DataLife Engine - Softnews Media Group

The Sharp Sans superfamilies are geometric sans serif typefaces that inject some much needed humanism into the Futura model. Designed by Lucas Sharp ?of Sharp Type Co in 2011, Sharp Sans Display No. 1 has angled terminals while Sharp Sans No. 2 has 90º degree terminals. With its sheared terminals and true italics (in Sharp Sans Display No.1), Sharp Sans combines the appealing typographic compensation of the grotesque, with the plump circular bowls of the geometric. The result is a typeface suited for both text & display use that breathes life into the genre of the geometric sans. While Sharp Sans Display No.1 ends its round monolines with diagonally sheared terminals, Sharp Sans Display No. 2 shears those terminals on a 90 degree angle. This small distinction became the basis for a plethora of exploration on either end. The most distinct aspect of No. 1 is its whimsical, almost slab-like true italics, which in turn give way to a full set of swash capitals in all italic weights. Sharp Sans Display No. 2, being the more geometric of Superset pair, has a more traditional oblique for its italic, as well as alternative reductionist Herbert Bayer-inspired lowercase. Sharp Sans Display No. 2 also has the first truly fluid OpenType homage to the famous Avant Garde interlocking capital style created out of an intelligent system of ligatures & contextual alternates which do not interfere with tracking (I suggest you track them in). The newest iteration of Sharp Sans was conceived for the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign. Michael Beirut and the Pentagram team chose Sharp Sans Display No.1 as the main typeface of the campaign identity, but such a monumental project required a sturdier and more utilitarian typeface. The new Sharp Sans is completely redrawn and shaped by the rigorous typographic demands of modern visual communications. What sets the new Sharp Sans apart is a raised x-height, and newly opened counters that make it optimal for both text and display layouts; a new, more versatile approach, of which the two Display versions were not previously designed for. We call the new Sharp Sans our "use it for everything" font. While we stand by that statement, the originals do make for a compelling display counterpart.

Tags: Sharp, Sans, Font, Family