Dunwich Type Announces Gigalypse

James Puckett
James Puckett Posts: 2,013
edited March 2013 in Type Releases
Dunwich Type Founders has released a new typeface, Gigalypse. Gigalypse is a one-weight workhorse. As a square sans Gigalypse can look smart, serious, and even futuristic. Round corners and curved sides add warmth and humor tempered by sophisticated geometry. This soft sophistication makes Gigalypse work whenever heavy display type is called for.

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Comments

  • Michael Clark
    Michael Clark Posts: 138
    How come no critique session ;-)

    Seriously, This is sweet!!!!!! Congratulations, and a job nicely done.
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,265
    This seems to be more of an original design than your previous work.
    What enabled you to make the jump?
    And why no family?—I would say it deserves development, and that would be a good investment.
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,013
    What enabled you to make the jump?
    Avoiding old type as sources. Aside from comparing some letter widths in Eurostile everything in Gigalypse was created from scratch. I’m moving away from historical models, as sources for ideas they’re pretty much tapped out. I am going to finish a Renaissance text face as a learning experience, but once that’s done I’m not going back to the historical stuff unless a client is paying for it up front.
    And why no family?
    I was working on the big Lorimer family and just wanted a simple side project.

    I did try some prototyping of a family and was not entirely happy with the result. At extreme weightd the squircle is a great shape, but I’m not convinced it works in the middle. And it causes a lot of problems in a family. The width of most letters does not change because the basic squircle needs to be the same. When you start mixing fonts where weights change but some widths don’t it can look like a ransom note. And the huge x-height would dramatically limit the utility of middle weights. Even if I drop it to 76% for lighter weights that’s still too much for most people to use as text.

    I will probably revisit the idea of a superelliptical sans family in a few years. I need to let the idea roll around in my head. When I did Downturn I just could not conceive a working lowercase; when I went back after three years it was pretty easy draw (there’s a big Downturn family in development).
  • Michael Clark
    Michael Clark Posts: 138
    Squircle... what a cool word!
  • Max Phillips
    Max Phillips Posts: 474
    edited September 2012
    Really nice—both comfy and crisp. I'd love to see a family, and can't believe the difficulties with weights and widths couldn't be resolved. C'mon, Novarese did it
  • Mostafa Hajizadeh
    Mostafa Hajizadeh Posts: 35
    Such a beautiful type. @, ©, ® are lovely.

    Though families are nice to have, I have a soft spot for single-font typefaces which are high-quality and kind of unique.
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,265
    Yes, it can be a good idea to let things simmer.
    Some issues to consider:
    • Many types have extra bold weights with x-heights that are much larger than in “text” weights, e.g. Gill Sans, Goudy Heavyface, Bodoni Egyptian (well, if it worked for Eric and Fred…)
    • Many full-family “text” types have large x-heights; not just mid-century moderns such as Antique Olive and Avant Garde, but recently FF Clan.
    • Certain distinctive small x-height faces have become popular (Brandon, Neutraface, &c.), and also large-x faces such as Pluto. If it’s right for the face, build it, they will come.
    But don’t wait too long or waste too much time on derivatives—you’re a designer, not a technician.
    Sometimes it’s a better idea to strike while the iron is hot (this being the foundry biz!)

  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,013
    Sometimes it’s a better idea to strike while the iron is hot (this being the foundry biz!)
    That’s another thing I considered. I don’t see how a Gigalypse family fits into most current trends. But I might change my mind if this single Gigalypse sells.
  • Delve Withrington
    Delve Withrington Posts: 17
    Nice work James!
  • Santiago Orozco
    Santiago Orozco Posts: 17
    This is great! congratulations James!
  • André Simard
    André Simard Posts: 189
    Congratulations James!
  • nickbbbbbbb
    nickbbbbbbb Posts: 6
    great work!
  • Max Phillips
    Max Phillips Posts: 474
    I notice you didn't bother designing most math and logic symbols for Gigalypse, which seems reasonable; no one's going to use this for setting equations. But you did include a caret and a brokenbar. How come?
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,013
    But you did include a caret and a brokenbar. How come?
    They’re part of the standard character set I use in all my fonts. It takes me about a minute to draw both, so I don’t worry about them. All those Greek math symbols, OTOH…
  • Max Phillips
    Max Phillips Posts: 474
    Makes sense. Thanks.
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 2,977
    Very nice, James! Congrats!
  • Marc Oxborrow
    Marc Oxborrow Posts: 220
    Battle of the Squircles!
    http://www.fountaintype.com/typefaces/taca
  • Jan Schmoeger
    Jan Schmoeger Posts: 280
    Well done, James.
  • Gary Lonergan
    Gary Lonergan Posts: 8
    This would be a nice friendly alternative to Eurostile. Look forward to meeting the family.
  • Eris Alar
    Eris Alar Posts: 455
    I hope it sells, and it seems 'trendy' to me :-)

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