Balete
Blaze Type · Jad Maza · 2024
A calligraphic serif by Jad Maza drawn without a single curved line, inspired by the Philippine balete tree and its supernatural folklore.
About
Designed by Jad Maza and released in 2024, Balete takes structural cues from the hemiepiphytic balete tree of Philippine folklore, translating its dangling, strangling roots into slender terminals that creep from angular, twisting stems. The illusion of fluid calligraphy is achieved entirely through straight lines, giving each letterform a taut, uncanny quality that runs from the hypnotic Thin through to a commanding Black. Eighteen styles including full italics make it usable across editorial, branding and display work where a sense of mythology or menace is wanted.
Classification
Balete features slender, creeping terminals emerging from twisting stems that evoke fluid calligraphy, but all forms are constructed without curved lines, placing it in a distinctive calligraphic serif subcategory with strong display qualities.