The specimen of New Alphabet, Wim Crouwel, 1967

A surprising fact is that even though this typeface is now world famous, it was only used (scarcely) by Total Design and Wim Crouwel himself. What gives this font so much historical impact is its manifesto quality, as it was one of the last modern fonts created to accomodate a technical change.

New Alphabet was designed in the 1960s, a time when computers were beginning to be a core concern. In this context, Wim Crouwel created a typeface suited for cathode-ray screens: because of their low resolution, CRT screens could not manage to successfully display the curves of traditional typefaces without altering them. Crouwel’s reflexion lead to the production of a radical typeface design based on straight lines and 0°, 45°, and 90° angles, in which the letters were barely readable, and seemed to come from outer space. Indeed, the first man on the moon was to land two years later.

New Alphabet’s specimen is one of the rare publications where we can see the typeface in use: it was also a rather peculiar object. Funded by the printer itself, the specimen was not for sale and aimed at demonstrating the qualities of paper, inks, and typeface all at once. Except for the specimen, one of the most famous uses of New Alphabet is the cover artwork for Joy Division’s 1988 album Substance, designed by Peter Saville, who brought the typeface up to date.

Documents: Biblioteca Produzione