for a more conservative clientele. Alternatively, the same user may then choose an intermediate instance much closer to the other extreme in order to make a more emphatic statement with a non-traditional form. Parametric type offers a new options for both designers and the end users of type. In the future, type will be able to morph to target the reader, based on factors including demographics, mood or cultural influences. In the future, the ability to adjust parameters will be common. With Varidox, the level of experimentality can be gauged and then entered into the typeface. In the future, machine learning, for example, could determine the mood of an individual, their level of experimentality or their interest and then adjust the typeface to meet these calculated parameters. This ability to customize and tailor the experience exists for both for the designer and the reader. With the advent of new marketing technologies, typefaces could adjust themselves on web pages to target consumers and their desires. A large conglomerate brand could shift and adapt to appeal to a specific target customer. A typeface facing a consumer would be more friendly and approachable, whereas a typeface facing a business to business (B2B) customer would be more businesslike in its appearance. Through both experience, however, the type would still be recognizable as belonging to the conglomerate brand. The font industry has only begun to realize such potential of variable fonts beyond simple visual appearance. As variable font continues to target the user, the technology will continue to reveal new capabilities, which allow identities and layouts to adjust to the ultimate user of type: the reader.

A neat face with pronounced spur serifs which several foundries have already digitized. We like ours better though, because we have drawn a lowercase which was lacking in the original. Barnhart Bros. & Spindler of Chicago introduced this type in 1888.

Brown Now is a handwritten font family that is designed directly on paper so that it provides a unique experience when you type using it, this font also has alternative characters that also have a different feel when using it.

The ornamental ribbons come from our research at the 1490 font style of the 1882 George Bruce’s rare catalogue, from Intellecta’s collection of rare books and catalogues. The type here used to compound the work is the GrasVibertTwo from Intellecta.

Editorial Comment JNL is another wood type in the Grotesk (also spelled Grotesque) style of sans serif faces. Popular in newspaper headlines as well as posters, the slightly irregular stroke widths add an old-fashioned charm to any print project.

Cloverdale JNL is another addition to Jeff Levine's revivals of classic wood type fonts from the 1800s. Bold, broad and in the "cowboy" style, this typeface goes well with projects featuring the Old West, Victorian times or old-fashioned nostalgia.

Goodbees is built from a bold base, unique combinations, smooth curves, and sharp edges. Goodbees is best uses for headings, Logo types, quotes, apparel design, invitations, flyers, posters, greeting cards, product packaging, book covers, printed quotes, album covers, movies and more.

Introducing a new clean signatures script called Bresley. Bresley came with open type features such contextual alternates, stylistic alternates, ligature, good for signature logo, wedding invitation, romantic quote, logotype, poster, social media kit, book cover, tshirt design, packaging and any more.

Crestwood is an updated version of an elegant semi-formal script typeface originally released by the Ludlow Type Foundry in 1937. Crestwood is best used at larger sizes, and is wonderful for invitations and greeting cards. Character Set: Latin-1

An ultra black blackletter, Avebury Black and Avebury Inline were inspired by an early blackletter from the Caslon Foundry. Early blackletters from the Bruce Type Foundry are also reflected in this slightly modernized and more readable typeface. Caution. For display only.

Italian type designer Fabrizio Schiavi created this display FontFont in 1994. The font is ideally suited for music and nightlife and poster and billboards. FF TradeOne provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures. It comes with proportional lining figures.

Athabasca is "Wild West" Tuscan on steroids. Remember those stylised tall and narrow typefaces that used to appear in Wild West comics, Western movies, "Wanted" posters and so forth? Well, here’s a new, 2017 released take on the idea. Have fun!

Dyane is based on monolinear scripts from the Bauhaus time. But it is very special for ist counterstrokes in the lowercase letters a, h, m and n that gives the script a very distinct rhythm. Your rhythmic type-designer Gert Wiescher

Salamander is a playful and agile script family of two weights and matching ornament sets. Click on Swash, Contextual or Stylistic alternates in any Open type savvy application for vivid alternate characters and combine with Salamander Ornaments to perfect your designs.

This circa 1910 European face was introduced into the United States by a German type foundry traveling salesman during the great depression of the 1930s. We have used it quite successfuly in sizes as small as 10 and 12 point.

Ginko is a capitals only display font with an obvious Asian influence. The characters are formed with short tapered strokes, reminiscent of those produced by a broad pen. An ideal face for signage, menus, advertising, wherever an Asian feel is required.

Make room for Brogado JNL! This bold, yet squat slab serif font takes command when set into headlines. Although not thoroughly in the Western mold, Brogado JNL can still exude enough macho appeal to make its point strongly, yet clearly.

Based on one of the earliest Tuscans, from Thorowgood's foundry. The original was very poorly rendered in 1822, but keep in mind that decorative types were still quite new in the early 1800s. We redrew it, but kept it recognizable.

Introducing by Timur type Proudly Present, Fashioniqa Fashioniqa A Handwritten Font Fashioniqa is perfect for product packaging, branding project, megazine, social media, wedding, or just used to express words above the background. Fashioniqa also multilingual support. Enjoy the font.Thank you!

Introducing by Timur type Proudly Present, Delightica Delightica A Handwritten Font Delightica is perfect for product packaging, branding project, megazine, social media, wedding, or just used to express words above the background. Delightica also multilingual support. Enjoy the font.Thank you!

The new Cinio Text type family is a version of Cinio that can be used on screen and for text composition. The rounded corners of the glyph design increase its legibility in small size and on supports with a low resolution.

FP Dancer Serif attempts to combine a constructed face with an upright script face. The goal was a type family that combines softness and friendliness with more strength. Typographica.org selected this font as one of the best typefaces for 2007.

Vintage sheet music for a song from the Broadway Musical “Kiss Me Kate” is the inspiration for Katydid JNL. The play’s name was written in a ball-and-line type of lettering which somewhat resembles either 'Tinker Toys' or celestial mapping.

Fayte is a modern blackletter font that gives focus on contemporary display type. This vintage-made new typeface is unmistakably blackletter, However, it is accessible enough to be used across many projects, for branding, Instagram, print posters, magazines, Fashion, whatever.

Glosa Display is a high contrast typeface with plenty of style, suited for very large display sizes in magazines and newspapers. Glosa Display is the latest member of the Glosa family. Glosa is a type family designed for editorial purposes.

Kaufmann is a joining script designed for American Type Founders by Max R Kaufmann, a letterer, typographer and art director of McCalls magazine. Monotone in weight and with short descenders, the Kaufmann font family is useful for advertising and display work.

Vektra takes advantage of the high-resolution afforded by the Glyphs font design program. Stripes of different density overlap to create a cross-hatched tonal effect. Best used at larger sizes and in shorter settings where the details can be seen.

The bushy weed commonly known as foxtail provides the inspiration for this set of ornaments, and reveals its connection to the prairies. The appearance has an affinity to cowboy themed work and would combine well with wood type decorative text.