FF DIN Round
A Typeface Much More Than a Rounded DIN
A Typeface Much More Than a Rounded DIN
FF DIN Round is a typeface for quite a lot of purposes.
Is there any type designer who would be better qualified to construct a rounded DIN than Albert-Jan Pool? Its safe to say no. There are three reasons for it. First of all, FF DIN is his typeface. For almost 20 years, Pool has dedicated himself to the history of German standard lettering with scientific ambitions, and in 1995 he created the FF DIN basic weights. To this day, he has been combing through museums, archives, and studios to learn everything about this category of typefaces. Today, even the Berlin-based German Institute for Standardization (DIN) relies on his expertise.
Secondly, Pool is a perfectionist. Long ago he realized that his internationally popular FF DIN would be incomplete without a rounded version. That it has taken so long was due to his own quality requirements. For more than 5 years, Pool worked on DIN Round again and again and dismissed countless intermediate stages. With the active support of FontFonts TypeDepartment he eventually managed to complete the family.
Finally, Albert-Jan Pool originates from a type talent hotbed as it doesnt exist anymore today. He grew up with the Ikarus type design and production software, developed by Hamburg-based physicist Dr. Peter Karow in 1975 and introduced at ATypI in Warsaw for the first time. In the eighties, practically all typefaces from foundries like Linotype, Berthold, ITC, or Monotype were vectorized using the precise Ikarus software.
In his book Digital Formats of Typefaces from 1987 Karow revealed one of the last secrets of perfect roundings in letters digitized with Ikarus: the transitions from curves, named clothoids in the technical terminology. Besides that, Ikarus made it easy to construct letters as it allowed to define modules. And just these two approaches precision and modularity enabled Albert-Jan Pool to create the best possible DIN round version, the 5-weight family released this month as FF DIN Round.
Secondly, Pool is a perfectionist. Long ago he realized that his internationally popular FF DIN would be incomplete without a rounded version. That it has taken so long was due to his own quality requirements. For more than 5 years, Pool worked on DIN Round again and again and dismissed countless intermediate stages. With the active support of FontFonts TypeDepartment he eventually managed to complete the family.
Finally, Albert-Jan Pool originates from a type talent hotbed as it doesnt exist anymore today. He grew up with the Ikarus type design and production software, developed by Hamburg-based physicist Dr. Peter Karow in 1975 and introduced at ATypI in Warsaw for the first time. In the eighties, practically all typefaces from foundries like Linotype, Berthold, ITC, or Monotype were vectorized using the precise Ikarus software.
In his book Digital Formats of Typefaces from 1987 Karow revealed one of the last secrets of perfect roundings in letters digitized with Ikarus: the transitions from curves, named clothoids in the technical terminology. Besides that, Ikarus made it easy to construct letters as it allowed to define modules. And just these two approaches precision and modularity enabled Albert-Jan Pool to create the best possible DIN round version, the 5-weight family released this month as FF DIN Round.
Albert-Jan Pool has been written a 32-page brochure with the fascinating history of round sans serifs in Germany and the behind-the-scenes development of FF DIN Round. Download the PDF or via Issuu.
The individual angles of the diagonals have been standardized using a small number of so-called ‘rational angles’. This subtle way of standardizing the diagonals enhances the technical aspect of the type design without distracting from its character.
First prototype of FF DIN Round (top) and final version (bottom). The prototype was not perfect yet. The straight lines at the junctions of diagonals and vertical or horizontal strokes such as in M, N, Z and 1 should refer to FF DIN, in order to avoid the typeface from becoming too playful.
FF DIN Round’s ‘round pieces’. In spite of all the rationalisation and standardization, over 50 different components had to be designed for each of the five weights.
Partners in design: FF DIN and FF DIN Round. Read more about it in the PDF ‘’.
This welcome addition to FontFont’s most popular family brings a softness to FF DIN’s industrial sterility. FF DIN Round is more than a “search-and-replace” rounded version of its predecessor. Albert-Jan Pool and his team redrew each letterform to maintain the structure of the original. This ensures FF DIN and FF DIN Round will work well together in logos, slogans, price tags, etc. as compatible parts of advertising campaigns and corporate identities. FF DIN Round is not only a good companion to FF DIN, its smooth and friendly curves make it work on its own for branding strategies for family cars, bikes, household appliances, sportswear, shoes, or medical products. It’s also very legible on screen and available in Web format.
Albert-Jan Pool has been written a 32-page brochure with the fascinating history of round sans serifs in Germany and the behind-the-scenes development of FF DIN Round. Download the PDF ‘FF DIN Round – Digital Block Letters’ or browse it on Issuu. You can also download the FF DIN Round SpecSheet as well as FF DIN Round InfoGuide.
You can purchase and download the FF DIN fonts and the FF DIN Round fonts on FontFont’s foundry website.
Albert-Jan Pool has been written a 32-page brochure with the fascinating history of round sans serifs in Germany and the behind-the-scenes development of FF DIN Round. Download the PDF ‘FF DIN Round – Digital Block Letters’ or browse it on Issuu. You can also download the FF DIN Round SpecSheet as well as FF DIN Round InfoGuide.
You can purchase and download the FF DIN fonts and the FF DIN Round fonts on FontFont’s foundry website.
