Archive for 2010

Although Capucine defies traditional categorization, it sits in a genre we are drawn to as users of type: a face with distinct personality able to straddle the worlds of both text and display with ease. In this context it should come as no surprise that its designer was born and raised in France, a country whose type history is rich with successful instances of such attempts. From Auriol and Grasset – typefaces that became symbolic of the Art Nouveau style – to the iconic designs of Roger Excoffon in the 1950s and 60s, French type designers have often tried to fulfill the requirements of efficient text setting while retaining a gestural quality. Like many of its French predecessors, Capucine is driven by the eye rather than geometrical dogma, bringing a warmth and liveliness to the page.

When Alice Savoie began designing Capucine in 2006, she set out to create a typeface specifically for magazine and newspaper listings. Fortunately, the demands of that potentially stifling area didn’t get in the way of what would ultimately be an expression of joie de vivre. Capucine is a robust family of ten styles, ranging from Thin to Black, whose flavor mixes the fluidity of writing with the vivacity of a brush script to create this idiosyncratic sans serif.

Capucine typeface specimen..

As a family, the weights and styles were designed to provide typographic contrast and variation. The two extremes – Thin and Black – were conceived as display variants while the mid-weights – Light, Regular and Bold – were designed for text sizes and to add hierarchical differentiation. When you first encounter Capucine, its use as a display face is evident. However, because it is slightly condensed, has a large x-height, small ascenders & descenders and wide counters, it is efficient for body text and remains legible even at small sizes. Additionally, the family features small caps, multiple numeral styles and case-sensitive punctuation for increased usefulness.

Capucine's italics as a unique style.

Adding to the typographic variation of Capucine is the italic. Despite its moderate angle, the pronounced contrast between thicks and thins, the exaggerated curves and a slight condensation of letter width provide the necessary contrast while remaining perfectly in sync with its roman counterpart. Set the italic at larger sizes, however, and it reveals itself as an independent design in its own right.

And for those who wonder, the name Capucine (pronounced KA-poo-seen) is not a reference to the delicious Italian mixture of coffee and foamed milk or even the French preference for strong coffees. Rather, the name is the French word for the nasturtium flower – deemed appropriate here because of the organic nature of the Capucine family.

30 Nov 2010

New Release: Capucine

More than four years in the making, we’re proud to finally announce the release of Capucine, a new family of types designed by Alice Savoie. With influences ranging from calligraphy to Art Nouveau to brush scripts, this five-weight family offers – to put it in a single phrase – joie de vivre. See more of Capucine and learn all the details about our latest release.

Durban stadium seating

Durban, South Africa’s busiest port city, constructed the magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium which allowed them to be a host stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup games. Büro für Gestaltung designed the wayfinding and identity and covered the stadium from the seats to the murals with our Klavika. When the games were over, Jonathan Jackson of WeShouldDoItAll was kind enough to send along images of the stadium with a particular emphasis on the use of Klavika. This booklet was created to showcase his photographs, the stadium and our typeface.

Launch: Klavika at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Booklet

Designed for maneuvering in especially cramped quarters, Anchor is a four-weight family of round display gothics.

As with many of our typefaces, Anchor’s life began as the solution to a typographic dead end: what if the narrowest style of a typeface isn’t narrow enough? That was the case when we redesigned our (previous) website and realized 48 pixels was a mighty narrow space for words like ‘download’ and ‘specimen’ to remain reasonably legible. Being type designers, we immediately ditched the CSS for BCPs and had the beginnings of a narrow display font.

Initially just a single weight, Anchor is now a family of fonts ranging from Medium to Black. The plump Bold and Black weights easily lend themselves to swagger and exaggeration while the Medium and Semibold remain economic and capable of straightforward display work. We refer to them as ‘display gothics’ primarily in homage to the influence of the 19th and early 20th century types that provided the roadmap for this series.

Incidentally, since the initial weight of Anchor was designed for our previous website and to blend well with Bryant Compressed (which was used for the main titles of the site), the two are excellent companions.

17 Aug 2010

New Release: Anchor

Anchor is our new four-weight family of round display gothics designed for maneuvering in especially cramped quarters. With weights ranging from Medium to Black, Anchor promises plump over-indulgence in the heavy weights and relatively sober display capabilities in the lighter weights. Of note are Anchor’s inflated arrows that can be seen throughout the specimens on this site. Available exclusively at the Process Type Foundry.

See the Anchor typeface family and learn all the details about our latest release.