The Catalpa font family is José Scaglione and Veronika Burian’s wood type inspired design for an overwhelming headline presence. It has no regular weights, only four slender and four hulking weights. Catalpa wasn’t made to be normal; it was made to overwhelm, to stand out, to bellow.
Catalpa is the first font family within a trilogy that will be released through 2020. Each of the three have a distinct purpose and their own look, but they serve a common goal: to act as a complete family covering an editorial’s wide array of needs. As the first of the three, Catalpa is the bookend font family with a headlining purpose.
What requirements are there for a great headline typeface? Distinction, weight, and cohesiveness are a good start. Its distinctiveness must catch attention, it must have a range of weights applicable to its purpose, and its internal consistency and external look must create a cohesive family. Catalpa is a distinct and unified family whose weights are attuned to its single-minded purpose — headlines and large text.
Catalpa has only eight styles that are divided into two ranges of weights — four very light weights (Hairline, Thin, Extralight, and Light ) and four very bold ones (Extrabold, Heavy, Black, and Extrablack). The thin and heavy ends of the spectrum also have their own variable fonts, each with one axis of weight so designers can fine-tune their work. The geometric influence of the design is more obvious in the light range, with their line thickness increasing in the classical manner. The bold weights increase more in width and substance to serve well in websites, mobile apps, posters, advertisements, and magazines that aim for impact more than spreading information.
As a family, Catalpa gels in big headlines, short sentences, and isolated words. The family has many recognizable features, in the bolder weights especially, like the reversed contrast ‘S, s’ or the angular design of ‘Q, M, W, w, a, f, 2, 3’. Catalpa’s headlining mixture of geometry and quirkiness leaves an impression that is so characteristic of wood type, but designed for substrates and screens.
About TypeTogether
Veronika Burian and José Scaglionemet and developed a respectful kinship while completing their Master’s degrees in type design at University of Reading, UK. Established in 2006, TypeTogether is an independent, cosmopolitan type foundry that creates text typography for intensive digital and print editorial use. We have grown into a core team living worldwide and invested in the daily work, networked with other type designers who intermittently cooperate on specific projects.
Through our unique, diverse, curated font platform, TypeTogether creates innovative and stylish solutions to the greatest problems in the professional typography market.
The advantage of being a small but highly specialized company is that we are able to work closely with our clients to accomplish their goals and to respond quickly to their requirements. To carry an organisation’s unique voice across all communications, TypeTogether creates custom type solutions for discerning clients worldwide. Distinct advantages in your market can be gained through logotype creation, commissioning a brand new typeface, modifying existing typefaces, or extending language support.
TypeTogether creates cross-platform OpenType fonts of recognised aesthetic and technical excellence and which perform well in continuous reading. Our internationally awarded catalogue — honoured for its high quality, usefulness, personality, and ability to grab attention — spans many languages and scripts and is diligently expanding each year.
Read more
Read less
