Beatrice Superfamily Case Study
Beatrice is a new kind of typeface that explores a range of contrast methodologies. Combining various aspects from the canon expansionist systems, inverted contrast, and the contrast behavior of grotesks, these methodologies were dissected and used as cornerstones in creating our own system—something we call internal contrast.
Beatrice is a new kind of typeface that explores a range of contrast methodologies. Combining various aspects from the canon expansionist systems, inverted contrast, and the contrast behavior of grotesks, these methodologies were dissected and used as cornerstones in creating our own system—something we call internal contrast.
When it was first released in 2018, Beatrice landed in largely unexplored territory in type design. Built upon the foundation of the American Gothic and utilizing tight-not-touching spacing, the Beatrice Superfamily features a robust set of weights across four optical sizes including Standard, Deck, Headline, and Display. The iconic cut of Beatrice Display offers the highest head-turning contrast; where Beatrice Standard is best for all high-function-low-contrast needs; Headline and Deck, were drawn to smoothly click into place between the original two sizes, offering a more gradual spectrum of applications.
Beatrice Construction
Beatrice Construction
Contrast methodology is the system that determines how the thick and thin strokes of a letterform are applied to the skeleton. In this case, contrast is not determined purely for the purpose of mitigating the darkening effects of stroke intersections, nor is it simply based on an implied stroke ductus. With Beatrice, the contrast methodology is something of a novelty, a system we refer to as internal contrast.
The idea is simple. Every letter has an inside and an outside. With the Internal Contrast system, stroke emphasis is determined by the location of the stroke in relation to the center point of the letter shape: Outer strokes maintain the heavy stroke weight, and the “internal” strokes take on the hairline function. In contrast, the intersections of strokes and bowls are pinched in a classic sans serif fashion. Functionally, the combined effect creates a texture of thick and thin strokes that behave somewhere in between a high contrast expansionist sans and a reverse contrast typeface. The aesthetic result is unique.
In 2018, we released Beatrice Display and Beatrice Standard with the goal of eventually offering a fuller family. With invaluable assistance from Inga Plönnigs and Kia Tasbihgou, Lucas and Connor Davenport have been quietly plugging away at the Headline and Deck styles ever since. Now, in the summer of 2022, they’re finally ready for release. Taken as a whole, the Beatrice superfamily makes full use of the wide spectrum of optical sizes defined by the extrema of Display and Standard. All four styles share a common framework and contrast logic, with point sizes broadly determining each subfamily’s application.
Optical Sizes
Optical Sizes
4 Optical Sizes, 58 total fonts
Beatrice Display is the flagship of the family. It's a visual oddity, instantly indelible, and a striking example of the Internal Contrast methodology. In addition to its notably high contrast, the extremely cozy spacing, finely wrought apertures, and dramatic hairlines lend the Display an exuberance that almost lifts it off the page. Because the details demand to be seen, we don’t recommend using Beatrice Display at point sizes below 60pt.
Beatrice Display’s incredibly fine hairlines start to hit legibility issues around the 60pt range, so we developed two complementary optical sizes to create a seamless superfamily of styles. Their function, Lucas jokes, is to bridge the “chasm of utility” left by the extremes of the Display and Standard styles. Beatrice Headline and Deck fill the void in situations where the hairlines of the Display would disappear without a stroke and a contrast higher than the Standard is desired. Headline is best utilized between 60-40pt, while Deck works well in caption and subheader settings in the 40-24pt range. If the Display is billboard and masthead size, think of Headline and Deck as your choices for smaller storefront signage, magazine captions, pull quotes, and smaller breakpoints.
In Roman times, modern Friuli Venezia Giulia was located within Regio X Venetia et Histria of Roman Italy.
Tuscany has a western coastline on the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, among which is the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the most significant island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres (8,878 sq mi).
During the Republic's history, Florence was an important cultural, economic, political and artistic force in Europe. Its coin, the florin, was the dominant trade coin of Western Europe for large scale transactions and became widely imitated throughout the continent. During the Republican period, Florence was also the birthplace of the Renaissance, which is considered a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic "rebirth". Battles first began between the Cerchi and Giugni at their houses in the Via del Garbo; they fought day and night, and with the aid of the Cavalcanti and Antellesi the former subdued all that quarter: a thousand rural adherents strengthened their bands, and that day might have seen the Neri's destruction if an unforeseen disaster had not turned the scale. The Ghibellines were supporters of the noble rulers of Florence, whereas the Guelphs were populists. The Ghibellines, who had ruled the city under Frederick of Antioch since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs. The Guelphs led Florence to prosper further. Their primarily mercantile orientation soon became evident in one of their earliest achievements: the introduction of a new coin, the florin, in 1252. It was widely used beyond Florence's borders due to its reliable, fixed gold content and soon became one of the common currencies of Europe and the Near East. The same year saw the creation of the Palazzo del Popolo.
Florence's population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants. As has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the city's trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, begun in 1294. The buildings from this era serve as Florence's best examples of Gothic Architecture. Politically, Florence was barely able to maintain peace between its competing factions. The precarious peace that existed at the beginning of the century was destroyed in 1216 when two factions, known as the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, began to war. The Ghibellines were supporters of the noble rulers of Florence, whereas the Guelphs were populists. The Ghibellines, who had ruled the city under Frederick of Antioch since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs. The Guelphs led Florence to prosper further. Their primarily mercantile orientation soon became evident in one of their earliest achievements: the introduction of a new coin, the florin, in 1252. It was widely used beyond Florence's borders due to its reliable, fixed gold content and soon became one of the common currencies of Europe and the Near East. The same year saw the creation of the Palazzo del Popolo. During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the Italian Social Republic. Hitler declared it an open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the British 8th Army closed in.[33] In early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. However, at the last moment Charles Steinhauslin, at the time consul of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in Italy that the Ponte Vecchio was not to be destroyed due to its historical value. Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans executed many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.
Stylistically, Beatrice Standard is restrained by comparison to its Display counterpart and could be mistaken for a standard grotesk, even though it maintains its novel Internal Contrast. While the Beatrice Standard Family is built from the same framework as Beatrice Display’s roman, it has a much lower contrast, and therefore a smaller optical size, which rounds out the superfamily with a more stylistically restrained sans serif suitable for use in a wide range of applications.
Italics
Italics
Beatrice’s italics are also notable. When Lucas first began drawing the roman forms of Beatrice Display, he set out to create a new set of rules. With the italics, these rules were bent and sometimes broken altogether through an unconventional approach of processing the translation and rotation of the stroke ductus. The Display and Headline’s true italics are distinguished by their unique swash capitals and expressive lowercases reminiscent of cursive lettering. Throughout, the calligrapher's hand is ever-present, even though the tools and techniques remain deliberately abstracted and obscured. Deck and Standard’s italics are designed as straightforward corrected slants of their roman counterparts due to their lower contrast and point size application.
Finally, in order to maintain a consistent production logic within the superfamily, Beatrice Display and Headline also contain alternate lowercase and uppercase forms that adhere to the construction style of the slanted roman accessible via a stylistic set. This was done not just for the sake of completeness, but also in anticipation of a future variable font.
SSSSSSSS
The typeface is dedicated to its designer Lucas Sharp’s mother, Beatrice Benjamin, who continues to seek beauty, embrace originality, and has never let convention hold her back.
Featured Fonts
Featured Fonts