New Additions: April 2026
30th April 2026
From the hundreds of fonts we add to the Identifont database every month we chose a selection of the most interesting recent additions, and interviewed the designers about their approach to each design:
Arne Freytag – Curve Display (Fontador)
Curve Display is a decorative version of your earlier modern Didone typeface Curve, released in 2015. What inspired you to create this variant?
The idea behind Curve Display arose from a desire to challenge the stability of classical forms and to experiment with them. In today’s design landscape, which is often visually very dense, typefaces must not only be functional but also develop a strong voice of their own. Curve Display was intended to retain the elegance and structural logic of Curve, whilst shifting it in a significantly more expressive, and at times provocative, direction. It is about the tension: between tradition and experimentation, legibility and abstraction.
Compared to their companions in Curve, many of the characters in Curve Display have extra flourishes, such as the ‘K’, ‘M’, ‘P’, ‘R’ ‘V’ and ‘W’, or a totally different shape, such as the ‘A’, ‘E’, and ‘Y’. Did you have a guiding principle for the character shapes in Curve Display?
Yes, there was a clear principle, even if the result might seem playful or unpredictable at first glance. The shapes were expanded, fragmented, mirrored, or subtly altered. The aim was specifically to create moments of disorientation whilst maintaining an overarching typographical coherence, which is achieved primarily through the lowercase letters, which have been altered only minimally.
An important aspect was legibility within context. Some letters, such as ‘A’, ‘E’ or ‘Y’, appear almost abstract when viewed in isolation. Within a word, however, they become immediately comprehensible. This tension between recognition and uncertainty is central to the design.
In Curve Italic the slope of the italics is 9.5°, but in Curve Display Italic it’s only 4°. Why did you choose a smaller slant for Curve Display?
Good question; you’ve really spotted the detail! As I said, it wasn’t meant to adhere strictly to the rules of a classic Didone typeface, just as the axis isn’t straight but slanted.
At 4°, the italic remains recognisable as such, but looks much calmer and more stable. I find it amazing how much even just a 1° slant can change the dynamics of the typeface.
Did you have any particular applications in mind for Curve Display; for example, do you envisage it being used as a display font in conjunction with body text set in Curve?
Curve Display is clearly intended for use at larger sizes, where its details and formal characteristics really come into their own. I see it being used primarily in editorial design, branding, or cultural contexts; wherever typography plays a defining role. Perhaps it lends itself well to surreal, mystical themes, as these too bring together elements that don’t really belong together.
And yes, the combination with the original Curve is exciting. Whilst Curve ensures clarity in body text, Curve Display can bring a strong design voice to headlines or highlights.
At the same time, Curve Display can also function on its own. In the right applications, even a single word can create a powerful visual statement. That was precisely the intention: to design a typeface that not only conveys content but also actively shapes how it is perceived.
Mika Mischler and Niklaus Thoenen – Micronova (Binnenland)
Micronova is a sans-serif typeface based on the concept of Aldo Novarese’s 1962 typeface Eurostile, with character shapes between an ellipse and a rectangle. What inspired you to work on this project?
Micronova was inspired by an interest in building on progressive modernist principles and examining their relevance in a contemporary context. The starting point was Eurostile, whose distinctive superelliptical forms embodied the technological optimism of the postwar era. At the same time, the project reflects a critical engagement with typographic education, which was shaped by traditional doctrines, such as those of the Basel School. The aim was to reinterpret a historically controversial model through iterative design and transform it into a functional typeface for today, while exploring and reactivating its vision.
Compared to Eurostile the character shapes in Micronova are more curved, closer to an ellipse than a rectangle (compare Micronova 400 and Eurostile); this is particularly noticeable in the ‘C', ‘G’, ‘O’, and ‘Q’. Why did you decide on this?
Micronova deliberately shifts closer to the ellipse than Eurostile, to allow for a more consistent and precise expression of the underlying geometric concept, while also creating a softer and more contemporary visual tone. The more curved shapes in letters like ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘O’, and ‘Q’ are therefore a conscious evolution of the original idea rather than a direct imitation.
Did you define the the character shapes in Micronova mathematically, and if so, were you able to integrate this with the drawing program you were using?
Yes, they were defined mathematically using a formula for the superellipse derived by Gabriel Lamé. This was implemented in a variable font script to generate and test different curve variations systematically. Based on this process, key forms such as ‘O’ and ‘C’ were developed, from which proportions like the H-width and the overall uppercase system were derived. Additionally, parameters such as width, x-height, and weight are numerically defined, enabling a precise and technical approach to type design.
Micronova is available as a pair of variable fonts with the axes Weight, Width, and Lowercase Height. In addition, several width variations are available as stylistic sets in the OpenType static fonts. Why did you decide on this approach this rather than release the static fonts in separate extended and condensed styles?
We decided to provide these variations in the OpenType versions as stylistic sets to make it easier to explore a wider range of design possibilities; for example, pairing condensed uppercase letters with extended lowercase.
Extending this principle to the Weight, Width, and Lowercase Height variable axes allows for a much higher degree of flexibility and precision compared to fixed styles. Micronova enables continuous adjustments, allowing designers to fine-tune the typeface to specific needs and combine variations in subtle ways. This approach moves beyond traditional linear type systems and relates to systematic models, such as Adrian Frutiger’s Univers, in which typographic parameters are organized logically and numerically.
Fabian Dornhecker – Reversa (La Bolde Vita)
You’ve described Reversa as an experimental sans-serif typeface. Where did the idea for the typeface originate?
I always write down various ideas and concepts, some specific to typefaces and others quite general, drawn from systems and observations in everyday life. Occasionally, I try to translate these notes and fragments into visual sketches and, ideally, lay the groundwork for a new typeface through a proof of concept.
With Reversa, this basic idea was actually quite simple: instead of doing what has been done many times before – reversing the contrast, proportions, serifs, etc. – why not reverse the fundamental construction of each letter? So straight lines become curves, hard transitions become soft ones, and vice versa. Applied to a geometric grotesque, this actually worked quite well for the uppercase letters and required almost no exceptions. However, by the time I got to the lowercase letters, I could no longer apply the system in a meaningfull way. So the lowercase letters are exempt from this, but only within the x-height. Outside of that, the reversal is applied again, creating a slight harmonization with the increasingly angular forms of the uppercase letters.
And so the concept of Reversa expanded and continued to evolve in the process, from a fundamental design concept to a collection of exceptions and freely interpreted ideas that are harmonized as much as possible across the entire typeface family.
The Reversa family includes Text, Headline, and Display styles which have the same experimental character shapes, but vary in the contrast between strokes, so are they intended for use at different sizes like optical sizes?
Like virtually all of my typefaces, Reversa is first and foremost a display typeface. However, I want to give designers the greatest possible flexibility with it and not limit the typeface to just a single use case. That’s why I like to use the common concept of different optical sizes and also use known terms like text and display; that’s simply the most intuitive way for most people to understand it.
Would I recommend setting a book in Reversa Text? Probably not. Can a short text passage or an article in a magazine be set with it? Absolutely. The basic parameters, such as stroke contrast, increased spacing, and slightly more open counters compared to the display weights, are in place and enhance readability.
In Reversa the lowercase character shapes, and a few of the capitals such as the ‘A’, ‘K’, and ‘V’, are relatively conventional, whereas some of the capitals, such as the reversed ‘B’ and ‘D’, the hourglass-shaped ‘H’, and the branched ‘T’, are distinctly eccentric. What guided you in how experimental to make the characters?
The variation in the degree of eccentricity results from the inversion of the letter's components and junctions, as described earlier. In the case of the ‘V’ there is only the pointed vertex that becomes rounded; the result is very close to the familiar shape of the letter. In the case of the ‘B’ however, nearly all the basic elements (corners, curved elements, hard and soft transitions) of the letter are inverted, which surprisingly results in a near-perfect horizontal mirror image.
This system was applied to the uppercase letters as far as possible, and only in a few cases was it not applied with full consistency. The result is surprising and unfamiliar, but that is precisely the point. At this stage, the goal was not to achieve the most harmonious typeface or even good legibility. But of course, to make the typeface actually usable and not just an abstract experimental object it was necessary for the lowercase letters to appear as familiar as possible, while the uppercase letters represent an abstract breakout only in specific spots.
You’ve provided an OpenType “Easy Readability Shapes” stylistic set in Reversa which gives more conventional character shapes for the most experimental characters, such as the ‘B’, ‘D’, ‘H’, and ‘T’. Do you hope that designers will resist the temptation to use this?
At some point during the process I was actually tempted to include the more conventional styles as defaults for the text subfamily. Even though that would have made sense in the traditional understanding of the text and display labels, and some designers would certainly have welcomed it as a nice convenience, I don't want to dictate to people which styles they should use in which context and with which options.
And let me put it this way: there are plenty of vanilla fonts out there. I’d rather release a typeface with a strong personality, and the option to tone it down selectively, than the other way around.
Guillaume Sbalchiero – TwoTone (BAL Foundry)
You’ve said that TwoTone is a typeface family inspired by the British 2-Tone music movement of the late 1970s. What gave you the idea of designing it; was it for a particular project?
TwoTone grew out of my interest in the 2-Tone scene; its music as much as its visual language. In the late 1970s England, this mix of Jamaican ska, punk, and mod produced a strong and immediate graphic identity, visible across record sleeves, posters, and printed matter. At the centre of it was the black-and-white checkerboard developed by 2-Tone Records under Jerry Dammers: a simple motif built on rhythm, contrast, and the idea of unity through difference. That was the starting point. The project wasn’t tied to a specific commission, but to a desire to take that motif and use it not as decoration, but as the structure of the letterforms themselves. It also resonated with other visual cultures that shaped me, punk graphics and skateboarding, where the checkerboard appears with the same directness and impact.
The typefaces in the TwoTone family have a checkerboard fill, and you’ve also provided a OneTone family with matching typefaces and a solid fill. What was the thinking behind this; was it to allow the creation of two-colour lettering?
That possibility exists, since both families share the exact same construction and can be overlaid. But OneTone came from a simpler question: what happens when the checkerboard disappears? By filling in the white squares, the structure stays the same, but the reading changes. In TwoTone, the pattern is visible; in OneTone, it disappears into the mass. The rhythm is no longer on the surface, but it still structures the form underneath. It also pushed the system towards something denser and more compact, almost closer to a pixel font. Together, they share the same structure, but produce different readings.
The seven different lettering styles in each family are named Beat, Checker, Ghost, Jam, Madness, Selecter, and Specials, names associated with the 2-Tone music movement. They feature a different angular style of lettering, with either 90° or 45° stroke angles. What was your inspiration for these letter shapes?
The shapes come directly from the checkerboard itself. Working within a square grid naturally produces blocks, diagonals and sharp cuts. 90° and 45° quickly became the two main angles of the design: one for stability and frontality, the other for movement and disruption. From there, the seven styles explore different tensions within the same structure. Some remain more stable and direct; others push the system towards more slant, compression, and imbalance, becoming more graphic and unstable. Their names come directly from the vocabulary of 2-Tone – bands, tracks and expressions – because I wanted each style to function as a variation within the same set. The idea was to extract the formal logic of 2-Tone and translate it into an expansive typographic system.