October has seen the release of several new typefaces, showcasing a trend towards innovative design. These new fonts draw inspiration from various sources, including architectural elements and historical printing traditions. Designers are exploring how structured principles can lead to unique and expressive typographic forms.
This month's type releases highlight a balance between systematic construction and distinct character. Foundries are pushing design boundaries, offering solutions for modern graphic needs. The new fonts are designed to be both functional and visually engaging.
Key Takeaways
- New typefaces blend historical influences with modern design needs.
- Architectural elements inspire several experimental fonts.
- Variable font technology allows for greater flexibility in design.
- Designers are creating fonts for specific applications, such as comic books.
Crit: A Modern Grotesque Sans-Serif
Crit is a new typeface designed by Doğukan Karapınar and İbrahim Kaçtıoğlu. It reinterprets early grotesque sans-serif models for contemporary use. The typeface family includes eight weights, each with matching italics. Crit honors mid-century phototypesetting traditions while meeting modern design requirements.
The font takes inspiration from an era when typefaces like Helvetica and Akzidenz-Grotesk were often used interchangeably. Crit embraces this functional flexibility. It also introduces subtle formal innovations. Its character comes from careful attention to proportion.
Crit Design Details
- Tall x-height: Improves readability in tight text settings.
- Shorter ascenders and descenders: Contributes to compact text.
- Squarer counters: Prevents excessive weight in heavier styles.
- Strategic ligatures: Enhances overall readability.
These adjustments allow Crit to introduce character without losing the neutrality that made its historical predecessors so versatile. The result is a balanced typeface suitable for both everyday use and distinctive branding. It functions as a reliable workhorse and a unique voice in design.
Grundtvig: Architectural Inspiration from Copenhagen
Reinaldo Camejo's experimental typeface, Grundtvig, draws inspiration from Copenhagen's Grundtvig's Church. Camejo developed this font during his Master's program at ELISAVA. The typeface translates distinctive elements from the church's west façade into geometric letterforms.
The church's towering verticality, stepped gables, and arched doorways are visible in the font's character. Bold, geometric forms echo the building's strong lines and monumental presence. Camejo did not aim for a literal translation. Instead, he distilled the church's visual language into a cohesive typographic system.
"The typeface's character clearly emerges from this architectural DNA, with bold, geometric forms that echo the building's strong lines and monumental presence."
Grundtvig's Recognition
Since its initial release, Grundtvig has received international awards. These include ADG Laus, ADC*E Awards, and LAD Awards. Following its official release with 6TM Magazine, Camejo has created physical specimens. These include the original, a Mini version, an editorial Booklet, and a keychain iteration.
This approach maintains both structural integrity and expressive power. Grundtvig shows how architectural forms can inspire functional and artistic typography. Its success demonstrates the impact of unique design concepts in the industry.
Perfektta: Celebrating Imperfection
Perfektta, designed by Martin Vácha, celebrates the beauty found in imperfection. The typeface was inspired by a photograph of an Italian road sign in Sardinia. Vácha was fascinated by a strange-looking zero on the sign. He believed it was either due to difficulty in cutting perfect ovals or creative pragmatism.
This rhombus-shaped zero became the basis for a sans-serif family. Perfektta features narrow proportions and visible stem contrast. Further inspiration came from Alfabeto Stretto, an Italian road sign typeface, which also has an unusual zero.
The Name Perfektta
Martin Vácha states that the name "Perfektta" refers to "the imperfect construction that contrasts with some perfect shapes." This creates a productive tension in the final aesthetic. The design embraces subtle flaws to create a distinctive and appealing look.
Perfektta demonstrates how designers can find inspiration in unexpected places. It turns perceived flaws into unique design elements. This approach adds character and visual interest to the typeface, making it stand out.
Season: Bridging Serif and Sans-Serif Worlds
Martin Vácha's Season addresses a common challenge in typography: choosing between sans-serif and serif typefaces. Instead of forcing a choice, Season offers a unified construction. It transitions seamlessly between both styles using variable font technology.
The concept explores transformation as a creative method. It presents sans-serif metamorphosis as a design tool. Each "season" of the typeface maintains quality and character. They occupy different positions along the serif spectrum. This allows designers to fine-tune the typographic voice for specific needs.
Variable Font Technology
Variable fonts allow a single font file to contain many different variations of a typeface. This means designers can adjust weight, width, slant, and other properties smoothly. This technology offers unprecedented flexibility, reducing file size and improving design control.
This approach reflects a modern trend in typography towards flexibility and contextual adaptation. By treating the serif/sans-serif distinction as a continuum, Season enables more nuanced decisions. This is particularly valuable for brand systems needing both authoritative serif presence and clean sans-serif functionality.
Pranzo: The Ultimate Comic Book Typeface
Designed by Samar Zureik and Hanna Donker, Pranzo is positioned as a leading comic book typeface. It offers extensive flexibility through three variable font axes. These axes cover various narrative moods and visual emphasis needed in sequential art.
Pranzo is not just a display face. It is a comprehensive typographic system built for the unique demands of comic books. Its three variable axes create a vast design space:
- Weight: Ranges from Hairline to Black for different emphasis levels.
- Slant: Moves from Backslant to Italic to convey different tones.
- Width: Spans from ExtraCondensed to ExtraExtended for varied pacing.
This systematic approach allows precise modulation of the typographic voice. Designers can match the intensity of letterforms to the narrative content. Pranzo also includes essential comic book elements. These include symbols, frames, speech balloons, and thought bubbles. They are available across every weight and style combination.
This integration shows how modern type design can serve specific media requirements. It also maintains broader applicability for graphic design. Pranzo balances informality with confidence and expressiveness with clarity. This creates a flexible yet coherent system for both traditional comic layouts and contemporary graphic design.
Jovie: Warmth and Elegance with Soft Serifs
Franziska Hubmann's Jovie demonstrates how soft-serif design can achieve warmth and elegance. It uses thoughtful variable font implementation. The typeface has an extensive weight axis, from Hairline to Black. This makes it versatile for projects needing delicate text or bold display applications.
Jovie's character comes from its soft-serif approach. This softens traditional serif authority with a modern, approachable feel. Playful italics, expressive alternates, swashes, and ligatures provide a rich typographic palette. All variations maintain coherent family relationships.
Jovie's Global Reach
Jovie supports over 790 languages, making it suitable for global applications. This wide language support enhances its versatility for international design projects.
The inclusion of a decorative Glow style, available in Regular to Black weights with matching italics, extends Jovie's range into more experimental territory. Overall, Jovie successfully bridges text and display requirements. It offers warmth and elegance across diverse design contexts.
LL Supreme: A Geometric Reframing of Futura
Arve Båtevik's LL Supreme is not a revival or redesign of Paul Renner's Futura. Instead, it is a contemporary reframing of its core concept. It constructs sophisticated typography purely from straight lines and circular curves. This approach prioritizes Renner's original principles over historical interpretation.
The project began when Cornel Windlin needed suitable digital Futura versions for Vitra's communications. Rather than using compromised digital translations, Lineto developed its own interpretation. This led to Supreme's complete reconstruction from geometric first principles.
Individual Weight Design
Each weight of LL Supreme was drawn separately, not interpolated. This gives individual cuts distinct identities that address their specific formal challenges. This method contrasts with modern tendencies towards systematic interpolation. It celebrates the unique characteristics that emerge from dedicated attention to each weight.
Historical stylistic alternates pay homage to Renner's original vision. They also serve contemporary digital requirements. LL Supreme offers a fresh perspective on a classic geometric typeface, combining historical respect with modern precision.
Lintel Next: Alvar Aalto's Architectural Influence
Lintel Next builds on the legacy of the Lintel typeface, which appeared in the video game Mafia III. It draws architectural inspiration from Finnish designer Alvar Aalto. Lintel Next is designed as a commercial workhorse. It aims to maintain cultural and technological adaptability while communicating stories with clarity and heart.
Development, led by Tasos Varipatis, took 18 months. Every character of the original Lintel was redrawn for improved consistency and readability. The family now includes five additional widths, from Compressed to Extended. Twelve intermediate layers ensure seamless transitions without distorting the distinctive pill-shaped curves and carefully proportioned letterforms.
Lintel Next Features
- Supports 1,222 characters per style.
- Extensive OpenType features.
- Support for Greek and Vietnamese languages.
- Balances geometric precision with human-centered warmth.
Lintel Next balances geometric precision with human warmth. It is a good choice for branding, editorial, or UI design. Its comprehensive updates and expanded features make it a versatile tool for modern designers.