As a practicing graphic designer there have been numerous occasions when I have needed a font that didn’t exist. More often than not the style I was looking for was described as an extra-condensed sans-serif with a contemporary look that was available in a variety of weights. Small caps would be useful, so would a range of numeral styles. And matching italics too, of course. The proportions would consider viewing on hand-held devices, cell phones, remote controllers. And not forgetting that the font would be used in situations which required stacking the lines close. So the overshoots needed to be eliminated – the exaggeration of extremities that are intended to avoid round characters appearing smaller than their more squarish counterparts, often colliding when linespacing is tight. As I refined the design, I tested it on several works-in-progress providing a valuable testing ground and proving popular with my clients.
