Foundry Gridnik
The Foundry Types · Wim Crouwel · 1996
A digitisation of Wim Crouwel's unpublished Olivetti typewriter face from the late 1960s, built on a strict modular unit system and expanded into a 10-style family by The Foundry in 1996.
About
Derived from Crouwel's Olivetti commission and his pen and ink drawings for 1976 Dutch PPT postage stamps, the design applies a rigorous grid logic in which every weight is a calculated multiple of a base unit of seven. The result is an angular geometric sans with an unusual warmth that separates it from colder modular faces. Four weights from Light to Extra Bold each carry an italic, all developed with Crouwel's direct approval.
Classification
A strictly grid-based geometric sans with angular, modular letterforms derived from Crouwel's systematic unit-based construction, placing it firmly in the geometric sans category with a distinctly rationalist character.