Pelle Piano is the stage name for Per Ellstrom, a musician in Stockholm with an interest in irregular and informal lettering. ITC Coolman was inspired by lettering styles of the 1950s. “I have a passion for old '50s type lettering,” says Piano, “as seen on posters from B-movies and pocketbooks and cartoons.” Although ITC Coolman is not a script face, its caps work best with the lowercase, rather than together. The funky, bouncy look of Coolman cries out for beach movies.

Although ITC Styleboy has a retro feel, it isn't based on any earlier typeface. As far as inspiration goes," says designer Chester Wajda, "I'd have to say comic strips of the '20s and '30s, and silent-film marquee lettering from the '20s - with a hint of a Chinese brush?" He originally created the typeface for a children's book he was working on. "I wanted it to be fun, but still somewhat formal in its underlying structure," he says. "It's largely based on right and 45-degree angles, with slight tucks inward on the stems and bowls, and a few flourishes here and there." Styleboy's top-heavy look is most noticeable in the caps, but it's exaggerated too in the "8" and the lowercase "g." Styleboy is Wajda's first typeface design."

ITC Florinda was designed by Luis Siquot in 1997 and consists exclusively of capital letters. The basic forms were influenced by old favorites like Franklin Gothic, but Siquot ornamented the classic forms with symmetrical knobs which look like pieces of lead left over after pouring the forms. This gives the figures a playful, constructed look. When used in a text, the horizontal lines seem to come together to draw a fine line through the middle of the lines of text, giving it an ornamented character. ITC Florinda should be used exclusively for headlines or display.

PHOENICA is a contemporary humanistic typeface family suitable for traditional high-resolution print purposes, office application and multi-media use. Of the creation formed the basis an idea which was developed for the first time by Lucian Bernhard approx in 1930 with the Berhard Gotic and was taken up in the last time by different written creators repeatedly: the repeated elimination anyway (in comparison to a Antiqua, e.g. Garamond) already very much diminished form Grotesque (as for example Helvetica) by systematic leaving out of the serifs. The horizontal direction of the writing is thereby stressed remarkably by which so-called »Rail effect« originates. The eyes can grasp the line to be read very well what is ordinarily left to a Serif-stressed font. By this desired effect is suited PHOENICA also for big text amounts. In numerous test runs Stems and tracking was compared to experienced fonts and was adapted. The experienced was taken over without renouncing, nevertheless, the modern and independent character PHOENICA. PHOENICA offers to you as a welcome alternative to the contemporary humanistic Sansserif. It is a very adaptable family for text and Corporate design uses. Several companies have discovered PHOENICA meanwhile as a Corporate font for themselves and use them very successfully. She provides a respectable typeface combined with refinement and elegance. Every PHOENICA family has at least six weights in each case in regular and italic. In addition more than three fine Haarline weights (Hairline 15, 25, 35). These are a total of 27 possibilities. Phoenica as well as Phoenica Condensed are excellently readable fonts, because they were optimised especially for amount sentence. Both basic styles (Regular and Condensed) are tuned on each other and follow the same form principle. The family is neither exclusively geometrical nor is constructed humanistically, the forms were sketched on quick and light Recognition effect of every single letter. The PHOENICA family design and logo is suited for all only conceivable uses like newspapers and magazines, for the book typography and Corporate Design.

A mix of Renaissance & tropical atmosphere Basco is an exploration of the Renaissance style, a period in which letterforms were informed primarily by hand writing. It is clearly a contemporary interpretation of calligraphic shapes forms. The serifs are subtly asymmetrical. Slightly curved arches on the n, m and u are noticeable, creating an interesting tension in the text. Bruno Mello’s distinctive style is most obvious in his mastery of super fluid curves. It is a result of his extensive exploration of calligraphic forms, their tensions and dynamics, mixing angularities with curves. The roman weights include alternate swashes, as well as initial and terminal glyphs. The italics, based on chancellery script, feature simple stroke endings, most visible on the s and c. ➼ Basco minisite

ITC Orbon font is the work of New York designer James Montalbano, inspired in part by a demo of black letter calligraphy in which letters were created out of only four or five basic strokes. I combined that idea with the notion of taking historical forms like German gothic blackletter and progressively paring them down to achieve a futuristic version, as if this old form naturally evolved over several hundred years to arrive at its post-modern incarnation." Text should be set in point sizes of 20 and higher for optimal legibility. ITC Orbon is a highly condensed font with unique, oblong shapes which are ideal for a number of display applications."

Jim Spiece has a taste and a talent for reviving type styles from earlier in this century. ITC Deli Supreme is a “futuristic retro” face that would be at home as a logo on a car or a roadside diner from the 1940s or '50s; the lowercase nearly joins, in script style, thanks to the long extenders stretching out from the bottom-right corner of most letters, while the caps have beginning strokes leading in from the top left. ITC Deli Supreme, like ITC Deli Deluxe, features slightly rounded corners on all the letters, for a soft, streamlined look despite the squareness of the letterforms.

Oksana Std has only the Western Latin characters from multilingual Oksana. It has six weights with real italics, and Alt faces with Old Style figures, alternative characters -a-g-k-y- and ampersand. German großes Eszett is also included.

George Ryan's ITC Migrate is a highly condensed sans serif display face that effectively complements ITC Adderville. Migrate represents what Ryan calls a “more highly evolved version” of a typeface he designed for Bitstream in 1991 called Oz Handicraft. “Both faces,“ says Ryan, “are based on designs of the popular early 20th-century type designer Oswald Cooper.” His inspiration came from drawing samples found in the Book of Oz Cooper, published in 1949 by the Society of Typographic Arts in Chicago. “Oz worked extensively with the sans serif form long before it became popular in the States, eschewing a popular belief of the time that sans serifs were only skeletons of letters.” Where Oz Handicraft was informal and quirky, ITC Migrate has a more restrained feel. “The uppercase characters and figures, in particular, have been reworked,” says Ryan, ”resulting in a more formal and traditional, compressed sans serif typeface.”

ITC Simran was created by the London designer Satwinder Sehmi in 1998. The Indian influence is recognizable at first glance and lends the font an exotic feel - at least to the western eye. Sehmi borrowed forms and feelings from northern Indian writing systems for this typeface. Both the upper and lowercase letters make use of the same lowercase forms, but the upperacse letters have the addition of a horizontal bar running over them at the ascender height. This feature is directly reminiscent of writing systems in northern India, and is ITC Simran's most distinguishing characteristic. But there were other influences as well: Sehmi was also inspired by uncial forms when designing this typeface. ITC Simran exhibits the typical look of writing with a broad-tipped pen, with its strong strokes, as well as characteristic letter forms, for example, the a or h. ITC Simran is a fascinating and harmonious symbiosis of a variety of influences from different cultures. This font is best used for headlines and short texts in point sizes of 12 and larger.

Novarese font is the work of designer Aldo Novarese. He created 218 typeface cuts but as he was writing his book, Alfabeta, he decided to include only those he considered indispensable. He divided his fonts into 4 categories and in the designing of Novarese, took the best characteristics of each group and combined them into this font. In the style of Latin stone scripts of the second century BC. Novarese is a well-balanced and relatively wide text font with classic forms. ITC Novarese™ font field guide including best practices, font pairings and alternatives.

Canadian Serge Pichii was inspired by decorative lettering produced during the early 1920s by Jan Tschichold to create Ironwork. Similarly, his ITC Ancestor family was influenced by early work, but in this case, much earlier work: the characters carved by native British Columbian people on solid rock. He worked with anthropologists and linguists to produce a series of books dedicated to the history and culture of the people.

ITC Coconino is the work of Serbian designer Slobodan Miladinov. His original inspiration for this monostroked typeface was the idea of translating certain auditory impressions into type, in this case, the surprising and confusing music of the Serbian hip hop musician Voodoo Popeye." Miladinov is an art director in Belgrade and created Coconino using a "freemouse" technique with Adobe Illustrator and sees his work as "computer calligraphy which allows for a specific directness and immediacy in notation." The strokes of this font are simple and abrupt with a studied irregularity. The forms can look either cheerful and lighthearted or chaotic and subtly disturbing. Coconino was named for the home of hte Krazy KAt comics and even includes a few additional characters from the strip."

Einhorn is a peculiar typeface. Difficult to classify, this upright, bold, script-like semi serif typeface was designed in 1980 by Alan Meeks. Meeks was inspired by the art nouveau period, and may have been trying to liven up the design scene. In 1980, typefaces like Helvetica and Univers were ubiquitous, and the digital revolution was still years away. Experimental faces like Einhorn helped fill the gap for creative designers looking for untraditional choices in which to set headlines and advertising work. The merit of pioneer display faces like Einhorn have never lessened; Einhorn still sets a mean display text, and works great in logos and other corporate ID solutions.

Static looks almost like it was stamped on paper: the black color is not evenly distributed and the background comes through the letters and consciously irregular forms reinforce the effect. The characters do not all have the same height, nor do they stand straight and regularly on the base line. Static is a robust font with bold, rounded serifs and is best used for headlines and short texts in point sizes of 12 and larger.

ITC Anna is a labor of love by Daniel Pelavin. He designed the font for his wedding invitation and reused it on the birth announcement of his first child, Anna, whose namesake it is. The simple geometric forms and their proportions create a unique font appropriate for any special occasion.

Rufina was as tall and thin as a reed. Elegant but with that distance that well-defined forms seem to impose. Her voice, however, was sweeter, closer, and when she spoke her name, like a slow whisper, one felt like what she had come to say could be read in her image. Rufina's story can only be told through a detour because her origin does not coincide with her birth. Rufina was born on a Sunday afternoon while her father was drawing black letters on a white background, and her mother was trying to join those same letters to form words that could tell a story. But her origin goes much further back, and that is why she is pierced by a story that precedes her, even though it is not her own. Maybe her origin can be traced back to that autumn night in which that tall man with that distant demeanor ran into that woman with that sweet smile and elegant aspect. He looked at her in such a way that he was trapped by that gaze, even though they found no words to say to each other, and they stayed in silence. Somehow, some words leaked into that gaze because since that moment they were never apart again. Later, after they started talking, projects started coming up and then coexistence and arguments, routines and mismatches. But in that chaos of crossed words in their life together, something was stable through the silence of the gazes. In those gazes, the silent words sustained that indescribable love that they didn't even try to understand. And in one of those silences, Rufina appeared, when that man told that woman that he needed a text to try out his new font, and she saw him look at her with that same fascination of the first time, and she started to write something with those forms that he was giving her as a gift. Rufina was as tall and thin as a reed, wrote her mother when Rufina was born.

ITC Flora is the work of Dutch designer Gerard Unger, and is named for his daughter. He started by doing calligraphy experiments with felt-tip and ballpoint pens, and developed these drawings into a formalized script typeface. Swiss typographer Max Caflisch advised the Dr.-Ing Rudolf Hell GmbH technology firm to add a new round-nibbed script face to their Digiset type library, and in 1984, Flora was released by Hell. Unger used a chancery cursive skeleton in this design, which imparts grace and movement. Flora was also intentionally designed to be simple and sturdy, and with its minimal variation in thick/thin stroke ratio, it worked well on the early digital typesetting machines. In 1989, the International Typeface Corporation released the font. ITC Flora continues to work well on current printers and typesetters, and it has an enduring popularity for uses that range from short text passages to display headlines.

While designing ITC Spirit, Patty King was influenced by classic typeface styles. The letter forms are clearly based on those of the Unziale, which, like ITC Spirit, is also composed of only capital letters. Hints of the Asian brush script style also show in this font. The irregular outer contours are best highlighted in larger point sizes and give the font the look of handwriting. ITC Spirit with its calligraphic style is best used for headlines and short texts in point sizes of 12 and larger.

ITC Isbell font is the work of Dick Isbell and Jerry Campbell of Detroit, Michigan, a highly stylized roman typeface which retains an exceptional legibility. The unusual arches and curves of several lowercase characters give the typeface its individuality. ITC Isbell font is ideal for advertising, brochures, menus, and a variety of other applications.

Designer Nick Curtis found the inspiration for this typeface on a 1920s poster for a German bookseller, by Berlin poster artist Paul Scheurich. ITC Jeepers retains the spontaneity and playfulness of Scheurich's original lettering and adds a few surprises of its own, one being the somewhat exclamatory ear on the lowercase "g". It was, in fact, the excited look of this particular character that gave rise to the font's name. Not to be outdone, the exclamation point takes on an even more startling demeanor. The monoweight, slab serif design has a friendly personality, perfect for headlines and other display uses.

The designer of ITC Medea , Silvio Napoleone said: “I've always had an interest in early letter shapes, particularly how they influenced modern typographic designs. While I was on vacation in Greece, I had a chance to see, first-hand, examples of early letterforms and typography. They really made an impression on me.” The idea of combining the ancient and the modern to create something new was the primary inspiration behind ITC Medea. ITC Medea is essentially a careful blending of the modern sans serif with the elegant forms of the uncial. At first glance, Medea appears to be constructed of geometric shapes. However, closer inspection reveals many calligraphic subtleties. Stroke terminals are flared slightly in characters like the 'e' and 'c.' The top curve of the 'd' is more pronounced than the bottom, and characters like the 'o' are elliptical rather than round. “I gravitated towards the simplicity and legibility of the uncial and half-uncial,” Napoleone recalls. “I thought it would make a great titling font, and I was surprised at how attractive ITC Medea looked in a body text.”

Fashion style meets typography in 9 styles The Ysans designed by Jean François Porchez is a sanserif influenced by Cassandre lettering pieces and the geometric sanserif style from the inter-war period. Since Chanel logo, the geometric sanserif style is the favorite typographic thing in fashion. Ysans asserts this reference. Not only Haute-Couture houses use these categories of typefaces for their visual identity, but fashion magazines usually strength their layout with these geometric sanserif when a Didot isn’t used. Details of Ysans drawings Nevertheless, Ysans takes its sources in certain details imagined by the graphic designer Adolphe Mouron Cassandre for the monogram then logotype Yves Saint Laurent (1961 …). One thing keeps coming in again and again in Cassandre’s post-war graphic work: the pointed finish and endings, the references to the Roman capitals engraved and unique features such as the open R or other details influenced by Antiqua and calligraphic forms or ductus (you should have in mind that an earlier typeface by Cassandre is the Peignot, a modern uncial based on researches of the palaeographer Jean Mallon.) Certain letters from the Ysans are directly an homage to the Yves Saint Laurent logo, the R, the narrow U, the apex of the N, and all the details of such pointed endings on the f and t lowercases. The Ysans, a typeface between diversity and synthesis There are several ways to approach the design of a new geometric sanserif. The first approach is to follow the Bauhaus philosophy by designing in the most rational way, typographic forms based on simple geometric elements: square, round, triangle. Another approach is to start a revival based on an historical geometric typeface and optimize the original ideas, in order to adapt certain details to the contemporary needs. For Ysans, the approach is somewhat different because this project started in 2011 at ZeCraft as a typeface designed specifically for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, still in use by the brand under its original name Singulier. The Singulier-Ysans has been conceptualized by ZeCraft, both drawing its sources from Cassandre and various historical geometric typefaces. Some will spot specific traits as in Futura, others in Metro or Kabel. By closely observing the Ysans, the result can also recall the way Eric Gill draw the curves and endings of his typefaces, of which Jean François Porchez is a fervent admirer. In the end, Ysans is like fashion as envisioned by Yves Saint Laurent who constantly revealed multiple references in his new collections, without being recognisable any other than with his unique style. “Fashions pass, style is eternal. Fashion is futile, not style.” Cherry on the cake: Ysans Mondrian Ysans Mondrian, named in reference to the Mondrian dress created by Yves Saint Laurent, is the multi-layer version of the family. Ysans, fashion style meets typography Club des directeurs artistiques, 49e palmarès

ITC Kokoa is the work of German graphic designer Jochen Schuss. Schuss found the seeds of inspiration on a trip to Ghana and expanded and experimented with the idea on the computer. It includes an array of symbols and borders to complement its stylized letters. ITC Kokoa retains a touch of its African roots but is overall a modern, funky font.

A robust oldstyle, an elegant slab, 8 styles Geneo, created by Stéphane Elbaz, is a synthesis of historic and present-day visions of typography, a slab serif constructed on an oblique axis. Its subtle contrast evokes both Renaissance elegance and the robustness of the Egyptian typefaces that were in vogue during the 19th century. Geneo falls halfway between the classic styles of Garamond and Transitionnals, with aspects of contemporary slab serifs like Rockwell, Boton, as well a bit informal. From this blend of styles and genres, it emerges with a singular identity perfectly suited for modern illustrations of quality, savoir-faire, and culture. Geneo’s limited contrast has been carefully crafted to make the font adaptable for use as both text and headlines, as well as for small-print elements like footnotes, appendices, and captions. The variety and precision of certain weights, like Regular, allow minute adjustments of the font color in text compositions. This flexibility is especially useful for displaying on devices with high pixel densities such as the latest iPhone or iPad, on which text may appear too thin. Flexibility and sturdiness The sturdiness of Geneo makes it a perfect choice for posters, logos, print and any project that requires finesse and sophistication. It provides alternate versions of some letters such as g and a to give you the flexibility you need for your typographic projects. Geneo pairs perfectly with contemporary typeface genre. Geneo, a new typeface designed by Stéphane Elbaz Tokyo TDC 2014 Type Directors Club 2009

ITC Juanita is the work of Argentinian-born designer Luis Siquot and was inspired by a text set only with woodcuts which he was reading during a long international flight. ITC Juanita is a series of six distinct typefaces which Siquot sees as a personal reinterpretation of designs that originated in the 1930s and 40s and were still popular during his childhood in the 1950s. For me, Juanita is like a toy, charming, expressive, and also dramatic," says Siquot. The ITC Juanita series offers designers a range of variations based on similar structures, each variation with its own look."

A mediterranean style sanserif in 4 styles The original idea of Costa was to create a contemporary mediterranean typeface style. Costa is a synthesis of the purity, as found on Greek capitals, and softness, found in Renaissance scripts. First thing was the design concept that take its roots on the Chancery script. Such writing style appeared during Italian Renaissance. Later few typefaces have been developed from such cursive models. Today most serifed typeface italic take their roots on such triangular structure we can find on gylphs like the n, p, or d. The Costa capitals remains close to pure sanserif models when the lowercases features an ending serif on many letters like the a, n, d, etc. This ending serif being more like a minimal brush effect, creating a visual contrast and referencing the exoticness of the typeface. Knowing that the Costa typeface family began life in the 90s as a bespoke typeface for Costa Crociere, an Italian cruise company — it suddenly makes sense and explains well why Jean François Porchez focused so much on Italian Chancery mixed to a certain exotism. The curvy-pointed terminals of the Costa n can obviously get find on other glyphs, such as the ending of the e, c and some capitals. So, the sanserif looks more soft and appealing, without to be to pudgy or spineless. The general effect, when set for text, remains a sanserif, even not like Rotis Semiserif. Costa is definitly not a classical typeface, or serif typeface which convey past, tradition, historicism as Garamond does beautifully. Because of the Costa crocieres original needs, Costa typeface was designed to be appropriate for any uses. Anytime you’re looking for good mood, qualitative effects, informal tone, cool atmosphere without to be unconvential or blowzy, Costa will convey to your design the required chic and nice atmosphere, from large headlines sizes, brands, to small text sizes. It’s a legible typeface, never boring. A style without neutrality which doesn’t fit comfortably into any typeface classification! Does it proves the novelty of its design and guarantees as well as its originality? Its up to you to be convinced. Barcelona trip Originally not planned, this need appeared because of a trip to Barcelona at the time of the project, where Jean François was giving a lecture. He wanted to pay an homage to that invitation to create something special. So, he designed during his flight some variations of the Spanish Ch, following ideas developed by the Argentinian type designer Rubén Fontana for his typeface called Fontana ND (published by the Barcelona foundry Bauer). Then, he presented during his lecture variations and asked to the audience which design fit the best to their language. They selected the design you can find in the fonts today. Read more about pairing Costa Type Directors Club 2000 Typographica: Our Favourite Typefaces 2004

On a cold winter's night, George Ryan, of Galápagos Design Group, began musing on the possibilities for a “truly original” sans serif typeface. What came out of his musing, and his always-present sketchpad, was ITC Adderville, a typeface whose visual impact is immediate and strong. Ryan explains how he did it: “The rounded ends of its strokes and their skewed baseline contact create an illusion of dancing feet. The tops of lowercase stems emit serif buds, suggesting transition into or out of the serifed form. The spear-like lowercase stroke terminators, along with other distinctive elements such as the stylized reticulation of the lowercase 'g' segments, the salute of that same character's spur, and the bold, non-self-conscious 'i' and 'j' dots, all contribute to the playful and unique nature of this design.” The result is a friendly, lively type family whose graduated weights -- book, medium, and heavy -- lend themselves especially well to use at small display sizes and in short blocks of text.

ITC Abaton, by Argentinian designer Luis Siquot, is an exercise in geometry and simplification. “It is done,” says Siquot, “with few elements, with modules of only straight lines (horizontals, verticals and diagonals of almost 45 degrees). Drawing the I and the O, I got the basic elements, and so started the fight between strict geometry and optical impression, until I obtained the rest of the characters.” The basic rectangular form is characterized by wedge-shaped serifs, almost like caps on the heads and feet of the letters. “Abaton has the 'spirit' of 19th-century faces used on money bills or postage stamps, but the realization is totally different,” Siquot explains. Abaton is a “shaded” typeface of caps and slightly smaller caps, upright and slightly condensed in form. Although the letterforms are legible at small sizes, the shading tends to clog up if it gets too small, so Abaton is happiest as a distinctive display face.

ITC Noovo is from British designer Phill Grimshaw and grew out of his work on ITC Rennie Mackintosh. He says, I still had 'Nouveau' coming out of my ears" and he drew it after a series of computer-intensive projects, "when I was missing the smell of permanent marker pens and the feel of paper." ITC Noovo is highly stylized yet works as both a text and display typeface."

Pacella was designed by Vincent Pacella and fashioned in the tradiation of Century Schoolbook, Corona and Nimrod. Pacella maintains high legibilty and exhibits a character and personality all its own.

ITC Merss proves that sometimes accidents work out just fine. Late one evening Eduardo Manso, an Argentinean graphic and type designer, spilled coffee on his desk. When he began to wipe up the mess, he noticed that one of the splashes looked like a roman letter 'l' - complete with serifs. This triggered his imagination. “What if a complete alphabet was created with this same irregular flow to the character designs?” ITC Merss was the result of Manso's experiments with “fluid” letter shapes. The oddly handsome design looks aged and spontaneous at the same time. Its irregular texture is striking-the result of careful modeling of character shapes. While Manso wanted to maintain the free-form character of spilled liquid, he also knew the individual letters had to work together with an underlying harmony. When not experimenting with typefaces - or spilled coffee - Manso creates award-winning graphic and publication designs. A contributor to the design magazine el Huevo (the Egg), he also writes articles on type and typography and is part of the publication's design team.

ITC Jaft is the work of New York designer Frank Marciuliano, an adventurous, energetic display typeface. It began with a series of posters designed by Marciuliano for the New York Times. The lettering was drawn with a bamboo pen and then filled in to create the unusual angles that give ITC Jaft its unique look.

ITC Farmhaus is the work of British designer Tim Donaldson and is, in his own words, Neil Young meets Paul Renner." Donaldson borrowed the perfect circles and clean lines of Renner's drawings for Futura and gave them jagged edges and uneven, thick strokes. Farmhaus contains one set of capitals and two sets of lower case letters."

A Postmodern vernacular sanserif in 8 fonts Prosaic designed by Aurélien Vret is a Postmodern typographic tribute to the french vernacular signs created by local producers in order to directly market their products visible along the roads. These signs drawn with a brush on artisanal billboards do not respect any typographic rules. The construction of these letterforms is hybrid and does not respect any ductus. Nevertheless the use of certain tools provokes a certain mechanism in the development of letter shapes. It’s after many experiments with a flat brush, that’s these letterforms have been reconstructed and perfected by Aurélien Vret. This is the starting point for the development of an easily reproducible sanserif with different contemporary writing tools. From non-typographical references of Prosaic towards readability innovation The influence of the tool is revealed in the letterforms: angular counterforms contrasting to the smoothed external shapes. This formal contrast gives to Prosaic a good legibility in small sizes. These internal angles indirectly influenced by the tool, open the counterforms. In the past, to deal with phototype limitations in typeface production, some foundries modified the final design by adding ink traps. In our high resolution digital world, these ink traps — now fashionable among some designers — have little or no effect when literally added to any design. Should one see in it a tribute to the previous limitations? Difficult to say. Meanwhile, there are typeface designers such as Ladislas Mandel, Roger Excoffon, and Gerard Unger who have long tried to push the limits of readability by opening the counters of their typefaces. Whatever the technology, such design research for a large counters have a positive impact on visual perception of typefaces in a small body text. The innovative design of counter-forms of the Prosaic appears in this second approach. Itself reinforced by an exaggerated x-height as if attempting to go beyond the formal limits of the Latin typography. It is interesting to note how the analysis of a non-typographical letters process has led to the development of a new typographic concept by improving legibility in small sizes. Disconnected to typical typographic roots in its elaboration, Prosaic is somewhat unclassifiable. The formal result could easily be described as a sturdy Postmodern humanistic sanserif! Humanistic sanserif because of its open endings. Sturdy because of its monumental x-height, featuring a “finish” mixing structured endings details. The visual interplay of angles and roundness produces a design without concessions. Finally, Prosaic is Postmodern in the sense it is a skeptical interpretation of vernacular sign paintings. Starting from a reconstruction of them in order to re-structure new forms with the objective of designing a new typeface. Referring to typographic analogy, the Prosaic Black is comparable to the Antique Olive Nord, while the thinner versions can refer to Frutiger or some versions of the Ladislas Mandel typefaces intended for telephone directories. Prosaic, a Postmodern vernacular sanserif Prosaic is radical, because it comes from a long artistic reflection of its designer, Aurélien Vret, as well a multidisciplinary artist. The Prosaic is also a dual tone typeface because it helps to serve the readability in very small sizes and brings a sturdy typographic power to large sizes. Prosaic, a Postmodern vernacular sanserif

Beorcana can be classified as a serifless roman, a stressed sans, a glyphic sans, or calligraphic sans. However it is classified, Beorcana derives not only from other stressed sans designs like Lydian, Amerigo and Optima, but also utilizes classic Renaissance proportions in both Roman and Italic, which facilitate extended reading. Beorcana is available in Display, regular Text and Micro styles. Beorcana’s Text styles offer comfort and liveliness in books, dictionaries, magazines and other reading-intensive settings. Display styles offer a stately and organic flavor for any application. Micro styles perform in tight and dense settings like dictionaries, bibles, maps and fine print. The name Beorcana is a variant of the Icelandic word for the Birch tree, and the related words for the Icelandic rune. Many variant spellings are used for the tree and the rune: Beorc, Berkanan, Birkana, Bercano, Bjork, Bjarka. The Birch was revered as a symbol of renewal, due to its role as a pioneer species in burned, boggy or otherwise unforested areas.

ITC Kristen is the work of American designer George Ryan. He describes it as not your average text or display font." The inspiration for the design came from the handwritten menu at a neighborhood restaurant. With time, the forms moved away from the originals and towards something more like a child's scrawl. The result is singularly unique. ITC Kristen remains legible without losing any charm.

ITC Redonda is the work of Montreal designer Gerard Mariscalchi and based on a common style of 19th century French handwriting. It comes with two sets of caps, both highly flourished, which are complemented by a refined lowercase. ITC Redonda is a distinctive upright script with intricate forms and will lend elegance to any application.