A one-way ticket to Margate

As soon as you land on FT Scenik’s website, the typeface greets you in all its variable glory. The characters in the work ‘Scenik’ shuffle between different weights and slants, breaking into an energetic dance on the screen. The typeface, designed by UK-based type foundry Frost, tips its hat to the design culture of Margate, a town on England’s southeast coast that has a special connection to Frost. “I was born and grew up in Margate, so I have always felt connected to the town,” says Founder & Type Designer Harrison Marshall. “But it’s the nostalgic typography throughout the town, that you can’t help but notice, that inspired FT Scenik.”

Marshall looked to the abundance of vintage shops, bars, restaurants, and ice cream parlours of Margate, “with a mix of geometric type used across the façades and signage,” he points out. But he was inspired, in particular, by the amusement park, Dreamland, “which was the most integral influence on the typeface,” adds Marshall. “Dreamland Cinema (which has been restored to honour its original look from the 1930s) set the tone for the modernist geometric style of FT Scenik.” This, along with an archive of advertising and flyer references dating back to the 1930s, informed the historic slant of the typeface, to which Marshall added his own twist.

While the charm of the streetscapes of the British coastal town is felt in the curves of the characters – especially once you’ve seen photos of the iconic Dreamland Cinema sign – Marshall’s influence is experienced in the typeface’s appetite for fun. To add a contemporary flavour, the designer introduced four playful variable axes to give the typeface more expression – width, weight, slant (positive and negative) and scenders. If you toggle the ‘slant’ slider on the website, the characters bend forwards and backwards, while punching up the ‘scenders’ increases the height of the ascenders and descenders, which “enhances the typeface’s balance and improves legibility in paragraph text,” adds Marshall.

Versatility is something the FT Scenik family takes seriously – the chonky cuts make for impactful identities and headlines (see the examples on the website whipped up by Frost themselves), while the text and mono cut ensures that it still retains character even in smaller sizes. With 142 styles, 13 weights and three families, FT Scenik promises to bring big energy to any project.