Inspired by the early Roman type specimens she discovered at the Zurich University of the Arts library, graphic designer Martina Meier set out to design a contemporary interpretation.
Her new typeface Konrad results from Meier’s extensive research and experimentation in collaboration with the Swiss type foundry Nouvelle Noire. Konrad’s three weights, Regular, Medium, and Bold, feature archetypal elements from Gothic lettering and modern Roman typefaces.
A history of the evolution of type from Gothic to Roman in less than 100 words …
In 1450, a chap named Johannes Gutenberg invented printing with moveable type in Mainz, Germany. The city is sacked a decade later in a religious-slash-power struggle, expelling many reform-minded citizens, including Gutenberg and his contemporaries, Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz. The latter two traveled to a Benedictine monastery near Rome, bringing their knowledge of the printing press. From this migration of people and ideas comes the first proto-Roman typeface.
Learn more about Konrad and retrace the journey of Konrad’s namesake protagonists here.
