Typography
April 17, 2017
Deliciae is a sans-serif display font which, through thorough exploration and research into influential historic movements, encompasses elegance, legibility and artistic expression. The font harnesses the expressive and fluid lines of Art Nouveau and incorporates subtle structure of Modern type to evoke functionality and legibility.
To develop the curve and organic form of Deliciae, inspiration was sourced from the expressive and ornate Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau was an artistic movement predominantly associated with France, which peaked between 1890 and 1905. Within the applied art practices, the Art Nouveau style incorporated ornate and floriated motifs challenging conventional ideas and views. While the typefaces of this time period were successful in establishing a connection between the natural world and art practices and the organic and fluid style of the letters created a desirable display font, however it becomes problematic with regards to legibility in blocks of text.
Whilst Deliciae reflects the curved form and whiplash lines reflective of the Art Nouveau period, the typeface incorporates contrasting stroke weight and a sense of structure which has been adapted from the Modernist era, more specifically the Bodoni typeface. The Modernist movement replaced the short-lived Art Nouveau and emphasised the functionality and legibility of the letters over the form. This evolution in typographic meaning was significantly influenced by the cultural and technological transitions that emerged during the industrial revolution.
To accentuate the fluid lines evident within the Deliciae typeface, inspiration has been drawn from the visual aspects of the Gothic Black Lettering of the Middle Ages. This particular typeface was the culminating artistic expression of the time and encompasses dominant lines contrasted against thin arches and curves; calligraphic in style.