For those of you who know us, you know that we like projects that are hard to classify. This is one of them, and it is one that we like very much, the Perec family: a sans grotesque that has a lot to offer. From its origin it responded to quite complex artistic and conceptual criteria, as a tribute to the multifaceted work of French writer Georges Perec, but over time with the addition of new styles it has become a versatile type system offering a diverse palette of easily combinable forms. Here we share with you a brief overview of the design process and the cuisine of these fonts. Just remember that new Perec styles are being prepared! It is an ongoing project. It could not be otherwise, Georges Perec would have wanted it that way.  Read

Carolinéale is a typeface family whose design I started at the end of 2014, when I integrated the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique, in Nancy (FR). I had then the project to work on a typographic version of Carolingian musical notations. The alphabetical typeface associated with this work has evolved since then. Thanks to the support of the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (FR) and the sharp eye of Alejandro Lo Celso, I was able to create a complete typeface family. On the occasion of its publication by PampaType, I would like to come back to the principles that guided the design of its forms.  Read

Second and final installment of Tere Schultz’s text on Tuscan letters. Those decorative objects, delicate or extravagant, that inhabit the streets and typographic catalogues of all times, without losing an iota of expressive force. The product of ornamental ingenuity, Tuscan vernaculars dress the street signs of Mexico as much as the stained glass windows of Paris, the ‘fileteados porteños’ of Buenos Aires or the hulls of fishing boats in the Amazon waters. Against this notorious and implausible decorative ubiquity, which alarms many, in the first part of this article Schultz unfolded, like a healing balm, his hypothesis of how the Tuscan style would have been born of a mischievous interpretation of the inscriptions on stone. In this second chapter, it only remains to delight us with some examples of Tuscan vernaculars from some corners of the world.  Read

Tere Schultz delivers a new literary and typographic divertimento for passionate readers. This time she follows one of her personal fixations: the Tuscan letters. Those ornamental objects, delicate or extravagant, that inhabit streets and typographic catalogs of all times, without losing an iota of expressive force. The product of decorative ingenuity, Tuscan vernaculars dress the street signs of Mexico as much as the stained glass windows of Paris, the ‘fileteado porteño’ of Buenos Aires signs or the hulls of fishing boats in the Amazon waters. However, this decorative ubiquity, notorious and implausible, alarms many. Fortunately, like a healing balm, Schultz will deploy here her original hypothesis, suspiciously unexplored, of how the Tuscan style would have been born from a mischievous interpretation of the stone inscriptions (wrongly) called lapidary. Although perhaps here the term ‘lapidary’ is appropriate, since the idea caught the author strolling through a cemetery. (Warning: sensitive material. Agnostic typographers and designers of little faith, please refrain).  Read

Una vez establecidos los parámetros generales de nuestras cajas de texto, podemos entrar en los detalles —la filigrana, como diría uno de mis clientes—: el ajuste de los valores de justificado y, finalmente, la composición.  Read

El presente texto, una crítica a la tipografía Amster de Francisco Gálvez, constituía el prólogo que la autora hiciera para una pequeña pero poderosa publicación que aun no ha visto la luz. Hasta tanto esa edición física tome vida, anticipamos aquí este relato inextricable de la filosa pluma de Teresita Schultz que, no sin un puñado de disgresiones místicas que arrojan luz sobre los oscuros meandros de la historia del libro, nos invita a construir una mirada perspicaz frente al diseño de una tipografía, sofisticada y moderna, como es Amster. Tales disgresiones incluyen el diseño de iniciales, la iluminación de manuscritos medievales, las relaciones entre insectos y embutidos, y algunas cosas más. Hacia el final y para sorpresa de todos, este prólogo incluía cartas de lectores al parecer prematuramente anoticiados.  Read

We are proud of this project: The design of a typeface for the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina, an educational institution of more than 400 years, the first in the country and one of the earliest in the continent. As part of the celebration for the hundred years of the University Reform, which occurred in this house in 1918, the UNC commissioned PampaType the design of a typeface to address their multiple communication needs. The resulting design, ‘Reforma’, is a multi-form family with diverse styles. In this article we share a bit of context, all the design process, some of our drawings and production details, and a few insights harvested throughout this 3-year fruitful experience.  Read

This typeface is named after the astonishing guitar player and singer Atahualpa Yupanqui, a central figure to Argentine folk music. ‘Don Ata’, as he was called, was a wise poet with a particularly sensitive view of the elements of nature as well as of the human condition, all of which he turned into compelling lyrics and magic songs. For years I dreamed about designing a typeface in his name. I imagined a firm, rough voice, though interpreted with delicate curves and a feel of warmth. After a few years of occasional sketching finally a spirit aroused in 2014. The initially vague forms turned into precise letterforms and with time into a family of fonts. Now the type Atahualpa finally sees the light. I’m happy. Here I invite you to unveil all the secrets behind the scene, discover the clues of the inspiration and the design process, and enjoy some footnotes from our design kitchen.  Read

This essay was the original dissertation I wrote for the MA in Typeface Design at the University of Reading, UK, 2000. Since then it has met some popularity. It was slightly adjusted years later for its publication under TypeCulture.com and also under lpdme.org. Of course some references may feel out of date by now. However I believe its ideas and insights are mostly perennial.  Read

The design of the Amster type family implied a process of creation and maturing of seven years. In this article Francisco Gálvez, its designer, gives us some of his various insights around that process, its referents and inspirations.  Read