The ParaType library is Russia’s undisputed treasure trove of digital type. Along with its original designs, the collection draws from the output of smaller Russian studios of the ’80s and ’90s, previously unavailable to customers worldwide. A new crop of these undiscovered fonts has reached our Shop and many are not available from any other reseller. We’re proud to ring in the new year with these gems, along with two vital Bitstream families new to FontShop.

The other big news of 2009 (besides America’s new President) is our website’s completely revamped Category page built by FontLists: custom sets of fonts hand-picked by FontShop experts. Soon you can avoid clicking through hundreds of pages of serif fonts when you have a specific style in mind. Read more about the enhancements below.

Bebit

Inspired by Milton Glaser’s typeface for Photo Lettering, Baby Teeth, Bebit was designed at TypeMarket in 1993 by Alexey Kustov. Cyrillic and basic Latin character set only.

Borjomi Decor

In 1992, Alexey Chekulaev created three ornamented versions of Bodoni, suitable for recalling Victorian, Old West, or otherwise folksy lettering. Cyrillic and basic Latin character set only.

Camerton

With its seven variations, from serif to art deco to chamfered, Alexey Chekulaev’s Camerton can emulate condensed type from a large range of time periods and styles. Cyrillic and basic Latin character set only.

Pallada

A recent design by Natalya Vasilyeva for ParaType in 2007, Pallada is a vibrant face based on wide-brush calligraphy. Its serifs trailing on just one side of each letterform emphasize the motion and flow of the design. Cyrillic and basic Latin character set only.

Yess
Born in the 1970s as an advertising poster typeface, Yess was recently revived and accompanied with a light weight. Its deep cuts and off-kilter forms make it a playful alternative to fat, round faces like VAG Rounded.

Federico
A brand new release based on the handwriting of Federico Garcia Lorca, the eminent Spanish poet and playwright. Type designer Olga Umpeleva captured the dynamic creativity of the author’s quill pen.

Fleischman BT Pro

Charles Gibbons’ revival of J.M. Fleischman’s quirky and elegant text faces of the 1730s preserves the feel of the printed metal types. They were wildly popular in their day, used for everything from newspapers to currency, and Fleischman himself has enjoyed a renaissance of late. This version expands the original to four OpenType fonts: roman, italic, bold, and bold italic. They all include small caps and old style and lining figures. Fleischman BT Pro supports Western, CE, Turkish, and Baltic languages.

Geometric 415

American graphic designer William Addison Dwiggins’ first typefaces were the Metro family, designed from 1927 onward. The project grew out of Dwiggins’ dissatisfaction with the new European sans serif typefaces of the day, such as Futura, Erbar, and Kabel. Bitstream’s version of Metro #2 offers three weights plus italics.

Metro
Linotype’s faithful digitization of the three original weights: Metrolite, Metromedium, and Metroblack.

Metro Office
Akira Kobayashi revisited Metro in 2006 to create a typeface that is finally ready for heavy text setting.

The FontList 

Noticed a new icon on our site lately? This little box, reminiscent of a traditional type drawer, is the harbinger of a FontShop.com beta feature we quietly launched several weeks ago: the FontList. Whenever you see this icon you’re looking at a set of fonts hand-picked by FontShop experts.

Along with FontLists comes a brand new Browse by Category page. Once only a simple breakdown of standard type classifications (serif, sans, display, etc.) this section will now be a much more useful guide to the FontShop catalog. Find fonts by subclass, genre, application, time period, and more.

The new pages are all part of a continued effort to organize our library of over 100,000 fonts so it works the way you work. And this is just the beginning — we welcome your suggestions as we continue to add new categories and FontLists.

Subclass
General type classifications such as sans, serif, and display are often too broad. Sometimes you know what kind of serif you’re looking for — a Venetian, for example. Here we break down the main classes into useful subcategories.

Genre
Fonts in this subcategory are grouped by their cultural (Faux Greek), physical (Distressed), or historical (Wood Type) characteristics. In short, this is where you’ll find any grouping that doesn’t fit into one of the other subcategories.

New Releases
Miss a newsletter? Want a quick overview of what’s new? Each month we’ll list the latest fonts released on FontShop.com.

Alternatives
Overused typefaces can lose their impact, especially in branding, advertising, and package design where originality is important. Here we recommend fonts that are less common but just as serviceable as old standbys like Helvetica, Futura and even Comic Sans.

Application
Typefaces in this area are grouped by their usefulness for the project at hand. Whether you’re designing a book, website, or logotype, check here for expert recommendations and the latest trends.

Period
Need to evoke a particular era? This is a stylistic guide more than an encyclopedic reference. Not all the typefaces in each FontList were created in that period, but they represent the art movements and style of the time.

Super Families
Some type families are so large they are spread across multiple packages with various styles and formats. We’ve done the legwork for you. Pick a family and see all the recommended packages at a glance.

Award Winners
All our fonts are vetted for technical and design quality, but it’s nice to know the best of the best. Here are type designs recognized by FontShop’s year-end review and juried competitions like the TDC².

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Font used in title graphic: Pallada.

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