Before you choose a default sans, check out RazziaType’s nuanced RT Lately

While digitally flipping through a 1906 American Type Founders specimen in 2021, Mirco Schiavone encountered Times Gothic – a typeface that caught his attention for all the right reasons. Based on Miller & Richard’s Grotesque No. 4 from Edinburgh, this century-old design combined crude execution with moments of genuine refinement, sparking a four-year development process that would become RazziaType’s RT Lately. Times Gothic’s raw aesthetic stemmed from its lack of visual corrections and naive approach to weight distribution. Dark spots formed where strokes met, creating clogged shapes in letters like ‘A,’ ‘G’ and ‘N.’ The uppercase struggled with contrast issues, while horizontal strokes in the ‘O’ appeared too thick compared to verticals. Yet within this crudeness lay potential – particularly in the lowercase ‘d,’ which demonstrated superior quality in its vertical metrics, geometric degree and join treatment. “I liked the combination of clumsy but entertaining elements right next to well executed moments within the same typeface,” Schiavone explains. “Its raw nature kept it engaging while the more refined moments offered a good foundation to build on.” Franklin Gothic provided additional guidance where Times Gothic fell short. Morris Fuller Benton’s 1902 design offered sophisticated contrast handling and distinctive join treatments, with bowls, shoulders and arms intersecting stems without transition. The interplay between these formal qualities allowed Franklin Gothic to excel in tight typesetting while avoiding crowded appearance.