The challenge was to create a single typeface weight that was versatile enough without a large font family, and could be put to use with a variety of media formats, from book text to advertising spreads, all while remaining legible and delightful to read.

Originally designed between the years 2002 and 2004, the inspiration for the design originated from the concepts of Stefano Giovannoni’s uber-contemporary industrial designs and architecture. Where to start with such a font design was obvious to Diphthong Regular’s designer, Max Hancock; to create a transitional, slab serif form that was corky and serious, interchangeably. The characteristics of the font followed a postmodern playfulness, popular in many sub-cultures looking for an alternative to the harsher, cut-shape, deconstructivist styles. And, the unique objective behind the design was to make it so that the usual difficult combination of the t and h (hth) in language was legible as well as pleasant to look at, thus the reason for the name. The soft, subtle roundings add a flair of utilitarianism while the cut edge ascenders help to blur the line between cute and diametrical mannerisms.