Enzian is the fruit of a yearlong German Chancellor Fellowship sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Our hope was simple: to make something useful and beautiful out of something that most people consider to be neither. We were fascinated by the complex persona of Blackletter in Germany and drawn to its emotive ornament and its sensual, non-geometry. Two areas in particular, the long-standing rivalry and widely-believed inferiority that Blackletter had with Roman type and Blackletter’s relevance in contemporary culture, became the foundation of the project.

The result is Enzian: an invigorated, original Blackletter of uncommon depth and hopefully, a bit of charm. It is warm and expressive, feminine and contemporary, while staying true to its hand-written, calligraphic roots. Enzian is a multi-language, workhorse typeface that can create hierarchy (with unconventional italic and small caps), and has numerals that fit the family. It is a display face that isn't afraid of handling longer text; one that is equally comfortable in headlines and in poetry.

We are delighted to announce that Enzian has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Type Design by the Type Director’s Club.