Le Petit Samba
Le Petit Samba is serif typeface family with seven weights, rounded terminals and a steady base. It was inspired by the french newspaper “Le Petit Journal” cover of 1908, which reported the suffragettes occupying a polling station and demanding women’s right to vote. Ironically, the typeface set on the newspaper cover was rather cute than revolutionary and it’s curves reminded me of Brazil’s music and dance. For the regular and medium weights the design followed the main characteristics of my references. But as the suffragettes movement was still stuck in my mind, I have decided to follow a slightly different approach for the other weights, trying to represent the power of those women and not so much the softness that the medium weights have. The thin weight has sharp and long serifs while the black has small serifs and the capitals have a more strong and serious personality.Through the experience of developing this typeface I have learned how the letters’ system is importante to give consistency to the design. How their shapes relate to one another, what makes sense for other weights that are derived from the first weight you are working on and how to always see everything in context.
The 6-week type design programme that you’ve been waiting for starts on 2 June and ends 10 July 2026.
Open to all Our summer programme is in English and covers typeface design and calligraphy techniques, type history, and software practices. Whether you’re a design pro or just curious about type design, you can learn all about it in a relatively short amount of time.
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