Clear And Adaptable: FS Industrie

With its latest offering, Fontsmith set out to create a utilitarian typeface with its own unique character that works no matter your message or medium

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THE CONCEPT

Phil Garnham

Today’s brands want to speak in a very succinct and direct way across a huge range of media, and one of their tools in doing so is the typography they use. We wanted to create a typeface reflecting a no-nonsense attitude and clarity, that was also capable of adapting to the vast range of platforms brands now use to communicate. With FS Industrie, we set out to create a typeface with an eye on the future that reflects emerging technologies.

One of the key challenges we set ourselves was coming up with a type design that could adapt to a broad range of widths and weights without compromising its tone of voice. It had to be clear in all its guises, whether it was being used for interface menus or variable data advertising, and it needed to reflect the ‘now’ in every sense. What we set out to create was not just a typeface, but a type system with five widths and seven weights. With italics, that makes for 70 variants for each character.

With that sense of directness in mind, our immediate inspiration came from the rationalist fonts of the 1930s, mainly originating from Germany, some of which are not available in digital form. These include reform-Grotesk, Industria, Aurora and DiN 1451. We filled our heads with the idea of utility and the unapologetic approach to decision-making conveyed by these fonts. We wanted to make an uncompromising typeface, one that was honest and sincere in any design system.

THE DESIGN

Fernando Mello