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Type of a fantastic nature brings a number of characteristics, taken from
history and culture, together in exaggerated forms. First, type styles that
derive from archaic and medieval forms convey the historical sense of ritual
that is often a context for fantasy-based imagery or stories—for example,
styles associated with stone-cut capitals, or blackletter or textura forms
used in manuscript illumination and scrolls. Added to these forms, exagger-
ated details, such as cross-strokes that extend past stems, oversized serifs,
extended legs or tails, or runic or glyphic ornamentation, augment the
fantastic qualities of such faces and help them transcend mere historical
reference. Hybrid faces that mix script and sans-serif details may appear
runic or symbolic, alluding to scrolls for incantation or lost languages.
Illustrative inclusions, such as star- or diamondlike shapes, added to charac-
ters or replacing cross-strokes or marks such as tittles, bring a similarly
runic, fantastic quality. Furthermore, some organic serifs or script forms
feature highly modulated strokes and unusual junctures that lend a sense
of fairytale woodland magic. Bizarre structures in seemingly classical type
styles, or highly stylized construction overall, convey the sense of things
that are not of this world.
All things magical, mystical, occult, and fictional combine in the
fantastic—elves and monsters, magicians and seers, pixies, aliens, and
robots. Typefaces and color that embody fantasy borrow from all
these genres in literature, film, and art.
Logotype
top, and detail, bottom
Brand Engine
Eric Read, art director
Deborah Smith Read, designer
Sausalito [CA] USA
Fantasy
Concepts
132
(Provision) Type Style Finder
L805.130 / 4228