Geometric sans fonts in the Bauhaus tradition were the inspiration for the design of FF Mark®, for example the Universal font by Herbert Bayer, Erbar® Grotesk, Kabel®, Neuzeit Grotesk and of course Paul Renner's Futura®. From an aesthetic point of view, FF Mark is a descendant of these classics of German typeface design that intends to meet the needs of modern communication. Hannes von Döhren and Christoph Koeberlin had the support of the entire FontFont Type Department in the design of FF Mark, including Erik Spiekermann, who took over the artistic direction of the project. The teamwork resulted in carefully planned, balanced forms, which are responsible for the harmonious overall impression of the font. The capitals are not based on Roman square capitals; rather, they have a uniformly wide letter form in a comfortable ratio to the x-height. Thanks to the x-height, which is significantly larger compared to the historical models, FF Mark is also very legible in small sizes. This makes it a very flexible font in terms of its range of applications. A contrast in the stroke width is barely noticeable. At the same time, light modulation supports readability, especially in the bold styles in small sizes. The uniform line ends are obvious for a contemporary sans family nowadays (unlike some of the historical precedents, which evolved over years). Other details from the predecessors are consciously maintained and provide for added individuality in FF Mark. For example, the limbs in the uppercase "K" and "R" are offset slightly from the stem. Alternative characters with crossbars are available for the numbers "0", "1", "7" and the uppercase "Z" and the lowercase "a" also has an alternative with an open form. German typesetters have the option of uppercase umlauts with points that are set lower, as well as a long "s" from the Fraktur. And last but not least, FF Mark has the very characteristic ft-ligature of Futura. FF Mark is available in ten finely tuned weights ranging from Hairline to Black. A Book style for text setting further emphasizes the well-rounded features of this contemporary typeface. When the font was published, it also included ten carefully designed cursives for all weights. Users also have the option of various numeral sets with old-style and uppercase numbers as well as small capitals. FF Mark also has some geometric shapes and arrows based on the features of Futura. FF Mark is a modern, full-featured, geometric sans serif that you can use without hesitation for large projects in headlines as well as in texts. FF Mark's design is a nod to the historical models and transports their charm, elegance and in some cases unusual design applications into a modern font family equipped with the most current typographical features. NEW: the new FF Mark W1G versions features a pan-European character set for international communications. The W1G character set supports almost all the popular languages/writing systems in western, eastern, and central Europe based on the Latin alphabet and also several based on Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

There is no doubt that the 1941 version of “The Maltese Falcon” was superior to the prior two attempts by Warner Brothers at filming Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel. Sam Spade was perfectly portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, and the supporting cast of Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook, Jr. rounded out the main players in a great suspense film that is considered to be the first (if not one of the first) of the film noir genre. The title cards for the production and cast credits were hand-lettered in a spurred serif type style strongly reminiscent of the Art Nouveau period, so instead of naming the digital version with some “tough guy detective” moniker, it was decided that Detective Client JNL was more appropriate. After all, this is a reasonably attractive font, and in this kind of film it’s usually the “attractive damsel in distress” [be she the victim or the actual perpetrator] that gets the story rolling… Detective Client JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Batman & Robin! Thelma & Louise! Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid! Hip Flask & Farrell! Frodo & Sam! Sonny & Cher! Calvin & Hobbes! Bert & Ernie! Dynamic Duos exist in all forms of literature & entertainment, and now Comicraft is proud to introduce its latest alliterative offering, DYNAMIC DUO! A buddy movie in font form, Dynamic Duo is a team-up of Solid and Open weights who can’t decide who is the lead and who is the sidekick! In the fine tradition of all two-in-ones and company-wide comic crossovers, first they fight and then they team up — to take your design on the biggest, loudest, most intense adventure of All Time. Dynamic Duo features comic-book style hook caps and alternate uppercase letters which automatically cycle for a more natural, hand-drawn appearance. Solid and Open weights can be layered to create chromatic effects, and matching variable fonts allow near-infinite control of weight and slant. Each weight contains 478 glyphs and supports 220 languages. Comicraft fonts are created BY comic book letterers FOR lettering comic books. Accept no substitutes! Artwork by Axel Medellin from Elephantmen #73