The starting point for Rifugio was coming across Nebiolo’s 407 Bastone series, a quirky wide caps-only grotesque with unusual proportions and very unsubtle traits, as if Helvetica had ventured south through the Alps and indulged in one too many Campari cocktails…Rifugio takes it from there, revisiting the bold heritage of Aldo Novarese and the vitality of the ’50s and ’60s Italian typography. High-waisted capitals and carefully crafted pseudo-naive whimsical letterforms give Rifugio its warm, charming, and distinctive personality, adding a touch of vernacular typography and backcountry signage vibes to an otherwise well-balanced functional sans. Rifugio offers a comprehensive set of weights ranging from Thin to Black—as well as a variable font format—allowing its unique personality to shine in all demanding situations. Well-equipped with a variety of OpenType features (including small caps, superiors, inferiors, four types of figures, ligatures…) and a bunch of alternates, Rifugio provides a rich typographic palette to meet the needs of contemporary design.Friendly, dynamic and charismatic, Rifugio is a dazzling fusion of Italian flair and modern flexibility which undoubtedly offers a high level of personality in titling while fully delivering on functionality in complex settings.
Drawing influence and mood from phototypesetting era sans-serif fonts (notably Brasilia by Albert Hollenstein and Albert Boton, 1958-60), Nicéphore is a disguised quiet guy. Look again and you’ll probably notice its highly contrasted joints, its solid feeling and surprising letter shapes. The Nicéphore family is a variable font exploration of the “multiplexing” principle: each six styles are drawn on the same width, allowing you to change weight on the fly without disrupting the layout. A perfect choice for nice rollover effects on the web, type animations… you name it! Nicéphore takes a very unconventional approach to width and weight distribution by *not *changing the former while increasing the later. The unsettling result is a striking display typeface with a monumental x-height, very short ascenders and descenders and unobtrusive diacritics, all specifically meant for tight line spacing and dense page texture. Its tight letter-spacing contrasts with an otherwise quite extended overall letterform design, equipping Nicéphore with a special power to stand out from the crowd. As with every Apex typefaces, it is packed with numerous stylistic sets and alternates to provide typesetters with even more options to tweak the voice and feeling of any piece of text.
Investigating the rational simplicity of mid-twentieth century modernism, Practical Grotesk is Apex’s take on the neo-grotesque genre. Drawing influence from the superstars of the last century (Akzidenz Grotesk, Folio, Neue Haas Grotesk…) as well as later, more “confidential” responses (Forma, Unica…), Practical Grotesk is an exercise in style, a love letter and a tribute to the legacy of Swiss typography. Firstly developed as a single regular style to embody and carry the identity of Apex, Practical Grotesk slowly grew into a comprehensive family of 10 weights (from hairline to black) and their italic counterparts to provide graphic designers with a solid and versatile sans-serif workhorse. Ready to compete and prove its many qualities —from discrete footnotes to smashing billboards— Practical Grotesk is a utilitarian yet spirited typeface, not devoid of a certain warmth, and fully equipped with numerous key alternates, various figure sets, ligatures and case-sensitive forms (among other features) which definitely make it an indispensable ally for demanding contemporary design conditions. Global branding, fashion, architecture, packaging… Practical Grotesk might just become your go-to asset to fulfill every need. Oh, and —cherry on the cake—it also comes as a two‑axis (weight and italic) variable font to give you full control over its designspace.© Photo: Dorothea Oldani