Em One is a compact, clean sans-serif typeface that balances simple aesthetics with a high x-height, minimal contrast, and moderate proportions. Designed as a cornerstone for any project, Em One serves both as functional body text and striking headlines with a subtle and timeless character.
Design Approach:
Em One is the first typeface developed with our colleague Luboslav Boyanov, a National Academy of Art Sofia graduate. Our goal was to create a functional typeface with a broad range of applications—from web and print to branding, editorial, and various design contexts—embodying a classic Swiss typeface's distinctive character and aesthetics while maintaining a straightforward design.
Distinct Features:
Key features include a tall x-height, minimal contrast between strokes, and moderate proportions for better readability. Refined letter spacing enhances the overall look, and distinctive elements in some letters add character without excessive visual noise, making Em One versatile and balanced between functionality and graphic identity.
Font Family Composition:
Em One comes in 9 weights, from Thin to Black, each with a corresponding italic version. A variable font format offers greater flexibility for dynamic solutions.
Technical Specifications:
Designed for a large audience, Em One supports over 220 languages, including Extended Latin and Cyrillic. It offers many typographic features, such as ligatures, stylistic sets, contextual alternatives, and OpenType features.
Usage:
Em One is multifunctional and adaptable, with various weights serving as standalone elements or complements in design systems. Thicker and thinner weights are ideal for headlines and display elements, while middleweights are optimized for text blocks. Optimized for screens, Em One performs well in any media, balancing glyphs and negative space for effective print use.
Summary:
Em One is a functional and practical sans-serif typeface influenced by popular and enduring Swiss typefaces from the mid-20th century. Built as a multipurpose font, it excels in both display and functional contexts, remaining recognizable and characterful.
About Type Forward
Type Forward is a type design studio nestled in the heart of Sofia, Bulgaria. We, Stan Partalev and Mirela Belova, founded Type Forward in 2020, building upon our extensive collaborative experience in typeface design. Our studio’s journey began long before its inception, rooted in a shared passion for creating functional typefaces.At Type Forward, we specialize in crafting high-quality retail and custom fonts. Our approach is always forward-thinking, staying abreast of new technologies to ensure our fonts stand out in the ever-evolving design landscape. Our background in graphic design has honed our skills and instilled in us a profound appreciation for functional, thoughtfully designed typefaces.Every font we create is a labor of love, meticulously designed with attention to every curve and stroke. We believe in the power of detail, dedicating time to refine each aspect of our typefaces before they reach the market. We aim to blend visual appeal with functionality, creating versatile and typefaces suitable for various applications.Our studio’s strength lies in the synergy between Stan’s artistic design and craftsmanship and Mirela’s technical acumen. This combination enables us to produce aesthetically pleasing and practical fonts across various contexts. Our portfolio showcases retail and custom fonts uniquely tailored to meet diverse needs.A pivotal aspect of our work is aiding brands in crafting their unique visual identity. We understand typography’s critical role in brand representation and engage closely with our clients. Our collaborative approach helps them choose or develop custom fonts that resonate deeply with their brand’s personality and ethos. We see typography as a cornerstone in effectively articulating a brand’s story and enhancing its visual language.As we continue in the type design industry, our commitment remains steadfast: to assist brands in expressing their distinct character through typography. Our graphic design roots underline the importance of marrying aesthetic quality with practicality, a philosophy guiding every project at Type Forward.
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