Algebra
Commercial Type · Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho
A broad-shouldered slab on superelliptical forms by Bernau and Carvalho, drawn for editorial use with a crisp display cut and a calmer text companion.
About
A slab serif by Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho that grew from Granger, a headline typeface they drew for the US edition of Esquire. Built on superelliptical forms in two optical sizes, Algebra Display is crisp and lively with brutalist details, while the text companion has looser spacing for a comfortable reading rhythm. The flat vertices where diagonals meet, as in the A and M, give it a brutal feeling against the bulky round shapes and stop letters clogging at small sizes on screen or under poor print conditions. References to Frutiger's Egyptienne, Trump's Schadow and Zapf's Melior place it in a contemporary magazine context.
Classification
A broad-shouldered slab serif built on superelliptical forms, with two optical sizes. The designers describe it as a grotesk with serifs, referencing Egyptienne, Schadow and Melior. Flat vertices on diagonals give it a brutal character while keeping letters open at text sizes.