In Northern Sumatra, the crystal clear waters of Lake Toba lap gently against the surrounding mountains. In the middle of the lake sits the island of Samosir, for centuries the secluded home of the Batak people. Visitors arrive by ferry into the tiny town of Tuk Tuk, escaping the heat and humidity of the Sumatran jungle. Throughout the village, restaurants and guest houses are adorned with hand-painted signs in bright colors. Perhaps due to Sumatra's long history of European colonization, the letterforms are reminiscent of those used for posters and handbills in America and Europe at the end of the 19th century, but with a distinctly Southeast Asian flavor. Charles Nix, intrigued by the combination of Victorian fancy and Batak arabesque, photographed, sketched and translated the letterforms into a design that is now ITC Batak. Named for the proud ancestors of Samosir's inhabitants, it is a bold condensed letter with hexagonal serifs - a sort of properly dressed grotesque. Batak is available in either Condensed or Condensed Bold.

Routemaster is a hand-drawn condensed title font by the graphic designer Daniel Thomas. Found under the stairs, hand painted on a dusty rolled up bus route canvas. Re-created and refined with additional glyphs, Routemaster is old, bold and unique. A characterful font. Pleasant for posters, lovely for a logo, brilliant for branding, tasteful for t-shirts, playful for packaging and becoming for book cover design. Enjoy your design journey with Routemaster