Suitcase Type Foundry on why Icona’s ‘less is more’ neutrality makes it the perfect fit for brands

When designing Icona, Suitcase Type Foundry assigned themselves the challenge of creating a typeface “with as neutral a character as possible,” a change of pace from their previous releases, such as the bold title typeface Atyp and the complex needs of Crabath, specifically created for book typesetting. “Creating a new typeface, which most users perceive unapologetically as any standard, notorious system font, can seem foolish and a waste of time,” says Founder Tomáš Brousil. “Yet a well-crafted neutral font has values not found in fonts that try to draw attention to every single glyph.” As the saying goes, the best design is invisible.

In addition to ‘pure neutrality,’ the Prague-based foundry’s primary objective was good text legibility across sizes and formats that works so seamlessly in large bodies of text that you hardly notice it “while supporting the design’s overall visual and functional intent.” With this in mind, the typeface was conceived “deliberately without strong cultural or historical associations.” Yet, research touches upon several historic typefaces, such as Robert Wiebking’s Square Gothic for Ludlow, Morris Fuller Benton’s News Gothic for American Type Founders, and contemporary type families in a similar category. The serif family of Icona, Brousil tells us, is based partly on the Times New Roman Wide series 427, “a version with a broader and more accommodating design of this popular newspaper typeface intended for book typesetting.”

With a sans and serif version available, Icona has a large x-height, “a wide range of boldness with adequate slant cuts, and an extensive character set covering Latin, Cyrillic, and Alphabet.” Designed for harmony, both fonts have the same central height and width proportions and, where possible, the same character set. Further, an extensive array of alternative characters for both families offers opportunities for typographic variation, particularly effective in display sizes where they can attract attention even within a more serious presentation.

Above all, Icona promises unwavering versatility – “In general, neutral fonts have several advantages in graphic design, making them a valuable choice for many projects,” notes Brousil. “Icona works well in various media and design contexts, both in digital and print formats.” Thanks to this and its unwaveringly timeless aesthetic, he believes Icona has excellent potential for large brands and projects seeking a long-term visual identity. “Its variability allows it to maintain a consistent and cohesive look across various applications, from marketing materials to internal documents, ensuring a unified and recognisable brand identity. Meanwhile, its subtlety allows other design elements, such as images, colours, and layouts, to stand out more effectively, creating complex and harmonious designs.”