About ITC Forkbeard Condensed
British designer Michael Gills has created in ITC Forkbeard what might be called an “industrial uncial.” Uncials, based on the common European handwriting of a thousand years ago, mix what look to us like upper - and lowercase forms in a single alphabet. To make Forkbeard more practical for modern typographic needs, Gills gave it a set of true caps, as well as modern numerals. Gills found his inspiration in the work of Victor Hammer, who explored uncial letterforms repeatedly throughout his career, and in particular in Hammer's last type design, Andromaque, which was cut for Deberny & Peignot in 1958 but never issued. But where Andromaque shows the influence of calligraphy, Forkbeard is severely monolineal with geometric overtones. The condensed form, especially, has a tubular, contemporary look, which works well in short passages of large text. |
