A new sans for The Atlantic

PUBLICATIONS, MAGAZINES, CUSTOM TYPEFACES | 25 MAY 2016

Christian Schwartz has drawn a new sans display face in one weight for The Atlantic, helping to give a new personality to the feature well. Commissioned by creative director Darhil Crooks, this new typeface is inspired loosely by Advocate, one of the fonts available for IBM's Selectric typewriter in the 1960s. This sans is proportionally spaced but takes on some of the typical traits of typewriter letterforms: unusual proportions like the narrow M and W and wide J f r and t, and space-filling serifs on I f i j and l, making it feel friendly and warm in the lowercase, and strong and powerful in all caps. Its distinctive proportions add character to the page even at small sizes, while its simple forms look clean in drop caps and enormous headlines.