The Generic Typeface Collection is a series of sans-serif typefaces inspired by the craftsmanship of graphic design, typesetting, and printing in the analogue era – before Adobe, Macintosh computers and desktop publishing – when dinosaurs ruled the earth. With the use of various typesetting apparatuses or dry transfer type, photo copiers, and shooting layouts and paste-ups to film, the printed results was not as exact, precise and predictable as it is today. When examining old prints, it is difficult not to like the way that characters in over- or underexposed film have a special type of vibe to them that is often sadly lost in today’s pursuit of total perfection.
Encouraged by this, I saw a need for a collection of typefaces that are non-clinical and non-conformist, and some that are coarse, rough and distorted – errors that might come from poor exposure when put on film, enlargements from small point texts, or maybe quality loss from successive generations of photocopies. Or all
of the above.
This is an attempt to incorporate spirit and personality into a set of typefaces without losing distinction. You might call it a homage to non-perfection. I call it human.
The Generic Typeface Collection consists of 11 fonts divided into four series. The three standard series – the Formal Release series, the Coarse Copy series, and the Rough Display series – all contain three fonts each. The Extra Splendor series contains a couple of shadow fonts for that little extra sparkle.
Formal Release – Handcrafted & Clean
The Formal Release series features sans-serif typefaces for everyday use. They are handcrafted and clean, human and uncomplicated. The Formal Release series contains three typefaces that add tons of personality to any text.
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G10 FR ‘Slim’ – a slightly under-exposed and clean typeface in a regular weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
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G20 FR ‘Classic’ – a properly exposed clean typeface in a bold weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
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G30 FR ‘Bulky’ – a heavily over-exposed clean typeface in an ultra weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
Coarse Copy – Dirty & Rough
The Coarse Copy series features non-conformist typefaces that are worn and rough, maybe after going through that bad copier a few times too much. The Coarse Copy series contains three sans-serif typefaces that add tons of spirit to any text without compromising too much on legibility. Try them on in poster-sizes and everyone will know that you mean business.
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G40 CC ‘Slender’ – an under-exposed coarse typeface in a regular weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
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G50 CC ‘Typic’ – a properly exposed coarse typeface in a bold weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
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G60 CC ‘Huge’ – a heavily over-exposed coarse typeface in an ultra weight (228 glyphs - 1 alternate)
Rough Display – Faded & Decorative
The Rough Display series features attention-seeking decorative typefaces in three feature-packed fonts. Faded and gritty like the image distortion and degradation from successive generations of photocopies, they are eye-catching typefaces intended to stand out in bigger point sizes. Use these typefaces for signage, headlines and similar situations were a strong typographic statement is desired. We have packed no less than 1,334 alternate characters and 212 discretionary ligatures into this series for a greater chance of not having characters that look exactly the same more than once.
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G70 RD ‘Slinky’ – an under-exposed rough and decorative typeface in a regular weight (741 glyphs – 448 alternates – 66 discretionary ligatures)
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G80 RD ‘Standard’ – a properly-exposed rough and decorative typeface in a bold weight (748 glyphs – 448 alternates – 73 discretionary ligatures)
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G90 RD ‘Swollen’ – a heavily over-exposed rough and decorative typeface in an ultra weight (748 glyphs – 448 alternates – 73 discretionary ligatures)
Extra Splendor – Sparkling & Extraordinary
The Extra Splendor series features two shadow typefaces for that little extra sparkle. One clean shadow to be used with G20 FR ‘Classic’, and one rough shadow to be used with G80 RD ‘Standard’. Having the shadows separate from the main typeface adds another layer of expressiveness in that you can try out color combinations for that extra splendor.
Tips for matching (applies to both the base font and the shadow font): Set the kerning to Metric, not optical. Increase tracking to accommodate for the shadows extra width.
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G25 ES ‘Classic Shadow’ – a clean shadow to be used with G20 FR ‘Classic’ (228 glyphs – 1 alternate)
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G85 ES ‘Standard Shadow’ – a rough shadow to be used with 80 RD ‘Standard’ (227 glyphs)
OpenType features – alternate characters and discretionary ligatures – can be accessed by using OpenType friendly professional design applications, such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop.
