Curation
Words by Production Type Team
Terrane, in articulation
Hanging in the balance of humanist curves with a methodical structure, shifts easily from cheerful and bold to assertive and rigorous. In their shared, low-contrast ethos, the Sans and the Serif create a seamless rhythm that is culturally grounded and technically precise.
Hanging in the balance of humanist curves with a methodical structure, shifts easily from cheerful and bold to assertive and rigorous. In their shared, low-contrast ethos, the Sans and the Serif create a seamless rhythm that is culturally grounded and technically precise.
Designer Emmanuel Besse explores the decisions that define the family, from the dense, low-contrast structure to the specific cadence of its letterforms. He describes Terrane not as a tool with a prescribed voice, but as a versatile typographic material to be directed by the designer.
The Giant
of Provence
Font: Terrane Serif ExtraLight
“During the design of Terrane, I did not have one precise use in mind; rather, I envisioned a typeface that can do everything. Despite having a particular texture, it is a family that performs as well in large display sizes as it does in small body text. If I had to orient it toward a specific use, I would choose visual identity. With its open forms, the typeface remains highly legible, while its higher weights make it instantly identifiable. I imagine it living within a system where large, impactful headlines mix with well-set and efficient text.
Les Écrins,
le Mercantour
& la Vanoise
Font: Terrane Sans ExtraBlack
The structure is defined by a low contrast, resulting in forms that are dense and compact yet pleasant to read. This rhythm and legibility are inherited from the models that informed the work: the typefaces of Excoffon, Frutiger, and Edward Johnston. These designs carry the specific openings and proportions that make forms accessible.
For the Sans, I looked toward these masters alongside lettering manuals like that of Ross F. George, while for the Serif, my attention turned to the work of Albert Boton and Aldo Novarese.
In my own practice of graphic design and layout, I have a tendency to always tighten the tracking and leading; I like dense masses of text. It was natural for me to take inspiration from the typefaces of the 60s, 70s, and 80s where this specific texture is found.
Cascades
de Sillans
83690
Font: Terrane Sans Regular
I do not conceive of a single, particular voice for Terrane. Instead, the variety of weights and styles leaves room for the expression of different subjects. I believe it is the art of the designer and the art director to take a typographic material and direct it to incarnate a specific message. Whether used in a magazine or a complex identity system, Terrane is designed to be a versatile tool in their hands.”
