Welcome to issue 109!

Hey, it’s Noemi. Great to have you here! And if you’re brand new, welcome to the Fresh Fonts newsletter. What’s cooler than starting the year with a bunch of new indie foundries producing amazing work? I don’t know. So that’s what I’ve prepared for you in today’s issue. As always, I hope you enjoy reading! And if you have comments or feedback, just hit reply, I read and respond to every email I receive.

Stay fresh! 😊✌️ — Noemi

Typeface of the Month

Get a perpetual license to use this typeface on desktop and on the web when upgrading to our paid membership 🥳 
More info below 👇

Softcore from TEKIO

Given that the four previous Typefaces of the Month were sans-serifs, I wanted to go for a serif typeface this time. Softcore was an easy choice — not only was it one of the most upvoted typefaces by Fresh Fonts members, but its design is both unique and versatile — it checks all the boxes! The typeface is a warm, contemporary serif rooted in 18th-century German-Dutch typography. Its soft, rounded strokes emerge from sketches made with a modern tool: a rounded, felt-tip marker. The shapes were subsequently digitized with precise outlines that excel at display sizes while remaining optimized for smaller and longer texts. The family comprises eight weights, from Thin to Black, with corresponding Italics, available in both static and variable formats.

Get a lifetime commercial license for Softcore when upgrading to our paid membership. You’ll get a license for a company size of maximum 5 employees (including you) that allows for the following usage:

• The complete Softcore font family (16 font styles + variable font)

• Use in personal and commercial projects (the license is not transferable to clients)

• Desktop use (on unlimited devices within your company)

• Web use (on unlimited domains, without limitations on traffic)

• App use (in unlimited apps, without limitations on downloads)

By upgrading to our paid membership, you’ll receive a new typeface each month, unless you cancel your subscription, which you can do at any time. You will be granted a perpetual font license, so you can keep using the typeface in your projects even after you cancel your membership. More info on our paid membership and FAQ on the Typeface of the Month offered as its main perk.

Fresh Releases

Kalev from East of Rome

Based in Estonia, East of Rome is a type foundry run by Lewis McGuffie. Its latest release, Kalev, is a sans-serif inspired by the utopian geometry of the twentieth century. The family comes in six weights with charming Estonian names, ranging from Vormis (Regular) to Kogukas (Ultra). The sleek Regular style contrasts with tightly-packed, muscular heavy weights designed for display use. The typeface supports Latin and Cyrillic scripts (in its Pro family) as well as Georgian (in the Georgian family). A true collaborative effort, Kalev was designed by Jaan Rõõmus, with Ana Sanikidze contributing the Georgian characters, and Fred Wiltshire drawing the heavy weights.

TM from November

November, the much-anticipated type foundry (and more) from designers Juhi Vishnani and Shiva Nallaperumal, has finally launched its website. Among their typefaces, you’ll recognize Oli Grotesk (published at Typotheque in 2019) or Delegate (published at Commercial Type last year). They’re also introducing two works in progress: TM, a revival of Times Modern currently available in a single Black style (pictured above), and Contact, a workhorse slab serif. Cute little detail: you can change the typeface in use on the foundry’s website, with three typefaces of theirs to choose from (Oli Grotesk, Delegate, or Contact).

Haltung from Order Type Foundry

Haltung is the latest from Order Type Foundry, a small foundry based in Brooklyn, New York. Designed by Joe Moore, Haltung is a robust yet refined sans-serif that conveys a sense of lightness. The typeface incorporates elements from both Frutiger’s Univers and Käch’s Röntgen Therapie, striking a balance between their contrast and proportions. For insight into its design process, I recommend reading the fascinating article by designer Joe Moore (scroll down the page to ‘Research and Process’).

Milla by Vivian Dehning

Milla is a labour of love from German designer Vivian Dehning. “Milla is composed of classical letterforms, blended with personal and thoroughly considered details intrinsic to handwriting, letter-pressed type and botanical characteristics. Trapped in it are lots of things that inspire and move me,” explains the designer. The outcome is a contemporary serif that evokes both the warmth of handwriting and the texture of letterpress. It comes in a single weight for now, with elegant ligatures.

Featured Member

Who are Fresh Fonts members and what are they working on? 👀

unfolded 🇨🇭

I thought it would be cool to see how Fresh Fonts members are putting their Typefaces of the Month to use! This month, the spotlight is on unfolded. Founded in 2009 by Friedrich-W. Graf, unfolded is an independent design studio based in Zurich, Switzerland. My favorite projects of theirs include the visual identity of Zuricrit, an annual cycling race taking place in the streets of Zurich; and of course, Cudaschet da battaisem, a small, lovingly designed baptismal book entirely typeset in Nuances by Ethan Nakache, our Typeface of the Month for November 2022.

Goods