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Neo Sans Alternatives
See also: MAGDEBURG
The branding agency's client wanted an "ultra modern" typeface that was "futuristic without being gimmicky or ephemeral," according to the design brief. Designer Sebastian Lester took on this intriguing custom font assignment, but soon, a bureaucratic decision cancelled the project."I was left with a sketchbook full of ideas and thought it would be a shame not to see what came of them," says Lester. He decided to finish the design on his own.Lester's research confirmed that the principal ingredient of an "ultra modern" typeface was simplicity of character structure: a carefully drawn, monoline form, open letter shapes and smooth, strong curves. To conceive a typeface that crossed the line from modern to futuristic, Lester decided to amplify these qualities.About a year after Lester's initial conceptual work, two highly functional and versatile typefaces emerged. These are Neo Sans and Neo Tech, designs Lester describes as "legible without being neutral, nuanced without being fussy, and expressive without being distracting."Both the Neo Sans and the more-minimalist Neo Tech families are available in six weights, ranging from Light to Ultra. Each has a companion italic, and Neo Tech offers a suite of alternate characters.While engineered to look modern as tomorrow, Neo Sans and Neo Tech display the functional and aesthetic excellence that earns them a place in the list of classic designs from the Monotype typeface library.
A popular choice within the FontFont library, FF Clan is an extensive family from Polish designer Łukasz Dziedzic. A contemporary sans with modestly squared curves, FF Clan comprises seven weights across an astonishing six widths. Dziedzic’s strong, readable types feature a large x-height, short descenders, and small caps for all weights. The thin weight is delicate but impactful, ideal for... Read More
Rounded typefaces go in and out of style. They are often used for user interfaces, or for back-lit signage. Sharp type often looks blunt in these situations, and the amount of bluntness is unpredictable. The solution: start by rounding the corners. FF Unit Rounded began as an exclusive customization of FF Unit. Something friendly and precise to be read on screen, on signs, in print, and a broad... Read More
FF Fago goes professional with its two Correspondence members, Sans and Serif, made with the needs of the business world in mind. The proportions and robust, screen-friendly letterforms are adjusted for clear communication. To meet the standards and limitations of the office environment, tabular figures and an open italic ‘a’ are standard, and ligatures were removed.
Linotype Textra™ is a clever twist on the sans serif genre, designed by Jochen Schuss and Jörg Herz in 2002. Schuss says this about Linotype Textra: "Two in one! The same Linotype Textra, which is so neutral and practical for long text passages turns into an eye-catching headline type when used in larger point sizes. The trick? It's all in the details. The type's clear, robust forms give it a... Read More
The German designer Alexander Dosiehn developed the Liga Sans type family as part of his graduate thesis at the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf in 2001. Liga Sans is a sans serif typeface that acts as a bridge between classical modern styles. Traces of pen forms and brush strokes can be seen mixed together with the most legible elements from grotesk-style faces in the alphabet's letterforms. These... Read More
The design of FF Chambers Sans is inspired by very divergent sources. In fact, during its development, designer Verena Gerlach had two styles in mind that work as polar opposites. The first was a traditional, engraved serif from a scientific book printed in 1686. The other is the generic sans serif style found in the lettering on enamel street signs. FF Chambers Sans is an experiment that... Read More
FF Fago is the quintessential corporate typeface, a result of many years of work within the challenges and requirements of complex corporate design projects. The family offers five finely balanced weights across three widths, enough for virtually any conceivable application. Its various widths were carefully planned and drawn to complement and combine with each other. Aside from the impressive... Read More
ITC Symbol font was designed by Aldo Novarese, a simple, straightforward design of understated elegance. It has just the hint of a serif to aid legibility. Book and medium weights have a light, even color and are perfectly complemented by the bold and black weights. The italics are clear and simple, a comfortable companion to the roman.
FF Signa is a characteristically Danish design, rooted in architectural lettering rather than book typography. Originally created for signage—hence the name—FF Signa is now a typographic family with three widths. All weights include italics, small caps, and several styles of figures. Because of the quality of this “vernacular-lettering-turned-typeface” conversion, FF Signa received a Danish... Read More
Mixage font is the work of Italian designer Aldo Novarese, who cleverly combined the character shapes and proportions like those of Syntax and Antique Olive with the grace and warmth of a calligraphic typeface. Mixage font is a good alternative to more traditional sans serif designs.
FF Speak is Danish designer Jan Maack’s rounded sans. Maack’s express aim was to capture the tone and feeling of youthful conversation. FF Speak’s smooth, energetic letterforms can be used in different ways to vary the intended mood, depending on the weights and amount of extra ligatures employed. Its light weight carries regular speech, and a heavy weight speaks more loudly. Regular and bold... Read More
Soho is the latest addition to the growing range of typefaces from Sebastian Lester. This grand opus of a project resulted in a typeface that comprises nine weights and five widths of precision engineered OpenType. 40 fonts, 32,668 characters and 24 OpenType features.Hot on the heels of the popular Neo Sans and Neo Tech range, and his first typeface release Scene, Soho represents three years of... Read More
FF Max is a Danish sans inspired by Aldo Novarese’s Eurostile (1962). The letter shapes in FF Max have rounder, friendlier forms, giving the typeface a certain human touch. FF Max works well as a headline face for magazines and newspapers, but sets text with surprising ability too.
Heimat is a typographic system containing the typeface families Heimat Didone, Heimat Sans, Heimat Mono and Heimat Stencil. The Collection was designed for contemporary typography, especially for use in headlines and on posters, but also for reading purposes. It combines an idiosyncratic appearance with the feeling of a grid-based letter construction of the late 20s. Since Heimat’s design... Read More
FF Signa is a characteristically Danish design, rooted in architectural lettering rather than book typography. Originally created for signage—hence the name—FF Signa is now a typographic family with three widths. All weights include italics, small caps, and several styles of figures. Because of the quality of this “vernacular-lettering-turned-typeface” conversion, FF Signa received a Danish... Read More
ITC Bolt comes in one robust weight and was designed by Ronne Boner and Tom Carnase in 1970. Its figures are consistently based on a rectangular shape although some details break up the otherwise conscious monotony. The cross strokes of the a, e and s are markedly thin and many figures have rounded beginning and end strokes, giving them a more reserved look in relation to their neighboring... Read More
The typeface FF Transit is a highly legible design that works well for readers who need quick orientation while en route. Made to blend aesthetic quality with legibility, it was originally developed by MetaDesign in Berlin for official use by the Berlin Public Transportation Services (BVG) and Düsseldorf Airport. Based on the proportions of Frutiger (licensed from Linotype), it was freshly... Read More