A dance of legibility and personality: how Sylvan Lanz designed a custom typeface for FC Basel 1893

Footie nerd or not, some of us might have noticed something different about FC Basel 1893. It’s almost impossible to miss the punchy new typeface splashed across the scoreboard at the club’s games, and seen on the back of their players’ jerseys. The variable, custom typeface – originally conceived as a kit font, but ultimately developed as a titling typeface used across all communication channels – is crafted by graphic and type designer Sylvan Lanz. When seen transitioning between its six styles, the variable typeface seems to break into a dance of circular edges and sharp angles. To design the typeface, Lanz – who, charmingly, had accompanied the players of FCB on the pitch as a child mascot in 2001 – had to dive deep into the club’s history, and the typographic legacy of Basel, the city that’s home to both him and the club. We caught up with Lanz to delve into the process of designing the power-packed typeface, which has already become a favourite amongst hardcore fans and jersey collectors. RB: Congratulations on the big project! How does it feel to see your typeface for FC Basel 1893 in action? SL: Thanks! It’s a huge honour, and it still feels a bit unreal to see the players enter the stadium with the typeface I’ve designed on their jerseys. In my childhood, I had the chance to accompany the players of FCB on the pitch as a child mascot. It was in 2001, the season they won their first titles after 22 years, just one season after moving into the iconic new Joggeli stadium (St. Jakob-Park) by Herzog & de Meuron. These events marked me, and since then, I have been fascinated by the club, which now has regularly represented Swiss football on an international level for over two decades.