More fun with calt: Snuggels

For the past couple of months I have been playing with typefaces that use alternating letter sets, in part because I found a way to have an OpenType feature alternate the letters automatically. My latest typeface family of alternating letter sets, which I named Snuggels, emphasizes the tightness with which these alternating letters sets fit together.

The first font of the four began as a set of hexagons and a set of hourglass shapes that fit between two hexagons. Keeping the original outlines as much as possible, I carved out parts of these shapes to make letters. Each set of letters is by itself awkward and not very attractive. They only come to life and are interesting when they are mixed together, with letters from each set between letters from the other set.

It is always fun to see what other family members can be spun from one font. A thinner or lighter version was quite easy to create, though I do not like it nearly as much as the original. Then I realized that I could also do a version using only lower-case-letter shapes. This version does not have ascenders or descenders and that is a bit startling.

This is a typeface that screams "Notice me" to the reader. It is definitely not useful for body text.

Snuggels is available at myfonts.