Graphit: An Interview
Graphit by Lit Studio in partnership with HvD Fonts ranked #7 bestselling new font at MyFonts in 2019. Read more about the inspiration in an interview with the designers!
What inspired you to design this typeface? Were you designing for a specific use case or customer? Or were you more focused on a particular artistic vision? Or some combination of the both?
With the design of the Graphit typeface, we started a journey through the world of reduced forms, straight lines, round circles and pointy elements. Our aim was to create an inspiring and professional type family — rooted in the idea of constructed typefaces with one distinctive difference: the triangle. The question we kept asking ourselves was: Can we create a type family with a strict set of rules for how to construct each letter, while maintaining a homogenous character and not being dependent on a certain use case or target group?
Walk us through the process of designing this typeface. Was there anything different about it, compared to your usual process? Did it come along more easily than others, or were there unique challenges?
In early 2018, we started developing the typeface’s essential character and released a free font named after our design studio, LIT. Soon after, Hannes von Döhren suggested expanding it into a family and publishing it with HvD Fonts. We drew every single letter from scratch, and changed the name to Graphit. The basic idea of Graphit was to create a well-balanced proportional working geometric sans from geometric basic shapes: circle, square and triangle. And, to take it a step further by focusing on the use of the triangle. We added an alternate character set to achieve perfect legibility.
Looking ahead, are there new projects you’re excited about? Anything you haven’t tried yet but are eager to explore?
In the past, we were happy to create custom typefaces for some iconic brands like Volkswagen, Lufthansa or Hyundai. Moving forward we’d like to extend our services to a wider range of businesses and organizations who believe in the strength of bringing unique character and functionality together.
