Valentin Normand

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Arbog is a typeface based on the Bible B42. The research for this typeface was therefore based on the movable type used by Johannes Gutenberg.

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This duplex typeface is inspired by the Fraktur style and therefore has a German influence. However, for the sake of readability, it has been designed with a wider width to be readable in running text. The Black version is based on the same width so that the Fraktur style can be found in the identity of this font.

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The city of Strasbourg wishes to organize an exhibition around the printer and his work at the castle square in Strasbourg. This is why Arbog was born. It will be used for all the logistics of this event. The name Arbog comes from the Strasbourg neighborhood “Arbogast” where Gutenberg lived. The printer Johannes Gutenberg is therefore the subject of this typographic realization as well as of this exhibition. It was during the visit to the printing house in Lyon that I decided to work on Gutenberg’s movable type because we had the chance to see a copy of the B42 Bible in this museum.

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During my typographic creation I encountered various problems:
-Making the Fraktur style readable
-To link the rounded aspect to the more angular one
-Not to lose the basic identity
-To be readable in a plain text
And so on…

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These different issues were my main focus during Type Paris 22. A lot of feedback was about my choices. Should I create a more angular or more rounded typeface? Well, I decided to mix the two. The Fraktur look bothered me because I saw a lot of angles in it. I didn’t want the typography to look aggressive. So I decided to keep my angular strokes and serifs and make the curves with a bigger width to give a more Roman look. The idea is not to criticize the Fraktur but to make it more suitable for our current influences.

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The speakers asked me to assume my choices but not to fall into a caricature. This balance has been my problem throughout my typography. It was during the meeting with Ian Party that I asked a question that didn’t really have an answer: “When do we reach the limit of our typeface, when do we go too far or not far enough” to which he replied: “It’s up to you”. So I decided to trust myself and correct myself, even though in some aspects I did not see everything.

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It is important to trust yourself !

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