From the flood of early 20th century new geometric sans-serif typefaces, Abstrakt found inspiration in letterings that furthered the typographic use of the compass and the ruler. Anchored in modernist ideas, Abstrakt’s shapes do not only embody the spirit of the avant-garde but already begin to foreshadow the pop aesthetic of the early computer age.
Based on an examination and synthesis of hand-picked artifacts depicting a lettering style that was en vogue among some graphic artists in the early 1930s, François Rappo built an entire typeface family. Each character is a slight abstraction of conventional letter shapes. It reminisces the formal experimentation and innovation seen in Swiss architecture, graphic and industrial design, notably in the iconic lamps from BAG Turgi. The primary references were the small characters on the 1932 exhibition poster Licht designed by Alfred Williman and the capricious variations found on the 1932 lettering logo Information, a far-left magazine designed by Max Bill. Despite its fairly elementary appearance, Abstrakt’s design is complex and sophisticated. While its uneven stems create a singular rhythm, its rounded ends give the typeface a warmth along with evoking pneumatic designs which were representative of a myriad of the eras engineering advances. Originally suited for use in headlines, Abstrakt has also been developed into text-compatible styles in two widths and four weights, accompanied with their respective italics.
Abstrakt Narrow 8 styles
Abstrakt 8 styles
Case Sensitive Forms
All Caps [cpsp]
Case Sensitive Forms [case]
This function formats the text in uppercase and adjusts spacing between all capital letters. It also applies the ‘Case Sensitive Forms’ feature which replaces certain characters with alternates that are better suited for all capital text, especially related to punctuation.
«Optimo»
@|¦()[]{}¿¡‹›«»-–—·
«OPTIMO»
@|¦()[]{}¿¡‹›«»-–—·
Contextual Alternates
Contextual Alternates [calt]
This feature adapts the position of a glyph after its surrounding context. For instance, a dash placed between two uppercase letters or numbers will be replaced by an uppercase version of the dash, slightly higher. This feature is usually active by default in Adobe applications.
Alternate a
Stylistic Set 1 [ss01]
This feature replaces glyph(s) with stylistic alternate(s).
information
aàáâãäāăåǻąæǽ
information
aàáâãäāăåǻąæǽ
Tabular Lining Figures
Tabular Lining Figures [tnum–lnum]
Based on the proportions of the capitals, lining figures have an invariable height. With the combination of the tabular spacing format, the width of each numeral is uniformized. This feature is useful when numerals need to all lined up. It facilitates the reading of numbers set within columns or tables. As some applications don’t have access to this feature, proportional figures are set as the default choice.
0123456789
0123456789
Fractions
Fractions [frac]
With this feature, any numbers separated by a slash will automatically turn into a fraction. To fit in fraction configuration, numerals have been designed smaller and their weights have been adjusted to suit the typeface.
3/4 3/8 5/8 7/8
3/4 3/8 5/8 7/8
Ordinals
Ordinals [ordn]
This feature replaces any letter following a numeral with its matching superior letters. French language uses the ordinal indicators such as ‘er’ for 1er premier, while Spanish, Portuguese and Italian require the feminine and masculine ordinals ‘a,’ ‘o’ for 1º, 1ª. Ordinals are designed to match the weight of the typeface.
Slashed Zero
Slashed Zero [zero]
Originally created to avoid the confusion between the ‘0’ and the ‘O’, this feature substitutes all zeros in a selected text by a slashed form of the zero.
Numerators
Numerators [numr]
This feature substitutes glyphs with their matching smaller alternates. The numerators are the same glyphs that are used to create fractions, their vertical position remains within the capital letters height. These glyphs are reduced in size and designed slightly heavier to keep them consistent with the rest of the font.
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Denominators
Denominators [dnom]
This feature substitutes glyphs with their matching smaller alternates and low position glyphs. The denominators are the same glyphs that are used to create fractions, their vertical position remains within the base line. These glyphs are reduced in size and designed slightly heavier to keep them consistent with the rest of the font.
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Superscript/Superiors
Superscript / Superiors [sups]
This feature substitutes glyphs with their matching smaller alternates which are set slightly above the height of the capital letters. These glyphs are reduced in size and designed slightly heavier to keep them consistent with the rest of the font.
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Habcdefghijklmn
Hopqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Subscript/Inferiors
Subscript / Inferiors [subs]
This feature substitutes glyphs with their matching smaller alternates which are set slightly below the baseline. These glyphs are reduced in size and designed slightly heavier to keep them consistent with the rest of the font.
Habcdefghijklmno
Hpqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Habcdefghijklmno
Hpqrstuvwxyz()[].,
Alternate fi fl
Stylistics Set 2 [ss02]
This feature replaces glyph(s) with stylistic alternate(s).
fi fl
fi fl
Discretionary Ligatures
Discretionary Ligatures [dlig]
This feature activates discretionary ligatures which are specific to the typeface. It applies all other designed ligatures that are not classified as standard ligatures.
Lowercase math symbols
Stylistic Set 6 [ss06]
This feature activates alternate lowercase positioning of mathematical symbols.
up+down
+±×÷−=≈≠¬∞
up+down
+±×÷−=≈≠¬∞
Multiply sign
Stylistic Set 20 [ss20]
This feature substitutes the letter “x” into the multiplication sign.