Week 34, 2021

A Weekly Review of the World of Typography


 

Releases:



Occupant Oldstyle was released this week by Occupant Fonts. Occupant Oldstyle is a modern serif text-setting family of 10 fonts (5 weights of roman and italic styles) featuring design notes that only Cyrus Highsmith can hit.  Squircle-y open counterforms, unique letter constructions, and rounded-point serifs that the foundry has dubbed 'child-safe serifs'.  Love it. It's not very often a typeface takes someone's or a foundry's namesake, but this one is worth it. Can't wait to see where this pops up. 


The latest release from Positype is here in the form of Ice Cream, a curvaceous sans typeface set of two styles — a roman and an italic. The foundry describes Ice Cream as "curvy, with a dollop of fun" and it's hard to argue with that.  Highlighting plump whip-tail terminals and end strokes and masterfully handled weight shifts in all the right places, Ice Cream is a great go-to for all those delicious display needs. 


Netherlands-based foundry Wise Type released Zaft 2, a funky display type evolution of an older advertising face.  Built with bulbous serifs, wild weight proportions, and variable slider for contrast and weirdness (they calling the "Peyote" slider) Zaft 2 feels like a mashup between Photo-Lettering Benguiat faces for machine reading and psychedelic lettering of the 60's and 70's rock poster movements. 


Giboula from Spaghetype was completed on Future Fonts this week. "Giboula is an incised typeface based on the "Soirée Giboula" custom lettering: the very best and worst of electro, techno, edm, drum'n'bass on live at the Gambetta Club, the last night club in Paris where everything can happen." Its been a while since a typeface inspired by musical genre AND a physical location has come along, but its much appreciated.  


Links:


Scholarship:
Congratulations to Nina Faulhaber for her Aeroplan font family — winner of the 2021 Gerard Unger Scholarship!

Custom Fonts:
HvD Fonts has created the official typeface for Berlin

Custom Fonts:
Read all about TypeMates' new custom UI sans font for immowelt, a popular real esteate platform in Germany.

Lettering:
Check out this killer Chinese lettering done by Toshi Omagari for After Dark — a new photo book published by Thames & Hudson.  

New Website:
Very Cool Studio has a new website with their very cool types on full show. 

Curation:
I love Typography has cemented a regular editorial feature on their blog for Steven Heller highlighting a font from their collection every month. 

Article:
Not sure I agree with their attitude and tone, but its worth glancing at Eye on Design's  take on Book Cover Design.