Xenia Artemova

A mix of Renaissance & tropical atmosphere

Basco is an exploration of the Renaissance style, a period in which letterforms were informed primarily by hand writing. It is clearly a contemporary interpretation of calligraphic shapes forms.

The serifs are subtly asymmetrical. Slightly curved arches on the n, m and u are noticeable, creating an interesting tension in the text. Bruno Mello’s distinctive style is most obvious in his mastery of super fluid curves. It is a result of his extensive exploration of calligraphic forms, their tensions and dynamics, mixing angularities with curves. The roman weights include alternate swashes, as well as initial and terminal glyphs. The italics, based on chancellery script, feature simple stroke endings, most visible on the s and c.

➼ Basco minisite

Designed between italic and script styles

Airco is a typeface designed between italic and script styles. The letterform finish is rounded. Designed ultra slanted (27°), the shapes evoke a fast and assertive movement. The result is a human typeface, dynamic, that will visually work well in technology and sport, without ever being dry, rigid or dehumanized. The structure of the letters is influenced by Renaissance italics, at the difference that in the case of Airco, the lowercases and capitals are visually homogeneous thanks to the giants lowercases. In fact, the default numerals can be used in capital as well lowercases settings.

Between geometry & shapes inspired by nature, in 4 fonts

Audace was born as a response to a simple brief: how to visually express human interaction and technology with abstract forms? The starting point is a humanistic sanserif, to which are added external references: design pieces, furniture, buildings. Architects shape our world with the intention to reconnect nature, human and address a perfect functionality. Not so far to typeface design which combines a personal vision and ensures good legibility in a certain context.

Audace — like the works of those artists, designers, architects — is clearly influenced by the tension of the line, the play with negative space, the dynamics, the surprise, the nature that will influence the shapes of the letters. So if a v is asymmetrical, and the y based on similar asymmetry but in reverse, these two shapes help to distinguish from one to the other. This is a consequence of the influence of forms from design and art in the design of the Audace. And this small example illustrates the confrontations of the designer’s influences: the search for the most unique shapes, but without compromising on function: to be read, to be legible, even at very small size in the worst conditions.

Audace, between geometry and shapes inspired by nature

Inspired from archaic slavonic calligraphy, with a modern, fresh and spontaneous look, Architype AD-2014 is a display font designed for impactful and original headlines that has somehow to do with historical or religious content.

FS Olivia is a poetic typeface. A surprising and cheery face that captures the twist and turns of pen and ink on paper. Finely balancing typographic conventions with unexpected irregularities, Olivia's design delivers texture rich text with plenty of personality.

FS Dillon is a rational typeface. Its inspiration came from our exploration of the work and philosophy of the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s and 30s, their pursuit of simple, practical forms. To this we’ve added a thoroughly modern flavour, stark yet warm, imbued with the quirky individuality that has become a Fontsmith signature. The letterforms are simple and direct. Compact, with a large x height, they are built for maximum clarity, economy of space, and impact. But that’s not all. The Bauhaus sought beauty through function – we think we’ve achieved that too.