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New Typeface Volt A new sans with a basic and an alternate versionPosted: 26.03.2007 |
| Like Alida Volt is also a concept I have carried with me for about two years. Starting with only the alternate version it did not work as a useful sans serif. So i had to narrow it down to a more conventional basis with a full vertical stroke at the letters a, b, d, g, m, n, p, q, r and u. The curved endings follow the form of the round parts. I only added them where they cleared the situation. Only a few near the baseline and some more at the ascenders and the upper part of the x-height. In some elements you feel the classic penstroke. First I called it Strom (the german word for electricity) because I was inspired by the brandmark of the german energy supplier e-on. So now it is called Volt the german word for Voltage.  Since Barmeno and Dax came along there are many new typefaces with similar stroke behavior. One of the first fonts in that manner was designed in 1930. Bernard Gothic by Lucian Bernard for ATF. There is Prokyon by Eberhard Kaiser, who even claimes to be the first who designed in that way. On a few concepts like Oktober and June and later in my typeface Voice I dealed with those elements. Ingo Preuss from German Type Foundry just released a sans serif called Phoenica. And there are many others. I would not give anybody the credit of inventing this principle.  Bernard Gothic 1930  Barmeno 1991/Dax 1996  Prokyon 2002  Oktober 1994/June 2000  VoiceShoulder 2005 Phoenica 2007, http://www.germantype.com/cms/front_content.php?idcat=74 Volt is basically built on this idea. I tried to give letters like the »n« a certain dynamic by keeping the left upper part quite low and the right upper part quite high. It follows the classic penstroke. By skipping the »b« to get a »d« (with corrections) the element move away from the classic pen and give the x-height a certain rhythm and contrast. But for legibility the x-height feels to jerky. To calm this I tried to make all lower case letters quite static. At the end I decided to keep both version. an eccentric and a serious.  Volt Alternate, n, »b« skipped to get a »d«  jerky x-height, first line  Volt, the serious version   Volt with Alternate 9 weights with italics Volt Basic Volt Alternate |
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