Blakey Slab
Typespec · Matt Willey · 2020
A condensed, all-caps slab serif in two weights, designed by Matt Willey and originally donated to the ACLU, later updated and released through the BuyFontsSaveLives charity initiative.
About
Designed by Matt Willey and originally created as a donation to the ACLU, this condensed all-caps slab gained visibility through its use in the New York Times Magazine's L.A. Noir 'Great Performances' issues, both in print and an acclaimed experimental video series. A version 2.0 was released in late 2020 following Willey's appointment as a partner at Pentagram, with proceeds from sales directed to Cancer Research and MacMillan Cancer Support. Its two weights, Regular and Bold, suit high-contrast editorial display settings where a taut, institutional tone is needed.
Classification
An all-caps condensed slab serif, placing it firmly in the display slab category with its compressed proportions and heavy bracketed serifs suited to editorial headlines.