Ottessa
TypeMates · Philipp Neumeyer · 2022
A humanist sans with Dutch construction and French apertures that shifts its contrast model as weight increases, designed by Philipp Neumeyer in 2022.
About
Designed by Philipp Neumeyer, Ottessa runs five weights from ExtraLight to ExtraBold, each with a matching italic, and is available as a variable font. Unusually, the ExtraBold abandons the low-contrast approach of the lighter weights for a high-contrast construction, while vertical strokes take on the thickness of horizontals to create a quiet but distinct horizontal emphasis. With over 860 glyphs per style, native-approved Cyrillic, and coverage of more than 270 languages, it earned a Granshan Award special mention in 2024 for its confident handling of multiscript typography.
Classification
Ottessa combines humanistic Dutch construction with French-style apertures and a heavily modulated stroke contrast, placing it firmly in the humanist sans tradition with expressive display characteristics.