The second issue of Type Life brings a cornucopia of visual inspiration. Swiss Typefaces presents insights into their cosmos of style, fonts, and fashion. This is the only place where you’ll find both Rihanna and Rudolf Koch, and where photos of contemporary art and streetwear are framed by engravings from the Caslon foundry. Type Life doesn’t make many words, and instead shows plenty of letterforms. Printed in six Pantone colors, it features mirrored words, slanted letters, gradients and all the other things your design prof wouldn’t approve of.

At the heart of this issue is Sang Bleu – the name both of a typeface and of a creative agency. Over the past decade, the two have built a legacy together. Shown are fonts that debuted in the Sang Bleu magazine, some of which later were released by Swiss Typefaces, and others that remained private. Custom typefaces designed for Vogue appear next to the experimental script variant SangBleu Snakes, followed by a stunning guest contribution from the Paris-based Studio Jimbo. Type Life #2 is made perfect by an introduction to the all-new SangBleu typeface and the accompanying printed book that showcases its 5 collections and 45 styles, released in October 2017.

Publisher: SWTY Publishing, 2017
Language: English
Pages: 36
Size: 23.5 x 32 cm
Binding: Softcover, loop staples
Printing: Offset, 6 Pantone colors
Printed in Switzerland

Buy it

On the occasion of the launch of the SangBleu typeface, Swiss Typefaces issues a book for lovers of the printed letterform. On 128 pages, “SangBleu Typeface: The King, His Court, The Explorer & The Gift” celebrates cutting­edge typography in general and the SangBleu fonts in particular. Devised as a collector’s item, it provides a unique combination of design and content: at the heart of the publication is a novella by Daniela Party, specifically written for this purpose. The book starts off with illustrations of a skull and a beheaded female warrior, followed by serpents and an Aztec ghost figure. This dark and savage imagery sets the atmosphere. Giant initials, printed in loud pink, lead into the book like drumbeats in the jungle – S – B – G – U… The title page presents the names of the five collections that form the SangBleu typeface: Empire, Kingdom, Republic, Versailles, Sunrise. Each family is displayed on a spread of 20 pages, in a layout that was freely inspired by a type specimen for Caslon Old Face from 1924. The sample pages emulate all kinds of text types, from novels and magazines to drama and poetry, in sizes big and small. Some pages feature large headlines or block quotes in italics. Others show off spectacular drop caps and strongly contrasting sizes or weights. Designers interested in seeing the Cyrillics do not miss out either. The scope and versatility of the SangBleu collection is exhibited in its entirety. All text is taken from Daniela Party’s novella. Set in the late 17th century, an era of absolutism, superstition, and colonialism, it narrates the story of Meztli, an indigenous Mexican woman with extrasensory powers. Captured by French explorer La Salle, she is sent as a gift to Louis XIV, the Sun King – a gift that would set off a series of macabre events involving witchcraft, lust, envy, and death. Designed by Swiss Typefaces, the SangBleu Typeface book was printed in five colors, four of them Pantone spot colors including metallic and neon inks, and is further enriched by a special binding with several fold­out pages – all made in Switzerland.

Buy it