Freight is Joshua Darden’s robust text family, done in the style of Johann Fleischmann’s sparkling baroques, with a few of its own tricks. You’ll notice if you look through our Freight offerings, that there is in fact a Freight Sans, which pairs quite well if you’re going for more of an Americanized humanist feel, but I thought I’d stretch the range of Freight [serif] a bit more toward a British sensibility. To do that, I’m pairing it with the latest riff on Edward Johnston’s ‘block’ lettering, Hendrik Weber’s Edward. If I were keeping score, and clearly I am by the title, Hendrik is a German designer drawing from an English face, and Joshua is an American designer working from a Dutch one. Taking these additional lenses into consideration can help inform why certain characteristics of the faces are played up or deemphasized. Together, the two create an approachable and inviting atmosphere in their in-between weights, and a comical harmony when each bares its more extreme side.
Quick historical note: If you’re thinking, ‘This looks awfully familiar,’ It’s likely because it looks a lot like Gill Sans. Edward Johnston and Eric Gill were contemporaries, and their sanses look a lot alike. Johnston’s came first. End historical note. In nine weights, Edward captures well the quirks of the British sign painter and letter cutter, without trying too hard to be a faithful revival.
Because Freight comes in a range of optical sizes, you can either use them for their stated purpose, or use a more robust cut at a given size, for a coarser texture. See above Freight Micro, next to Freight Text. And below: Given the chance, Edward is quite capable of delivering texts of moderate length.
That’s all for now. Catch another Great Pairs here on Wednesday. PS. Did you spot the almost Erbar a?
