Paul McNeil and Hamish Muir’s MuirMcNeil is known for brilliant, eye-catching systemic and algorithmic experiments in design. (Like, say, the time they made 8,000 unique covers for Eye magazine.)
Now they’re back with a new typeface: Interlock, featuring four styles in six weights. Like most of their projects, in addition to just looking plain cool, a significant amount of theory and thought underpins the work.
As MuirMcNeil explains: “In Interlock, the relationship between inked and uninked parts of letters is broken down into even patterns of parallel horizontal or vertical lines. Where traditional type designs are configured in binary contrasts of form and counterform, Interlock’s lines are progressively incremented in weight to provide tonal pattern densities within the body of the type.
“In Interlock, a common grid determines the positioning of all elements with every contour and space aligning precisely. Interlock typefaces are designed to interact in layers with one another and with corresponding sets of rectangular background grids.
“Using page layout, bitmap or vector design software, the user can apply selected styles to letterforms and backgrounds either in precisely interlocking layers or in easily calibrated offsets. Outlines, tints, colors, textures, patterns and transparencies can be implemented as appropriate.”
Read more here.
Images via MuirMcNeil