The language of letters (the method FontanaND)

The FontanaND font, designed several years ago for use in tipoGráfica magazine, was based, as functional parameter, on the specific needs of this publication, and, fundamentally, on the Spanish language as its natural and cultural context: the essential condition of typographic design is its conformity with language.

Since (and in spite of) the Spanish colonization of America, the Spanish language has been influenced by native American terms that have enriched it and provided significant changes in both the sound and form of words. These sounds and forms have had a strong influence on the identity of text, substantially modifying the nature, the distinguishing qualities of the composition. Neither European nor North American type designers have perceived these nuances, since they design for other languages.

The FontanaND method that we now present is the result of the renovated design of the original font, it is the consequence of revisions prompted by its use and reassessment. Between roman, italic and small caps, its 30 versions are the fruit of objectives and concepts antedating form: the design of a font that, based on our language, would endow the magazine with identity and, at the same time, study a methodology of typographic design.

Director of Fontanadiseño.

He was the guiding spirit behind the introduction of Typography as a subject in the programme of the Graphic Design Career at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), where he held the Typography Chair for ten years. His academic activities have also included lectures, courses and masters in a number of universities in both Latin America and Europe.

He is Director of tipoGráfica.

Among others, he designed the Fontana tpG font for tipoGráfica magazine and he is the Argentine representative of the Association Typographique Internationale.

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