A FontList

Curated by
FontShop Staff

Filed in
Super Families

Originally designed for the Dutch design company with the same name (now it is called the “Lab”), Quadraat combines Renaissance elegance with contemporary ideas on construction and form. Over the years several versions have been designed: Quadraat Sans and Serif, Display and Headliner. The fonts in FF Quadraat Display are strong, but they aren’t of the loud-mouthed, fun-font variety. They strive for a sort of noticeability we don’t see much anymore. The FF Quadraat Sans follows a trend which was originated by Jan van Krimpen who designed Romulus, a classical typeface and to which he added some sans serif variations. It was not until the late eighties that this idea became more popular. The well known designs from our days are ITC Stone or FF Scala for example. Both typefaces give designers the opportunity to make use of well adapted sans serif variations. FF Quadraat which started with a serif version follows this young tradition.

Sans serif typefaces can look very much alike, especially in the bolder variations. This is certainly not the case with Quadraat Sans. Quadraat Sans is like its serif companion a typeface with a rather strong character of its own. Thus, it was not that easy for the designer Fred Smeijers to make a gesture as strong as its serif companion without neglecting traditional proportions. But he obviously succeeded in giving the sans version a lively and humane character. This can be most clearly seen in big word images and is still there in text sizes, although in a more discreet way. So Quadraat Sans has display qualities, is an efficient typeface and suitable for longer texts at the same time

FF Quadraat fonts can be purchased individually, but the packages on this page offer the best value and performance. Discounted packages containing complimentary fonts ensure you get all the styles you need for professional typography.

While TrueType and PostScript formats are still available, we recommend the newer OpenType fonts to most customers as they offer the most versatility and ease-of-use, as well as compatibility with modern design applications.