Lab Antiqua
Letters from Sweden · Stockholm Design Lab, Göran Söderström · 2022
Originally developed as a bespoke typeface for Stockholm Design Lab's 20th anniversary, growing from the agency's own logotype into a full editorial and identity family with three optical sizes and a variable font.
About
Rooted in the SDL logotype designed in 2008, the family takes its cues from the wordmark's flat serifs, pronounced contrast and the distinctive flat-topped S, drawing further inspiration from Century Expanded, Bodoni and De Vinne. Two widths and three optical sizes ensure hairlines and serifs hold at any size, while a variable font allows continuous tuning across both axes. A stylistic set removes capital overshoots to prevent collisions in tightly stacked all-caps settings, making it particularly suited to covers, posters and fashion packaging.
Classification
A high-contrast serif with large flat serifs and refined hairlines, drawing explicitly on Century Expanded, Bodoni and De Vinne as formal precursors, placing it in the classical high-contrast tradition with contemporary optical sizing.