Case

A matter-of-fact Neo-Grotesque with surprising nuances

The Case™ Typeface Collection is a refreshing alternative to the classics. To make it even more versatile for complex branding projects, Erik Spiekermann, Anja Meiners and Ralph du Carrois have revised it from the ground up and doubled the number of fonts  and characters.

‘To those who want to live economically — buy something of value.’ — Hannes Wettstein

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork
Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork

Story

Custom type designers know this scenario well: their clients want something ‘new’, ‘unique’ and ‘independent’. The demand for an exclusive typeface that helps brands stand out from the competition is enormous.

However, when it actually comes down to it, in reality they just want their own version of a Neo-Grotesque in the style of Helvetica® or Akzidenz Grotesk®.

Erik Spiekermann, Anja Meiners and Ralph du Carrois are all too familiar with client briefings of this kind and have regularly found themselves working on a variation of the omnipresent Neo-Grotesque. However, each time, they aspired to replace the classics with significantly better concepts – with timeless yet forward-looking alternatives that help the simple underlying design to gain more character with surprising, sometimes experimental nuances.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork

Neutrality with recognition value

Case is the essence of these corporate font projects. Spiekermann, Meiners and du Carrois left out everything that they felt was unnecessary in the world’s most popular typeface genre but made sure to keep the best bits. Building on this magical concentrate, they added new ideas and conceptual solutions for a modern sans serif.

The result is the missing element in an otherwise strained and bloated font category: A typeface whose matter-of-fact personality looks familiar and creates trust, but at the same time provides fresh inspiration with individual features making it perfect for strong brand building. Case is less neutral than its peers and stands out from them with greater recognition.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork

Emphasis on horizontals

The most striking feature of Case is already reflected in its name. Derived from the systematic feature of terminating characters, such as c, a, s, e and their relatives, including capital letters, small caps and unicase characters, each at its own height. This design decision emphasizes the horizontal, almost compulsively forcing harmony and allowing for extremely tight setting and experimental applications.

As the weight increases, this feature becomes more dominant, right up to ExtraBlack, which uncompromisingly takes it to the extreme. This deliberately reverses the harmony into the opposite and allows logos, wordmarks and headlines to be designed more concisely. Since the name of a typeface should already introduce its character and almost all fonts (co)designed by Erik Spiekermann get by with four letters anyway, the naming almost came naturally.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (emphasis on horizontals)

Legibility for greater accessibility

Another strength of Case is its remarkable legibility. This is mainly due to its three optical sizes: the core family which is great for most applications, especially larger use, Case Text which works well for more extensive content and Case Micro which is intended for small text. Depending on the application, it can still guarantee good legibility at a font size of 4pt; in some cases, Micro even works below this.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (optical sizes)

The secret of optical sizes lies in the possibility of making individual characters more legible, and that the desired visual impression of a font can be maintained across all font sizes. The effect in a headline is then identical to that of a footnote. Digital environments especially benefit from this adaptability as the font sizes and styles can be displayed differently (responsively) when viewed on small smartphones or large displays.

In the case of Case (sorry for that), the differences between the three family members lie in their spacing. In comparison to the two versions for text applications, the main family’s spacing is narrow, whereas Text is wider and Micro has the widest. For better legibility, both Case Text and Case Micro have an l with a ‘foot’ and slightly more open shapes than their bigger sister. The Micro has a higher x-height, more distinguishable character forms (r, i, j), wider glyphs (f, t) as well as significant contrast at the joints of the stems and bows.

Strikingly, these concise forms have been the reason for using Micro large on posters or banners (e.g. here). Here, the flexibility of the type system is emphasized in an unexpected place.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (optical sizes)
Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (optical sizes)

Real italics represent brand values

The real italics are a truly unique feature. In the genre of Neo-Grotesques, they are a rare occurrence in such a concise form. Many type designers are usually satisfied with obliques, which are merely slanted italics that have not been specially designed. Yet with real italics many common brand values can be conveyed through this almost organic design, e.g. optimistic, human, lively, transparent, friendly, distinctive, creative, harmonious or elegant. The angle of inclination also supports trust in the brand, as it corresponds to that of the well-known classics Helvetica®, Univers® or Akzidenz Grotesk® (12°).

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (details)

The variable fonts, which oscillate between weights and three optical sizes, also deserve attention. One upright and one italic variable font are included in the Superfamily package, at no extra cost.

Case 2.0: Doubling of design options and completion of European Language Support

With this lavish update in late Spring 2023, the number of individual styles has more than doubled, from 32 to 72. Customer feedback prompted us to harmonize both Text and Micro to cover the scope of the core family and align the x-height of Case Text to that of the normal Case.

The harmonization also includes more finely graduated intermediate weights (new ones include: SemiLight, SemiBold, ExtraBold), a newly drawn ExtraBlack extreme as well as some subtle adjustments to existing weights. The range from the thinnest possible Hairline (2 units!) to the uncompromising boldness releases new creative forces, not least with the help of the all-encompassing variable fonts.

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (72 styles + variable fonts)

In addition, the number of characters has also doubled. Behind this enormous increase is the extended language support which now includes support for Cyrillic, Greek and Vietnamese, the support of Latin languages of Africa and the new unicase feature.

Although the idea of combining uppercase and lowercase letterforms with the same letter height and no ascenders or descenders was initially conceived as a fun play on words (UniCASE), the design and engineering team quickly excelled in designing, and later the marketing team, when applying this typographic feature to the concept. To keep the extended family manageable, this design option was integrated as an OpenType feature (Stylistic Set 2).

Case™ Typeface Collection by Fontwerk – font sample, marketing artwork (unicase feature)

The plethora of far-reaching revisions and extensions result in a new, exceptionally versatile and completely revamped version of the typeface that can confidently keep up with the ever-growing demands of complex branding projects. If that wasn’t enough – due to the clear, neutral design, Case offers the perfect foundation for individual adaptations and custom designs.

(Helvetica and Univers are trademarks of Monotype registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Akzidenz-Grotesk is a trademark of Berthold Types Limited registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Unless otherwise stated, the images used are subject to Unsplash licenses.)

A
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Glyphs

Uppercase

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Lowercase

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z

Latin Accents

Á
Ă
Ǎ
Â
Ä
À
Ā
Ą
Å
Ã
Æ
Ć
Č
Ç
Ĉ
Ċ
Ð
Ď
Đ
É
Ĕ
Ě
Ê
Ë
Ė
È
Ē
Ę
Ğ
Ǧ
Ĝ
Ģ
Ġ
Ħ
Ĥ
Í
Ĭ
Ǐ
Î
Ï
İ
Ì
Ī
Į
Ĩ
Ĵ
Ķ
Ĺ
Ľ
Ļ
Ŀ
Ł
Ń
Ň
Ņ
Ŋ
Ñ
Ó
Ŏ
Ǒ
Ô
Ö
Ò
Ơ
Ő
Ō
Ø
Õ
Œ
Þ
Ŕ
Ř
Ŗ
Ś
Š
Ş
Ŝ
Ș
Ə
Ŧ
Ť
Ţ
Ț
Ú
Ŭ
Ǔ
Û
Ü
Ù
Ư
Ű
Ū
Ų
Ů
Ũ
Ŵ
Ý
Ŷ
Ÿ
Ȳ
Ź
Ž
Ż
á
ă
ǎ
â
ä
à
ā
ą
å
ã
æ
ć
č
ç
ĉ
ċ
ð
ď
đ
é
ĕ
ě
ê
ế
ë
ė
è
ē
ę
ğ
ǧ
ĝ
ģ
ġ
ħ
ĥ
í
ĭ
ǐ
î
ï
̇
ì
ī
į
ĩ
ĵ
ķ
ĺ
ľ
ļ
ŀ
ł
ń
ň
ņ
ŋ
ñ
ó
ŏ
ǒ
ô
ö
ò
ơ
ő
ō
ø
õ
œ
þ
ŕ
ř
ŗ
ś
š
ş
ŝ
ș
ß
ə
ŧ
ť
ţ
ț
ú
ŭ
ǔ
û
ü
ù
ư
ű
ū
ų
ů
ũ
ŵ
ý
ŷ
ÿ
ȳ
ź
ž
ż

Numerals & Currency Symbols

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
¤
$
¢
£
¥
ƒ
0
1
2
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4
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9
(
)
+
0
1
2
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8
9
=
(
)
+
0
1
2
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=

Small Caps

!
$
&
(
)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
?
[
]
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
{
}
¡
£
¥
¿
ß
à
á
â
ã
ä
å
æ
ç
è
é
ê
ë
ì
í
î
ï
ð
ñ
ò
ó
ô
õ
ö
ø
ù
ú
û
ü
ý
þ
ÿ
ā
ă
ą
ć
ĉ
ċ
č
ď
đ
ē
ĕ
ė
ę
ě
ĝ
ğ
ġ
ģ
ĥ
ħ
ĩ
ī
ĭ
į
ij
ĵ
ķ
ĺ
ļ
ľ
ŀ
ł
ń
ņ
ň
ŋ
ō
ŏ
ő
œ
ŕ
ŗ
ř
ś
ŝ
ş
š
ţ
ť
ŧ
ũ
ū
ŭ
ů
ű
ų
ŵ
ŷ
ź
ż
ž
ƙ
ơ
ư
ƴ
ǎ
ǐ
ǒ
ǔ
ǝ
ǧ
ș
ț
ȳ
ȷ
ɓ
ɔ
ɗ
ə
ɛ
ɨ
ɲ
ʌ
̀
́
̂
̃
̄
̆
̇
̈
̊
̋
̌
ά
έ
ή
ί
ΰ
α
β
γ
δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
ι
κ
λ
μ
ν
ξ
ο
π
ρ
ς
σ
τ
υ
φ
χ
ψ
ω
ϊ
ϋ
ό
ύ
ώ
а
б
в
г
д
е
ж
з
и
й
к
л
м
н
о
п
р
с
т
у
ф
х
ц
ч
ш
щ
ъ
ы
ь
э
ю
я
ѐ
ё
ђ
ѓ
є
ѕ
і
ї
ј
љ
њ
ћ
ќ
ѝ
ў
џ
ѣ
ѳ
ѵ
ґ
ғ
җ
ҙ
қ
ҝ
ҡ
ң
ҥ
ҫ
ҭ
ү
ұ
ҳ
ҷ
ҹ
һ
ӂ
ӌ
ӏ
ӑ
ӓ
ӕ
ӗ
ә
ӛ
ӝ
ӟ
ӣ
ӥ
ӧ
ө
ӫ
ӭ
ӯ
ӱ
ӳ
ӵ
ӹ
ԝ
ԥ
ԧ
ế

Punctuation

.
,
:
;
!
¡
?
¿
&
@
·
*
#
/
|
\
(
)
{
}
[
]
-
­
_
«
»
"
'

Mathematical Signs & Symbols

+
×
÷
=
>
<
±
~
¬
^
µ
%

Arrows & Shapes

Ligatures

fi
fl
ff
ffi
ffj
ffl
fj
ft
fi
fl

Greek

Α
Β
Γ
Ε
Ζ
Η
Θ
Ι
Κ
Λ
Μ
Ν
Ξ
Ο
Π
Ρ
Σ
Τ
Υ
Φ
Χ
Ψ
Ά
Έ
Ή
Ί
Ό
Ύ
Ώ
Ϊ
Ϋ
α
β
γ
δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
ι
κ
λ
ν
ξ
ο
π
ρ
σ
τ
υ
φ
χ
ψ
ω
ί
ϊ
ΐ
ύ
ϋ
ΰ
ό
ώ
ά
έ
ή
·
΄
΅

Cyrillic

А
Б
В
Г
Ѓ
Ґ
Д
Е
Ѐ
Ё
Ж
З
И
Й
Ѝ
К
Ќ
Л
М
Н
О
П
Р
С
Т
У
Ў
Ф
Х
Ч
Ц
Ш
Щ
Џ
Ь
Ъ
Ы
Љ
Њ
Ѕ
Є
Э
І
Ї
Ј
Ћ
Ю
Я
Ђ
Ѣ
Ѳ
Ѵ
Ғ
Җ
Ҙ
Қ
Ҝ
Ҡ
Ң
Ҥ
Ҫ
Ү
Ұ
Ҳ
Ҷ
Ҹ
Һ
Ӏ
Ӂ
Ӑ
Ӕ
Ӗ
Ә
Ӣ
Ӧ
Ө
Ӯ
Ӳ
а
б
в
г
ѓ
ґ
д
е
ѐ
ё
ж
з
и
й
ѝ
к
ќ
л
м
н
о
п
р
с
т
у
ў
ф
х
ч
ц
ш
щ
џ
ь
ъ
ы
љ
њ
ѕ
є
э
і
ї
ј
ћ
ю
я
ђ
ѣ
ѳ
ѵ
ғ
җ
ҙ
қ
ҝ
ҡ
ң
ҥ
ҫ
ү
ұ
ҳ
ҷ
ҹ
һ
ӏ
ӂ
ӑ
ӕ
ӗ
ә
ӣ
ӧ
ө
ӯ
ӳ

Languages

Abron
Abua
Acheron
Achinese
Acholi
Achuar-Shiwiar
Adamawa Fulfulde
Adangme
Afar
Afrikaans
Aguaruna
Ahtna
Akoose
Alekano
Aleut
Amahuaca
Amarakaeri
Amis
Anaang
Andaandi
Angas
Anufo
Anuta
Ao Naga
Apinayé
Arabela
Aragonese
Arbëreshë Albanian
Arvanitika Albanian
Asháninka
Ashéninka Perené
Asu (Tanzania)
Atayal
Awa-Cuaiquer
Awing
Azerbaijani (North, South)
Baatonum
Bafia
Bagirmi Fulfulde
Balante-Ganja
Balinese
Balkan Romani
Bambara
Baoulé
Bari
Basque
Bassari
Batak Dairi
Batak Karo
Batak Mandailing
Batak Simalungun
Batak Toba
Bemba (Zambia)
Bena (Tanzania)
Biali
Bikol
Bini
Bislama
Boko (Benin)
Bomu
Bora
Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo
Borgu Fulfulde
Bosnian
Breton
Buginese
Bushi
Candoshi-Shapra
Caquinte
Caribbean Hindustani
Cashibo-Cacataibo
Cashinahua
Catalan
Cebuano
Centr.-East. Niger Fulfulde
Central Aymara
Central Kurdish
Central Nahuatl
Cerma
Chachi
Chamorro
Chavacano
Chayahuita
Chiga
Chiltepec Chinantec
Chokwe
Chuukese
Cimbrian
Cofán
Congo Swahili
Cook Islands Māori
Cornish
Corsican
Creek
Crimean Tatar
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dehu
Dendi (Benin)
Dimli
Dongolawi
Duala
Dutch
Dyan
Dyula
Eastern Arrernte
Eastern Maninkakan
Eastern Oromo
Efik
Embu
English
Ese Ejja
Esperanto
Estonian (Standard)
Fanti
Faroese
Fijian
Filipino
Finnish
French
Friulian
Ga
Gagauz
Galician
Ganda
Garifuna
Ga’anda
German
Gheg Albanian
Gilbertese
Gonja
Gooniyandi
Gourmanchéma
Guadeloup. Creole French
Gusii
Haitian
Hani
Hausa
Hawaiian
Hiligaynon
Ho-Chunk
Hopi
Huastec
Hungarian
Ibibio
Icelandic
Idoma
Igbo
Iloko
Inari Sami
Indonesian
Irish
Istro Romanian
Italian
Ixcatlán Mazatec
Jamaican Creole English
Javanese
Jenaama Bozo
Jola-Fonyi
Kabuverdianu
Kaingang
Kala Lagaw Ya
Kalaallisut
Kalenjin
Kamba (Kenya)
Kaonde
Kaqchikel
Karelian
Kashubian
Kekchí
Kenzi
Khasi
Kikuyu
Kimbundu
Kinyarwanda
Kirmanjki
Kituba (DRC)
Kom (Cameroon)
Kongo
Konzo
Koyra Chiini Songhay
Koyraboro Senni Songhai
Krio
Kuanyama
Kven Finnish
Kwasio
Kölsch
K’iche’
Ladin
Ladino
Latgalian
Latin
Latvian (Standard)
Ligurian
Lingala
Lithuanian
Lombard
Low German
Lower Sorbian
Lozi
Luba-Katanga
Luba-Lulua
Lule Sami
Luo (Kenya & Tanzania)
Luxembourgish
Maasina Fulfulde
Macedo-Romanian
Makhuwa
Makhuwa-Meetto
Makonde
Makwe
Malagasy
Malay (Standard)
Malaysian
Maltese
Mam
Mamara Senoufo
Mandinka
Mandjak
Mankanya
Manx
Maore Comorian
Maori
Mapudungun
Marquesan (North, South)
Marshallese
Matsés
Mattokki
Mauritian Creole
Mende (Sierra Leone)
Meriam Mir
Meru
Meta’
Metlatónoc Mixtec
Mezquital Otomi
Minangkabau
Mirandese
Mi’kmaq
Moba
Mohawk
Montenegrin
Munsee
Murrinh-Patha
Murui Huitoto
Muslim Tat
Mwani
Ménik
Mískito
Naga Pidgin
Ndebele (North, South)
Ndonga
Neapolitan
Ngazidja Comorian
Nigerian Fulfulde
Niuean
Nobiin
Nomatsiguenga
Noon
Northern Kissi
Northern Kurdish
Northern Qiandong Miao
Northern Sami
Northern Uzbek
Norwegian
Nyamwezi
Nyanja
Nyankole
Nyemba
Nzima
Occitan
Ojitlán Chinantec
Orma
Oroqen
Otuho
Palauan
Paluan
Pampanga
Papantla Totonac
Papiamento
Paraguayan Guaraní
Pedi
Picard
Pichis Ashéninka
Piemontese
Pijin
Pintupi-Luritja
Pipil
Pite Sami
Pohnpeian
Polish
Portuguese
Potawatomi
Pulaar
Purepecha
Páez
Quechua
Romanian
Romansh
Rotokas
Rundi
Rwa
Saafi-Saafi
Samburu
Samoan
Sango
Sangu (Tanzania)
Saramaccan
Sardinian
Scottish Gaelic
Secoya
Sena
Serbian
Seri
Seselwa Creole French
Shambala
Sharanahua
Shawnee
Shilluk
Shipibo-Conibo
Shona
Shuar
Sicilian
Silesian
Siona
Slovak
Slovenian
Soga
Somali
Soninke
Southern Aymara
Southern Bobo Madaré
Southern Dagaare
Southern Sami
Southern Sotho
Spanish
Sranan Tongo
Sundanese
Susu
Swahili
Swati
Swedish
Swiss German
Syenara Senoufo
Tagalog
Tahitian
Taita
Talysh
Tasawaq
Tedim Chin
Tetum
Tetun Dili
Timne
Tiv
Tiéyaxo Bozo
Toba
Tok Pisin
Tokelau
Tonga (Tonga Islands)
Tonga (Zambia)
Tosk Albanian
Totontepec Mixe
Tsakhur
Tsonga
Tswana
Tumbuka
Turkish
Turkmen
Tuvalu
Twi
Tzeltal
Tzotzil
Uab Meto
Umbundu
Ume Sami
Upper Guinea Crioulo
Upper Sorbian
Venetian
Veps
Vietnamese
Vlax Romani
Võro
Waama
Wallisian
Walloon
Walser
Wamey
Wangaaybuwan-Ngiyambaa
Waorani
Waray (Philippines)
Warlpiri
Wasa
Wayuu
Welsh
West Central Oromo
West-Central Limba
Western Abnaki
Western Frisian
Western Niger Fulfulde
Wik-Mungkan
Wiradjuri
Wolof
Xavánte
Xhosa
Yagua
Yanesha’
Yangben
Yanomamö
Yao
Yapese
Yindjibarndi
Yoruba
Yucateco
Zapotec
Zarma
Zulu
Zuni
Záparo
Abaza
Adyghe
Aghul
Akhvakh
Altai
Archi
Avar
Azeri
Balkar
Bashkir
Belarusian
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Buryat
Chechen
Chuvash
Crimean-Tatar
Dargin
Daur
Dungan
Gagauz
Ingush
Judeo-Tat
Kabardian
Kalmyk
Karaim
Karakalpak
Karata
Karelian
Kazakh
Khakas
Kirghyz
Komi-Permyak
Komi-Yazva
Komi-Zyryan
Kumyk
Lak
Lezgian
Macedonian
Mari (Eastern, Western)
Moldovan
Mongolian
Montenegrin
Mordvin (Erzya)
Mordvin (Moksha)
Nanai
Nogai
Ossetic
Russian
Rusyn
Rutul
Serbian
Tabasaran
Tajik (Cyrillic)
Talysh
Tat
Tatar
Tofalar
Tsakhur
Turkmen
Tuvan
Udmurt
Uighur
Ukrainian
Uzbek
Veps
Modern Greek
Pontic Greek
Credits & Details
Design Contributions
  • Andreas Frohloff
  • Olli Meier
  • Eugene Yukechev (Cyrillic Consultancy)
  • Donny Truong (Vietnamese Consultancy)
Mastering, Production

Olli Meier
Andreas Frohloff
Christoph Koeberlin

Marketing

Ivo Gabrowitsch (Naming, Conceptual Contribution, Copywriting, Specimen)
Susi Sie (Motion Design, Artwork)
Lars Wagner (Executive Producer)
Nikolai von Sallwitz (Sound Design)
Anja Knust (Graphic Design)
Tobias Peil (Motion Design Edits)
Lucy Beckley (English Translation)

Design Period
2016–2023
Release Date
Version 1.00: Oct 12, 2020; Version 1.01: Oct 26, 2020 (minor bug fixes); Version 2.00 (not backward compatible with previous versions): June 12, 2023 (40 new styles; smaller x-height (Case Text); Cyrillic, Greek and 100+ further Latin languages added (incl. Vietnamese and African Latin); unicase feature; minor bug fixes)
Recommended Use

Advertising & Packaging
Editorial & Publishing
Small Text
Film & TV
Logo, Branding & CI
Poster & Billboards
Software & Gaming
Responsive Designs