Gestalten

Your name / Company name
Sofie Beier / Sofie Beier Design

Can you give us a brief description about you and the company you work for?
I am currently based in London where I am completing a research study on typeface legibility at The Royal College of Art. My background is in graphic design, where I have art directed and designed several Danish magazines, websites, books and CD covers along with a number of typefaces.

How would you characterize your design style?
Clean and simple.

Place of work
London and Copenhagen.

Can you give us a short description about your font?
Engel has a large x-height to make it work better in small sizes. The italic face is a true italic – the style is more condensed, slightly lighter in weight and a number of characters are different from the roman versions. The contrast in the width of the strokes is low, especially in the light-weights. In the bold-weights the contrast is larger to open up the face and avoid clotting.

Why did you design this font and what was your inspiration?
I created the original version of Engel for a university magazine I was working on at the time. My intention was to design a typeface that works both in running text and in display sizes. I was missing a tight sans serif face with high legibility and an italic style that wasn’t just a slanted version of the roman. I wanted a masculine roman face with a corresponding feminine italic style.

What is the ideal usage of your font?
I think that one of the qualities of this typeface is that it can be used for basically anything.

Where does the name come from?
‘Engel’ means angel in Danish. I was looking at a plastic angel hanging from a lamp in the studio I was working in, which inspired me to name the typeface.

Do you think that too many fonts exist?
I believe there should always be room for new typefaces. Typefaces are like people; all having their own individual personality and look. I enjoy discovering new ways to create the shapes of the alphabet and finding the spirit of each typeface. A custom made typeface can be the reason a piece of design differentiates itself from others.

Your future plans?
I hope to publish my research some day.