Letternews: The Logo Issue

Amplitude

Christian Schwartz for Font Bureau

Clear, clean, highly legible at small sizes and over long distances, Christian Schwartz’s Amplitude makes a sharp and distinguished mark without drawing unnecessary attention. And when you’re expanding the identity – what a range of weights, and widths to work with!

Hopeless Diamond

Jonathan Barnbrook and Marcus Leis Allion for Virus Fonts

Hopeless Diamond’s faceted texture creates a striking word image that requires a bit more time to decode, but that rewards those who look closely. Additional chromatic variants allow the typographer to layer colors, or introduce additional patterns to the composition.

Brothers

John Downer for Emigre

Brothers, and other John Downer faces like Council and Ironmonger, paint a picture of ruggedness and dependability with heavy lines and solid serifs. It combines well with brush scripts, engraving and penman alphabets, and itself, with a set of decorated word logos.

FF Aad™

Aad van Dommelen for FontFont

Aad van Dommelen’s spectacular namesake ventures into familiar squarish tech sans territory, but ends up in a much fresher destination. The overall spareness and simplicity of its forms, paired with its fractured heavy weights, and lyrical curves create a face with distinction.

Macula

Jacques Le Bailly for Bold Monday

Also built for chromatic setting, Jacques Le Bailly’s Macula depicts impossible three-dimensional shapes. Achieve otherworldly, Escheresque forms with single characters, or when used to set words. The effect is greatly amplified by overlayering the hatched Shading style.

CocijoType Foundry

CocijoType (pronounced Ko•SEE•ho) represents some of the best work coming out of Mexico. Graphic, contemporary, and display-heavy, their catalog lends itself well to logo work.