Old ideas and fresh takes: TypeMates’ Ottessa is an eclectic combination of typographic history

“Several visual ideas aided Ottessa’s final form,” Berlin-based designer Philipp Neumeyer tells us, discussing the inspiration behind his sans serif typeface release with German foundry TypeMates. “The open, abruptly curved apertures are a nod to Roger Excoffon’s Antique Olive,” he explains, carrying the source’s horizontal and vertical weight distribution without its top-heavy structure – opting for a monolinear design instead – to avoid the resulting optical horizontal prevalence. “Furthermore the spiky triangular forms of the light extreme are a reference to early geometric sans serifs,” Neumeyer details, referring to the likes of Kabel and Futura as typographic resources. “The curve-stem connection of the lowercase of all the upright weights are inspired by late-90s/early-2000s puristic dutch sans serifs,” an influence shared with Ottessa’s italics cuts, he continues, with the typeface’s heavier weights taking a more experimental form. “The non-linear interpolation – which is a fancy phrase for; the heaviest weight is different,” Neumeyer explains, “only came into being from liking what it did to that particular weight, but not to all the weights in between,” handling the in-between weights as if the heaviest shared the same construction as lightest cut. As a result of Neumeyer’s meticulous craftsmanship, Ottessa is prolific in its variety, available in 10 distinct styles – each containing five weights and corresponding italics – shaped with an undeniably humanistic quality. “While the shenanigans are happening in the extremes,” such as the overtly spikey triangular forms of the heavy weights, Neumeyer suggests, “the less constructed and more tranquil middleweights are the sturdy middle ground,” where its friendly, organic tones shine through.