Heejae Kim
Upside
Source material: Bauer Weiss Antiqua (Emil Rudolf Weiss)
Spring semester 2025
Upside is based on Bauer Weiss Antiqua by Emil Rudolf Weiss. The font is known for its eccentric flourishes, most notably its distinctive inverted ‘s’ and ‘S.’
For this interpretation, the typeface was designed to pair with a more idiosyncratic, calligraphy influenced script titled, Lucid. The script was created in the Fall of 2024 for Julian Bittiner's class, T for Typographies, inspired by dream journals. In the anthology, I initially paired the script with Helvetica, using its clarity as a visual anchor to help the reader gradually navigate the oblique script.
In place of Helvetica, Upside was designed to more intentionally pair with Lucid’s rhythm and texture. Nina Stössinger suggested I explore Bauer Weiss Antiqua for its eccentric qualities.
In this interpretation of Bauer Weiss Antiqua, ink traps were introduced to disrupt structure, while terminals were sharpened to better echo the thin strokes of the calligraphic script.
These student typeface designs created at Yale School of Art are noncommercial academic projects, commonly revivals or reinterpretations of historical typefaces. Read more about this typeface design course at Yale School of Art.
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