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Please peruse the Specification Sheet to see all available options. The 60 fonts are spread over 6 weights and 5 widths – Condensed, Narrow, Regular, Wide, and Extended – so you’ve plenty of versatilty and scope to create some polyphonic designs of your own. That is not to say that there aren’t any bonuses – there is extensive European language support (Latin only), Old Style Figures, and Small Caps are available too at the click of a button. So, as stated, this is a “no frills” typeface, meaning that it concentrates on getting the job done efficiently, without fuss and distractions. I did experiment with some alternates* but swiftly ditched them in favour of keeping things simple. Mainly because once I had the main character set drawn, I felt it didn’t need any further flourishes. I normally cram as many features into my typeface designs as I can, however, with Polyphonic I have shown a fair amount of restraint. The heavier weights are then the perfect complement for titles, headings and logotype options. With all the varying influences and my picking and choosing the best elements from all of them, perhaps the outcome is a little homogenized? But ultimately I was aiming for balance and legibility, particularly in the lighter weights which could well be used for body text. Now that the fonts are published and I am looking back at these initial sketches, I can see that I remained faithful to these rough ideas – which is pleasing on a personal note because it suggests that my sketching is improving! As you can tell, sketching is not my forte.
![commonly used 60s fonts commonly used 60s fonts](https://d5vf6134d8ffdnfp1qv4rv3l-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/peace-and-love.jpg)
Sketches ensued followed by weeks’ of development and refinement.
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Benji’s track The Logic of the Polyphonic also inspired the name… I’m having that!įurther inspiration for Polyphonic came from a weekend with my head in Steven Heller and Louise Fili’s book Slab Serif Type – A Century of Bold Letterforms, and, of course, my 30+ years’ experience of working with type, which comes in handy! Some might say the two Vaughans are polar opposites, but I believe the common ground they share helped form the precise balance and harmony that I have hopefully achieved with Polyphonic. A previous slab face of mine, Eponymous, was created over a Sabbath & Zepplin soundtrack, Banjax was inspired by the works of Frank Zappa, and Banjax Notched was spat out after indulging in a melee of late ’80s/early ’90s Grindcore and Death Metal…įor Polyphonic, I turned to the genius Vaughan “brothers” – the composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, and the Psy-trance/Ambient artist, Benji Vaughan. Music has always played a large part in my type designs, I am convinced that what I predominantly listen to while in the drawing/creating process has a direct influence on the results.