1820, and the world was awash in Didot and Bodoni style fonts with thick verticals and vapor thin horizontals. That was the way type was meant to be! So when a craftsman at William Caslon’s type foundry created a parody font called Italian and reversed the letter stress, mayhem ensued. Brandishing fat grotesquely engorged horizontals and verticals that were thin spindly pikes, this folly was tantamount to heresy. As it began to illicit favor, enlisted as a display font on posters, other foundries followed suit with their own iterations. A notable editorial referred to these as typographic monstrosities. Spoiler alert … the monster is ALIVE and thriving in this report.
A novelty font at best but that counter distribution of weight turned type into a hedonistic, anti-academic, forbidden pleasure. Don’t look away! With a reinvigorated fan base, variations started to re-percolate from 60’s and 70’s archives and a newly infatuated cadre of type designers. Boiling into the visual brand arena, now it’s a challenge to cross a room without stepping on a wordmark or two with a heavy top and fat bottom. Doubtful these logos will be gracing the conservative c-suites of industry but they have a niche that assures the consumer base, this brand will be your sidekick if you’re looking for a good time.
DESIGN AGENCY: MATT VANCOILLIE
CLIENT: HAVOC
DESIGN AGENCY: BRAND BROTHERS
CLIENT: BRASSERIE DIAGONALE
DESIGN AGENCY: JEREMY FIREND
CLIENT: UNION CRAFT BREWING
DESIGN AGENCY: TATABI STUDIO
CLIENT: COKOWO
