Schriftguss and Wollmer called it Hermes; Berthold called it Block. Heinz Hoffmann’s 1908 design inspired FB Hermes, which evokes the German grotesks that were workhorses of factory printing 100 years ago. Blunt corners suggest the wear and tear of rough presswork.

Matthew Butterick created the original styles in 1995. In 2010, he added more weights, italics, and alternate glyphs to expand the family’s versatility. FB Hermes is available as OpenType fonts with tabular figures and stylistic alternates.