Kapitol

Kapitol is a sans serif type family characterised by a robust practicality achieved through clean utility and concrete geometry. Inspired by the unique materiality found in 1980s screen aesthetics, Kapitol expands on the memory of the single weight Chicago (originally designed as a 12pt bitmap version by Susan Kare in 1984 and later adapted as a vector-based TrueType version by Kris Holmes in 1991), re-imagining the style with more traditionally legible forms, while retaining much of the original unique contrast and feel. The Kapitol family utilises robust geometry to create a practical and diverse set of types that can be used equally well for text and display purposes.

The first drawings for Kapitol began in pure gridded geometry and were then evolved to also utilise more balanced and organic forms. Where necessary Kapitol discards the grid and utilises letterforms that have strong connections to the history of grotesque typefaces, all the while maintaining a unique contrast and purely vertical stresses.

The fourteen style Kapitol family consists of a broad range of weights that vary progressively in their aesthetic, due to the strong contrast in combination with its vertical stress. At text sizes Kapitol feels utilitarian and sets in efficient, structural galleys. At larger sizes the finish is clean and strong, almost brutalist, making for combinations of crisp geometry and solid forms.

The range of Kapitol weights are dynamic exponents of the family’s geometry. As the type weights get lighter or heavier toward the family’s extremities, their structural requirements change, but the overall geometric tone is maintained. Ultimately, the weights at the lighter and bolder ends of the spectrum look less and less like their visual origins, but always feel like they are a part of the greater family. The thin and black weights in particular stretch their inherent contrast to the limits, creating unique and characterful outcomes that are subtly familiar, yet always original.

Usage Notes

Kapitol is a sensitive and useful type family that embodies a new kind of formality based on that familiar robustness and sense of geometry.

Kapitol was partly envisioned as a potential replacement for modernist grotesque typefaces, both in display and text use. It was created as a new kind of text typeface that could stand up to the demanding combination of contemporary print and digital use, while also remaining unique and ultimately legible.

The fourteen style Kapitol family consists of a broad range of weights that vary progressively in their aesthetic, due to the strong contrast in combination with its vertical stress. At text sizes Kapitol feels utilitarian and sets in efficient, structural galleys. At larger sizes the finish is clean and strong, almost brutalist, making for combinations of crisp geometry and solid forms.

Kapitol’s fourteen styles all come with full sets of ordinal characters; inferior, superscript, numerator and denominator figures; as well as tabular currency, math symbols and figures. All Kapitol family packs also come with variable fonts.

Overall Kapitol’s graphic feel creates a unique typographic tone that honours its very recent heritage while driving forward with a contemporary confidence.

Styles

Kapitol Thin
Kapitol Thin Italic
Kapitol Light
Kapitol Light Italic
Kapitol Regular
Kapitol Regular Italic
Kapitol Medium
Kapitol Medium Italic
Kapitol SemiBold
Kapitol SemiBold Italic

Design

Mark Gowing
Dave Foster

Mastering

Ben Kiel

Features

Fourteen styles
Variable fonts
Latin-based language support
Discretionary ligatures
Fractions
Ordinals
Inferior, superscript, numerator and denominator figures
Tabular figures, currency and math symbols

Trial Fonts and Specimen

License terms apply. By downloading these trial fonts you agree to not distribute, reproduce, or use these files for any commercial purpose.
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