Atelier Jérôme Knebusch
Mainzer Landstraße 105
60329 Frankfurt am Main
jk [at] jeromeknebusch.net
+49 69 15 61 60 23

Almost is a typeface between gothic and roman. It was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in five weights and many alternates. They can be endlessly combined, taking either a roman or gothic direction, without falling in a strong, broken script nor becoming a ‘pure’ roman design. Above, uncialesque and bizarre (Byzantine) letterforms and a full set of initials complete the fonts. All take their inspiration in the 15th century, specifically in the period of 1459-1482 with Gotico-Antiqua typefaces like the ‘Durandus’ of Fust & Schöffer, the first type to present a humanistic tendency. A few years later Sweynheim & Pannartz use a type in Subiaco which some consider to be the first roman although gothic influences remain clearly visible. Roman type was finally defined in 1469-70 in Venice by the ‘de Spira’ brothers and Nicolas Jenson. But roman did not precipitate the death of gothic forms, mixtures of gothic and roman were tried out and the two co-existed for some time. Almost is a hommage to these types, which represent a unique, transitory moment in history of typography. More information about Almost on Poem's website.

Title
Almost
Date
2012–2019
Type
Type design, Research
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Conference
Gotico-Antiqua symposium, Nancy 2019
Award
Type Directors Club 2020
Award
Typographica 2019
Publication
Poem

Almost, typeface, 2012-2019. Published by Poem.

Almost is a typeface between gothic and roman. It was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in five weights and many alternates. They can be endlessly combined, taking either a roman or gothic direction, without falling in a strong, broken script nor becoming a ‘pure’ roman design. Above, uncialesque and bizarre (Byzantine) letterforms and a full set of initials complete the fonts. All take their inspiration in the 15th century, specifically in the period of 1459-1482 with Gotico-Antiqua typefaces like the ‘Durandus’ of Fust & Schöffer, the first type to present a humanistic tendency. A few years later Sweynheim & Pannartz use a type in Subiaco which some consider to be the first roman although gothic influences remain clearly visible. Roman type was finally defined in 1469-70 in Venice by the ‘de Spira’ brothers and Nicolas Jenson. But roman did not precipitate the death of gothic forms, mixtures of gothic and roman were tried out and the two co-existed for some time. Almost is a hommage to these types, which represent a unique, transitory moment in history of typography. More information about Almost on Poem's website.

Title
Almost Italic
Date
2021
Type
Type design, Research
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Conference
Gotico-Antiqua symposium, Nancy 2019
Award
Type Directors Club 2020
Award
Typographica 2019
Publication
Poem

Almost Italic, typeface, 2021. Published by Poem.

Instant is an anachronic type family going from thin, quick handwritten letters to stable, black typographic shapes. Each of the five styles correspond to a singular design related to a specific stroke speed and weight: Vivid, Quick, Regular, Slow, Heavy. Hommage to the poet, painter and writer Henri Michaux (1899 – 1984), it questions fundamental differences between handwriting and typography, type family consistency and the relation and usage of roman, bold and cursive faces. Instant was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in 2005 as part of a personal research project at ANRT Nancy. First published in 2012 by BAT Foundry, it is today available at Poem. In 2020, Instant Variable was added to the collection.

Title
Instant Variable
Date
2020
Type
Type design, Research
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Award
Typo­graphica 2012
Award
Best ten fonts of the year, Fontwerk 2012
Publication
Poem

Instant Variable, typeface, 2020. Published by Poem.

Decode Old Arabian [North & South], custom typeface, Hochschule Mainz, 2016. decodeunicode.org

Koch Lichte Grotesk is the newest revival of Lichte Neuland by Rudolf Koch, designed by Edvinas Žukauskas and Jérôme Knebusch and published by Poem for Neuland’s centenary in 2023. Lichte Neuland appeared five years after Neuland in 1928, in the Gebr. Klingspor specimen dedicated to the American market by the Continental Typefounders Association. Koch Lichte Grotesk is an accurate revival of the 12 pt Cicero size, the smallest one. It is currently the only fully identified original size, as shown on the 1928 index card of the German Association of Typefounders. This association was founded at the beginning of the 20th century and most German type foundries were members. It served to represent their interests in economic, political and legal matters. A secondary source are the Lichte Neuland Cicero letters from the letterpress workshop P98A, Berlin. Koch Lichte Grotesk is available in four fonts: 12 Cicero, 12 Cicero Plain, 12 Cicero Inline and 12 Cicero Line. 10% of licence purchases are deposited each year as flowers on Koch's grave.

Title
Koch Lichte Grotesk
Date
2023
Type
Type design
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Conference
ENSAD Nancy 2023
Photography
Norman Posselt
Publisher
Poem

Koch Lichte Grotesk, typeface, 2023, w/ Edvinas Žukauskas. Published by Poem.

In 2011, students of ESAL Metz started within a workshop with Argentinian type designer Alejandro Lo Celso and their teacher Jérôme Knebusch a specific design for their school. Looking for a bookish typeface tending to modern forms, the students found interesting references in the work of Baskerville and Didot, precisely: exactly inbetween. The type grew during the following years, each time in intensive workshop sessions, to a complete type family named Messine, covering text, display, poster, italic, bold, sans and serif versions. Today, Messine is the official and exclusive typeface of the school, used all over its documents.

Title
Messine
Date
2011–2019
Type
Education, Type design
Client
École Supérieure d'Art de Lorraine
Place
Metz
Material
Workshop programme, custom typeface
Interview
Graphisme en France
Conference
Mets, Messins, Messine, Let's Type symposium, Metz 2013
Conference
Baskerville in France symposium, Amiens 2018
Award
Fine Press Book Association 2013
Award
Ampersand Exhibition 2013

Messine, workshop programme, custom typeface, w/ PampaType, ESAL Metz, 2011-2019.

‘What if' is a typical question for an alternate history scenario, also called Uchronia: choose a starting point in history and imagine a different outcome. Based on Futura Fett, released by the Bauer Foundry in Frankfurt in 1928, the type was pushed to extreme blackness without loosing its historical reference nor becoming a caricature. Decisions Paul Renner took to achieve maximum boldness like opening the counters of some letters were taken even further. The typeface, designed by Constantin Pfeiffer & Jérôme Knebusch and released in 2020, was initially created during a workshop at the Gutenberg Museum Mainz at the occasion of the 'Futura. Die Schrift' exhibition in 2017. It has a single weight (among the blackest one can find), five widths and respective oblique versions. The glyphset is extended with Futura's iconic historical alternates, ‘Schmuck-Elemente' (decorative geometric forms) and a complete range of thin punctuation marks and diacritics.

Title
If
Date
2017–2020
Type
Type design
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Publication
Poem
Free licences
For environmental & socially engaged projects!

If, typeface, w/ Constantin Pfeiffer, 2007-2020. Published by Poem.