![]() Thus Verdana (which came second) is a legibility-focused typeface whereas Tahoma focused more on the aesthetics. As Daniel Will-Harris puts it in a column written for Typophile “To make the fonts work in extended text settings, it was necessary to open up the counters more, widen the advance widths and loosen the spacing. ![]() However these details don’t tell the whole story, because this is the dawn of Tahoma, the thinner (in kerning) twin sister to Verdana. Just like in Georgia, similar shaped letters have clear design differences. Generous proportions and looser spacing separate the typeface from the likes of Helvetica. Verdana also contains the Roman influence around humanism in its lowercase double-storied a, however interestingly doesn’t in its g. Verdana showcases these influences in the lowercase a, e, g, and r, to name a few. Looking to calligraphy and traditional serifs for the answer, humanism flourished over its neo-grotesque counterparts.Īngled and organic flared contrasting strokes, almost as if written by man, help define the humanist san-serif. Helvetica had taken over and was now falling fast. In the 1970s the humanist movement was revived in type design in reaction to the rise of neo-grotesque fonts. Modern humanist san-serif fonts are quite the mouthful of a descriptor but let’s break it down. With the dawn of the internet, the race was on to create the next super-font for the digital age. San-serif fonts such as Helvetica had created waves in the design world dating back to Bauhaus in the 20s. The designers say they would love to dig deeper into the topic and create all the characters needed, so Kenyan designers can use a typeface that pays homage to their country’s art and throw a little Bauhaus into their work at the same time.Microsoft’s typography division saw a need to have a san-serif font that worked well on computer screens during the early to mid 90s. ![]() ![]() As yet, there is no language support for Swahili, the main language spoken in Kenya. The modular typeface currently consists of the basic Latin alphabet and a selection of key glyphs. We wanted to view African art under the spotlight of Albers.” During his lifetime he explored geometry and visual effects that could be achieved through color and spatial relationships. The base of our modular typeface was inspired by Josef Albers. Asked how they made the connection between the seemingly disparate elements of their project, Palma says, “Geometry is the same all over the world, but different cultures use it differently. The Kenyan project was a collaboration between Palma and Triendl, working from their studios in separate countries in a similar process of real-time updates.ĭuring the early years of the 20 th century, African art greatly influenced the work of Picasso and other Cubists, but in general this was not reflected in any of the typefaces coming from the Bauhaus. The alphabet updates in real time on a shared screen as it develops. In other words, an ‘A’ is not designed by a single person but by many, each assigned a small piece of the letter. Implementation and graphic interpretation of the geometric elements became an essential part of the design process-each letter becomes unique due to the different patterns and colors chosen by the workshop participants to fill the modular shapes. The 2017 workshops were based upon collaborative work: Participants created alphabets using Fontself in Adobe Illustrator and a modular raster-preset prepared by the artists. “Combining the rigidness of a modular type system and the boldness of Kenyan design appealed to us.” The colors are vibrant and bold, and we were impressed by the strong use of patterns in ancient art pieces, jewelry and fabrics,” Palma says. Why Kenya? “African visual language differs from traditional European design. This led to an exploration of Kenyan design as applied to their Bauhaus-inspired letterforms, with some interesting results. The pair created signature alphabets for workshops in each different city, influenced by the language, architecture, and illustration/design style of the area. In 2017, the pair hosted live workshops called Modular Lettering Jam sessions at Typo Berlin and Forward Festivals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. ”īirgit Palma, an Austrian illustrator/lettering artist based in Barcelona, collaborates with Daniel Triendl on modular color fonts. Register today for the free course “ 5 Skills Every Design Needs to Know.
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