Architype Vierkant
The Foundry Types · Wim Crouwel · 1996
A digital revival of Wim Crouwel's grid-based letterforms first drawn for a 1972 Drupa catalogue, developed by The Foundry in collaboration with Crouwel from 1996.
About
Constructed from the few letterforms Crouwel sketched for a single spread in the 1972 Drupa catalogue under the theme 'typo vision international', the face reflects the same strict modular logic underpinning his controversial New Alphabet and Fodor typeface. The Foundry developed it digitally as part of a broader Crouwel collection agreed in 1996, grounding each design in his reputation for radical, grid-based work produced for the Van Abbe and Stedelijk museums between 1954 and 1972. Available in a single style, it is primarily a document of experimental typography rather than a workhorse text face.
Classification
Derived from Crouwel's radical grid-based letterforms originally created for a 1972 Drupa catalogue, the face sits firmly in experimental/display territory with its rigid modular construction rooted in his 'new alphabet' philosophy.