Type Specimen (PDF)

Coil feels comfortable like a well-worn pair of shoes. It could easily pass for an assertive industrial European sans serif of the early 1960s with its slight reverse contrast, monotonous proportions, and squared-off curves, if not for its less predictable side. What appears initially as ellipses upon closer inspection turns out to be irregular shapes, closer to an inverted egg than an oval. The s looks topsy-turvy with its higher curve that is larger than the lower. Some terminal strokes overhang the bowl (as in the a), others open flat (as in the Q, the f, the j, and the t). The resulting effect shakes up this seemingly “retro” face just to make it new. Our midcentury recollections are slightly distorted and reinterpreted by this ironic typeface making it fresh while deceptively cozy and familiar.

Coil’s high x-height and even texture make it readable even in small sizes despite its tight apertures. Available in four upright weights, with two sets of figures, fractions, and alternates for Extended Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

Designed by Vyacheslav Kirilenko and Gayaneh Bagdasaryan, 2020.