This typeface is primarily optimized for the setting of belles-lettres. The regular styles are balanced to suit small text sizes and enable the reading of long portions of text. The development of the typeface was guided by the goal of creating a contemporary, discreet book serif, with modern expression and numerous functions. Letters feature reduced contrast, the lighter styles may evoke wired letters, while the heavier ones bear distinct slab serif references. The extremes thus work in harmony and fulfill the demanding requirements of advertising and magazine layout. The typeface is suitable for bottle labels, invitations, exhibition catalogs and posters, for printed and online presentations alike. The name Pepone was chosen as an homage to Josef Kroutvor. His novels and poems need meticulous typography, namely they ask for a careful choice of a typeface. Up until now, his books were set in randomly selected fonts, some better, some worse. From now on, the situation is set to change. The new, custom-made typeface was created specifically for the purpose of setting his texts. Today, every other restaurant or steel factory boast their own typeface; why not every individual writer and author? Just as each of us has unique handwriting as well as individual written and spoken expression, each and every writer should have the privilege of having a unique image of a page in a book. The classic Old Style or transitional serif typefaces are too decorative and fragile to suit Josef’s texts, Didone modern typefaces are too strict and uptight, and the other modern serif typefaces lack expression and character. The solution cannot be found “in between”. On the contrary, we must try to express Josef’s literary world through type. The alphabet needs to deal with a number of influences, such as the landscape of Italy and South Bohemia, with European history, with current and long forgotten painters, poets, photographers, graphic artists, ceramicists, and plenty of other inspiration sources. The letters are constructed with typewriter letterforms in mind, which may remind of Josef K.’s beginnings in the samizdat era. The italics, on the other hand, vaguely remind of the scripts of the Italian Renaissance, narrowed to fulfill the need for economy (paper-saving in mind) in the offices of the day. The slight slanting of the Italics avoids extreme, fine contrast steers clear of graphic drama. Efficient, even minimalist construction is well suited for long texts where the reader needs to focus on content, not on the emotion of the text. Strong horizontal serifs anchor the line of text firmly on page, sharp details illustrate the refined style. The extremely heavy styles are to be used with careful consideration; their appearance, especially in the slanted forms, may evoke the 1960s and may prove more useful in signage. Similarly, the overly decorative details or frequent ligatures may disturb reading, so they may be turned off; it is up to the intelligent designer to use them sparingly and to their liking. Of course, the typeface isn’t solely reserved for the setting of the works of Josef K. On the contrary – we’d like to present a universal typeface suited for literature, catalogs and magazines. It wouldn’t be the first and the last example of a typeface created with a specific purpose in mind, which later became used universally.