Hardbop
W Type Foundry · Mauro Andrés
A condensed display grotesque by Mauro Andrés, drawn from jazz-era Blue Note record cover design and hand-painted sign lettering.
About
Eight weights from Thin to Black make up this poster-oriented family, with exaggerated counterforms and terminals referencing both classic compressed grotesques like Impact and Bebas and the bold graphic language of Reid Miles's Blue Note sleeve designs. Japanese jazz album covers of the 1970s also inform its character, giving it a particular attitude suited to titles, covers and large-scale applications. Not designed for running text, it is built for contexts where visibility is the primary concern.
Classification
A condensed display typeface with grotesque DNA, drawing on hand-painted signage, Impact, and Bebas. Its exaggerated counterforms and extreme weight range put it squarely in the display category rather than a functional grotesque.