Jean François Porchez may be new to you, but he’s a national typographic icon in his native France, where his typefaces graced the signage of the Paris Métro and the national newspaper Le Monde. FontShop is honored to be the exclusive reseller of Porchez Typofonderie, a collection that represents the finest in type design. There is something here for every purpose, whether it be a chic rebranding or authoritative publication design.

Ambroise™ A FontShop Exclusive

There are hundreds of Bodonis but there is nothing quite like Porchez’s take on the 19th century style originated by Firmin Didot. Ambroise, and its condensed variants Firmin and François, include Didot’s original forms of ‘g’, ‘k’, and ‘y’. Porchez has tossed in a corps of alternates, making Ambroise the most versatile digital didone available.

Le Monde™ A FontShop Exclusive

Charged with creating a complete typographic palette for French newspaper Le Monde, Porchez developed something that shares the color (weight) of the old standby Times Roman, but appears much more open and readable. The Le Monde family is made of Journal for text sizes, Livre for headlines, and Sans and Courrier for the trimmings.

Apolline™

Apolline received a Morisawa award in 1993 for its asymmetrical approach and horizontal emphasis. Its calligraphic strokes reinforce the rhythm of writing by hand and impart an elegance to the page. Alternates, ligatures, and ornaments abound.

Parisine™ A FontShop Exclusive

Parisine is Porchez’s design for RATP (Public Transport of France). Signage needs to be immediately legible and Parisine succeeds. It’s a Frutiger for the new century. Parisine Plus is the playful sister to Parisine, strolling along the page in a more casual gait. American design magazine HOW used it beautifully in their recent redesign.

Angie Sans™

The serifless version of FF Angie is an incised roman with a humanistic touch. The two work equally well alone or in the same document and we’re most pleased to bring them back together under the FontShop roof.

The not-so-old adage is pretty simple: “Think globally. Act locally.” Font 006 won’t give you any tips on sorting recyclables, but it will suggest another interesting idea: “Think globally. Design locally.”

In this issue, we hope to bring back some of the wonder that comes with design exploration. Our travels take us to South Africa, Sarajevo, São Paulo, Iran, and Havana.

Font 006 is free for all FontShop.com members. Verify your subscription settings and update your primary mailing address and a freshly printed copy should arrive in your snailmailbox soon. Meanwhile, check out the magazine’s Web Extras available now on the site.

This month’s giveaway is Flemish Script, an ornate roundhand with looped ascenders and flourished capitals generously donated by Bitstream. For a similar script that shows the rough edge of the pen, see Anglia from PSY/OPS.

» Download Flemish Script

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Fonts used in title graphic: Ambroise™, Parisine Plus™.

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