Design a Condensed Sans Serif Typeface

- [Charles] Hello, I'm Charles Nix. I design typefaces for a living. I've also designed hundreds of books, posters, and other objects. And in that work, I've always had a soft spot for condensed gothic typefaces. Why? Because they're inherently big. Of course, you can make a typeface large by changing the point size. And we can pump it up by making it bold, but condensed gothics have bigness built in. I would argue that the condensed gothic sans form is the biggest style in the 580 year history of type in the west.

Why? It packs more type in a smaller space. More of everything. More x height, more weight, more characters, and more words. And all of that adds up to more impact. In this course, we'll analyze the form and then we'll assemble a condensed gothic font. We'll carefully space it, and then we'll discuss strategies for making it your own.