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

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Type Life
Issue #1: Special Lab

The inaugural issue is a special about the Lab. In this Research & Development department, we explore new ideas for future fonts. Two of the most recent additions to the Lab are showcased here. The first one named BRRR is a playful wide Grotesk with a great deal of disruptive details. A spin-off from Simplon Mono, it was initially created to design a poster series for Swiss artist Simon Paccaud. KRSNA started out as a custom version of NewParis Skyline, made for two vinyl record sleeeves by Geneva-based musician Grace Core. This experimental typeface abandons the convention of a continuous baseline and introduces a three-storey space where the letters can sit at the top, center or bottom, with the remaining space filled by bars and spikes. The resulting word images are captivating patterns with logo-like qualities. Type Life reveals how BRRR and KRSNA came into being by depicting preliminary sketches, evolutionary steps, and photos of experiments made during trips. Reproductions of the very first applications show the fonts in context.

An underlying theme in Type Life #1 is the confrontation of opposites. Systematic typography is interspersed with footloose lettering, accurate vector shapes are shown side by side with drippy comic blackletter. Highbrow clashes with subculture when an icon of the Swiss International Style gets remixed with graffiti. Past meets present also in the typeface designs that always and inevitably are contextualized in history. The digital is contrasted with the analog, the local with the cosmopolitan, the abstract with the personal. On a formal level, all of this is represented by the combination of uncoated newsprint and glamorous spot colors. The minimal but nevertheless unique color palette featuring Pantone neon pink and yellow along with silver and black is a defining element of the publication’s identity.

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