It is like being in a richly stocked confectionary. The act of selecting fonts is, for me, reminiscent of the enchantment of being surrounded by hundreds of scrumptious sugared treats with the inevitable frustration of knowing that eating more than one — or even a bite of one — can cause sugar shock. This is not to say that all confections are made with lethal amounts of sugar (savories are always an option), but as I scan I Love Typography’s offerings, there are so many intriguing possibilities yet so few places that I can use them. For the past few months, my selections for Font of the Month have been the tasty, eccentric specimens. This month’s choice from the ILT menu is, for my taste, more of a main course than a dessert.
The Kefir family is not a full-course dinner, but its styles — from Kefir Light to Kefir Black — are not novelties but elegantly flowing, practical typefaces that are reminiscent of two classic, versatile designs: Elisha Pechey’s 1906 Windsor and Oswald Cooper’s 1922 Cooper Black. Roch Modrzejewski’s more recent adaptation, Kefir, pays homage to these great faces, and like them, he combines Art Nouveau fluidity with modern audacity. Still, one might ask, why not use the original typefaces instead of these adaptations? And the answer is not exactly simple. Kefir exudes much the same aesthetic as the others but has a crisp elegance that is, well, designed with digital exactitude. It is similar to the originals but has its unique qualities.
For instance, the optional swashes available in both caps and lowercase provide a distinct personality. The uppercase “Q”, my favorite, is self-confident and brazen; the lowercase “h” has a tail that suggests an informal script. There are 40 different swashes and a few ligatures, too. When set as words and sentences, the letters flow harmoniously together. The strokes are at once familiar and distinct.
Nonetheless, a typographer may prefer the original Cooper, which has been used by book and record designers, sign painters, and logo makers for decades (and is even the subject of a video). But Kefir offers another option for additions to a sculptural typeface that is not avant-garde but not retrograde either. In the supermarket of type fonts, depending on the need, Kefir is a confection that can be practical or ornate — and both at once.
| Font of the Month: Kefir | |
|---|---|
| Designer: Roch Modrzejewski |
Foundry: ROHH |
Steven Heller is nothing short of a legend in the design community. Award-winning graphic designer, author and editor of hundreds of books (yes, 100s!) and one of the world’s foremost authorities on graphic design history; and arguably its best design commentator. Follow Steven on the must-read The Daily Heller and read his latest book, Growing Up Underground: A Memoir of Counterculture New York.
