Escafina

Atomize Bowlful Chemists Dairymen Edition Fanfare Galaxies History Indexes Jigsaws Kashmir Leisure Magnetic Norfolk Overdrive Petition Quartets Reflects Symphony Theremin Unified Volcano Western Xylephone Yodeling Zephyr
Atomize Bowlful Chemists
Dairymen Edition Fanfare Galaxies
History Indexes Jigsaws Kashmir
Leisure Magnetic Norfolk Overdrive
Petition Quartets Reflects Symphony
Theremin Unified Volcano Western
Xylephone Yodeling Zephyr

In the summer of 2014, I started compiling samples of ‘upright script’ lettering. I had been doing a lot of research about the aesthetics of vintage signage and mid century advertising, and I found a ton of great uses of this style of lettering.

It seemed to be a part of our aesthetic landscape that had been slowly lost to time. This got me thinking about how I could create a modern re-interpretation of the style as a digital typeface.

Go ahead, try me…

Go ahead,
try me…

The characterful lettering samples I had been gathering from old signs and mid century ads were drawn for a specific single use. Naturally, they often lacked thought towards a system of connections that allowed the letters to work together in unpredictable orders, as any typeface needs to be able to. I made it my goal to apply this aesthetic to a functional system of letters that harmonized, and didn’t rely on alternates to function, instead including them as a supplementary feature.

There is surprisingly little precedent, historically, for ‘upright script’ caps that feel cohesive and function well with a lowercase. For this I turned to the 1960s-70s serif swash cap aesthetic, which provided ample inspiration that matched the ball terminals of the lowercase. This inspiration also led to 3 different styles of the typeface, each with progressively thinner hairlines which change the tone considerably, and make the family more functional in different sizes and environments.

Appropriate Believable Compatible Dealing Editing…
Appropriate
Believable
Compatible
Dealing
Editing…

The result is a typeface with 3 styles, which range in aesthetic tone from charmingly succinct to delicately intricate. Escafina supports over 100 languages, automatic arbitrary fractions, and alternates for the ends of words to give a more natural appearance. Escafina is perfectly at home in Signage, Logotypes, Posters, Headlines and many other uses.

2/3 5/8 5/24
2/3
5/8
5/24

Multiplexing

I also wrote custom software which ‘multiplexed’ the various styles of Escafina so that they can be swapped effortlessly without re-flow, or varying word-length. Edit them below to see for yourself!

A typeface in 3 styles!
Escafina High
A typeface in 3 styles!
Escafina Medium
A typeface in 3 styles!
Escafina Low
A typeface in 3 styles!
Gin & Ginger’s

Happy Hour
Happy Hour

Whiskey Sour · $12
Whiskey Sour · $12
Whiskey, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Egg White
Whiskey, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Egg White
Old Fashioned · $9
Old Fashioned · $9
Rye Whiskey, Bitters, Sugar Cube
Rye Whiskey, Bitters, Sugar Cube
Dark & Stormy · $12
Dark & Stormy · $12
Dark Rum, Ginger Beer, Bitters, Lime
Dark Rum, Ginger Beer, Bitters, Lime
Moscow Mule · $9
Moscow Mule · $9
Vodka, Ginger beer, Lime Juice
Vodka, Ginger beer, Lime Juice
Martini · $7
Martini · $7
Gin, Dry Vermouth
Gin, Dry Vermouth
Dirty Martini · $9
Dirty Martini · $9
Vodka, Dry Vermouth, Olive Brine
Vodka, Dry Vermouth, Olive Brine
Cuba Libre · $8
Cuba Libre · $8
White Rum, Cola, Lime Juice
White Rum, Cola, Lime Juice
Manhattan · $9
Manhattan · $9
Rye Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, Bitters, Cherry
Rye Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, Bitters, Cherry
Gimlet · $8
Gimlet · $8
Gin, Lime Juice
Gin, Lime Juice
Mimosa · $12
Mimosa · $12
Prosecco, Orange Juice
Prosecco, Orange Juice
Daquiri · $7
Daquiri · $7
Rum, Simple Syrup, Lime Juice
Rum, Simple Syrup, Lime Juice
Mojito · $12
Mojito · $12
White Rum, Soda Water, Sugar, Mint, Lime Juice
White Rum, Soda Water, Sugar, Mint, Lime Juice
A risograph print using the Escafina typeface.
Get Escafina

Personal License

Pay-What-You-Want for a Personal Use License of Escafina.

Commercial License

Buy a Commercial Use License for only $55, and receive this lively risograph print at no extra charge!

Special thanks to…

My Parents, Marg and Dave. My girlfriend Heather Neale, she’s got my back. Thanks to Dan Gneiding (hand illustrations), Danelle Cheney (menu and badge design, beta testing) and Kenneth Ormandy (this website, beta testing, the push to finish this thing).

And to those who built the tools that make type design possible: Frederik Berlaen (Robofont), Tal Leming (Prepolator and Metrics Machine), Erik Van Blokland (Superpolator), PSY/OPS (Mastering), and Nina Stössinger (Word‑O‑Mat).