Lingua
Process Type Foundry · Eric Olson · 2003
A geometric sans by Eric Olson that transforms into a near-upright script when its extensive discretionary ligatures are switched on.
About
Released in 2003, Lingua comes in two weights and two styles, but its real character lies in what happens when you toggle its discretionary ligatures. Deactivated, the typeface reads as a clean, hard geometric sans; activated, the ligatures bind letterforms into something approaching an upright script. It is a rare example of a typeface with two genuinely distinct visual personalities governed by a single OpenType feature.
Classification
A hard geometric sans at its core, but defined by its extensive discretionary ligature system that transforms it into a near-upright script when activated, making it a highly unusual dual-natured design.