Designing in squares: Erkin Karamemet takes us on the historical journey behind his Modena typeface

This is a guest article by Erkin Karamemet, translated and with a brief historical overview by Ferdinand Ulrich. Modena is the latest attempt in a brief history of Latin letterforms that firmly sit in a square shape, and it is Erkin Karamemet’s first typeface in a wide range of widths for different weights. Here he shares some of the observations and careful consideration that went into the design process of this genre. [1]: Modena’s capital O nearly fits the diagram of Lamé curves. While the width has been adjusted using variable font data, its curves dynamics approximate the value of n = 3. FU: Contrast and tension are prerequisites in the graphic arts, in visual communication, and in the anatomy of a typeface in particular. The idea of fitting oval shapes as closely as possible into a square framework has been explored by different designers. While some came up with results that resemble a square with round corners, others tried to maintain a tension that firmly sits just between an oval and a square. The mathematical description of this position was made in the nineteenth century by Gabriel Lamé [1], hence the name ‘Lamé curve,’ but it was the Danish mathematician and poet Piet Hein who famously applied this principle in different design disciplines. In an attempt to establish a new square in the city centre of Stockholm, a roundabout with a fountain in the middle known as Sergels Torg [2], Piet Hein’s design solution of a round shape positioned between square and oval popularised the so-called ‘super-ellipse’ in 1959. In architecture, this principle was also applied to the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City [3] and to the 1970 US pavilion in Osaka. Piet Hein continued to use it in a range of designs, from lamps, carpets, kitchen utensils to the ‘Super-æg’ and the popular dining table that offers everyone an equal seat at the super-ellipse.