The following studies were the result of a dialogue on how typefaces were designed before the age of the computer, shaped as contour drawings and unwanted deviations  corrected by tracing the characters again using chalk paper. In this way, we gradually approached the final forms in a kind of layering. By repeating the drawing process, the shapes were modelled and condensed until the desired shape of the letters emerged. Only at a very late stage did we integrate a cross-media working method in which we used already digitised characters as a template again.

Publication with drawings and type studies
Formale Grotesque, 2018-2019
110 pages, format A3
printed with Canon C55050i
on Werkdruck 1.8 white, 80g/m2
published March 2025

Related Typeface
Formale Grotesque design by
Michael Mischler and Nik Thoenen, 2019