West - Fontwerk

West

A compelling mix of conciseness and pragmatism.

Daniel Perraudin reinterprets the geometric sans serifs concept in a contemporary and original way. Variable fonts are included in the Family Package.

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Art is to be free. Design is to fix. — Kanye West

The following geometric shapes: square, circle and triangle, often fascinate creatives, not least those who design typefaces.

It’s therefore hardly surprising that many fonts that are rooted in these classical forms look rather similar. Although the construction of West follows in the same geometric tradition, it achieves independence and its own distinct character. It has a simple yet sophisticated formula: visually similar forms do not repeat.

Combining conciseness and pragmatism, it presents itself as timelessly modern but has its roots firmly planted in the practicality and functionality of classical modernism. West succeeds in reinterpreting the concept of geometric sans serifs in an original way. Behind its apparent lightness lie a multitude of different design decisions by its designer Daniel Perraudin.

In order to maintain a harmonious canon of shapes and to do justice to its construction and symmetry, he varied individual letter widths (e.g. a narrow a and s in contrast to the wide b, n and J). He emphasized this unique character further with unusual glyphs such as W, t, f, 2, the alternative forms of the italic Q, the diagonal endings or angular dots. The characters beautifully oscillate between Art Deco influences (e.g. M, N, V, 3) and more technoid, monospaced influences of the nineties (e.g. f, alternative r) as well as the classical effect of fully reduced geometric grotesques (e.g. t, d, g, C, G, 9). All together, these design idiosyncrasies result in a compelling, contemporary mix.

The range of West is also something rather special in the geometric genre: nine font weights ranging from Hairline to Black, matching italics as well as variable fonts that are all included in the Complete Package, giving the user full flexibility, which is perfect for branding and editorial projects.

Thanks to the exceptionally open “un-compact” finish, West is recommended not only for display use but also for smaller text or for wayfinding or signage systems. This has already been put into practice for the wayfinding system in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden, where individual icons were designed, which were then adopted into the present fonts and adapted to the respective stroke width.

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Uppercase

Lowercase

Latin Accents

ẞ

Ẃ

Ẅ

Ẁ

Ỳ

ẃ

ẅ

ẁ

ỳ

Numerals & Currency Symbols

€

₿

₺

₼

₹

Punctuation

;

…

•

‽

⸘

(

)

{

}

[

]

–

—

‒

‐

‑

‚

„

“

”

‘

’

‹

›

‴

⟨

⟩

Mathematical Signs & Symbols

∙

≅

⋅

≙

−

≠

≥

≤

≈

∞

∅

∫

Ω

∆

∏

∑

√

∂

‰

Arrows & Shapes

↑

↗

→

↘

↓

↙

←

↖

●

○

◊

■

□

▲

▼

△

▽

▴

▸

▾

◂

Ligatures

Greek

Capitale Design Studio

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister

The Blufftop at Rocheport

Daniel Perraudin

Mastering, Production

Christoph Koeberlin

Marketing

Daniel Perraudin (naming, copywriting)
Ivo Gabrowitsch (copywriting, imagery, specimen)
Anja Knust (graphic design, artwork, imagery)
Keenly (motion design)
Lucy Beckley (English translation)

Design Period

2014–2021

Release Date

May 31, 2021

Awards

Joseph Binder Award 2022 (Bronze)

Recommended Use

Advertising & Packaging
Editorial & Publishing
Logo, Branding & CI
Fashion
Wayfinding & Signage

Formats

static: OTF, WOFF2; variable: TTF, WOFF2
Further formats available on request

Licenses

TRIAL Free Test license
STANDARD Combined Print, Web, App and eBook license
EXTENDED Larger volume + Broadcasting
Further types of license available on request

Modifications & Extensions

Available on request

Variable Fonts

Included in the Family package at no extra cost.

2 axes: weights, angle of the slope

File sizes: 278 KB Desktop, 150 KB Web (WOFF), 121 KB (WOFF2)

Trademarks

West™ is a trademark of Fontwerk GmbH

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A compelling mix of conciseness and pragmatism.

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