Store Norske Skriftkompani

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Store Norske Skriftkompani [Arve Båtevik] Norwegian type designer, b. 1991, who graduated from Westerdals School of Art in Oslo in 2015 and ECAL in 2017. At ECAL in Lausanne, he finished an MA in Art Direction and completed an exhaustive comparative study of the Geometric Sans genre. He joined Lineto in 2017 and returned to Norway in 2020, where he set up his own commercial type foundry, Store Norske Skriftkompani, in Volda. His typefaces: During his studies at Westerdals in Oslo, Arve Båtevik created the display typeface Toulouse (2014). Toulouse consists of a basic sans skeleton. Arve then added two weights, one in a 2 to 1 ratio, and one in a 1 to 2 ratio. This allows for some great designs for logos and posters. In 2015, from his then base in Zurich, he created Sagen Grotesk as an interpretation of Schelter Grotesk (after Schelter Breite Grotesk, 1886), and developed Passelig Sans from the bottom up. With Maura Paolozzi, he co-designed LL Prismaset A and B at Lineto (2003-2017). Both LL Prismaset A and LL Prismaset B are based on Rudolf Koch's Prisma (1930). LL Supreme (2020, Lineto). He writes: LL Supreme presents a new take on Paul Renner's Futura (1927). [...] Working against the current tendency of interpolating entire families, each cut of LL Supreme was drawn separately and, as a consequence, has its own identity. LL Ruder Plakatschrift. Done with Hans-Christian Pulver. Store Norske Jazz Book & Italic (2015-2020) and Store Norske Jazz (2021). A sans typeface inspired by Frutiger's Univers and Hoefer's Permanent. In the end it is closer to Univers and a bit more playful (which is not hard---Frutiger's fonts are hardly playful). He writes: Store Norske Jazz is a typeface well within the aesthetically dodgy territory of the contrasted sans serif. Store Norske Tyggis (2016-2020). A prismatic typeface that extends the phototype Or (1967, Andy Song for Studio Hollenstein). Store Norske Trafikk Medium & Italic (2014-2020). A constructed sans serif, based on the Norwegian road sign typeface Trafikkalfabetet (Karl Petter Sandbaek, 1965, for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration). Trafikkalfabetet is modeled after the German road sign typeface DIN 1451, and the British road sign typeface Transport. Store Norske Brus (2017-2020). Mecano-inspired letters. Store Norske Foto Book & Italic (2015-2020). A sans that pays homage to phototype. Store Norske Mekaniske (2020). A constructivist typeface based on the lettering on Akers Mekaniske Verksted's shipyard workshop in Oslo. Store Norske Maleri (2020): Store Norske Maleri is a remix of Ehmcke's Mediaeval (Designed in 1917, published by Schriftgiesserei D. Stempel AG in 1920). I find the original intriguing in many ways, especially how he managed to sneak so many circles, triangles and squares---while still maintaining a rough arts and crafts aesthetic. In my version the capitals are quite true to the original, although I did put some more circles, triangles and squares in there. The lowercase, numbers and the remaining characters deviate quite a bit from the original. Store Norske Stilig (2021). A colour remix and elaboration of a display phototype named Indigo by Andy Song (1936-1995), which was designed in 1972 for Studios Hollenstein Phototypo in Paris. In addition to the colour font, Stilig exists in Dark, Light, Solid and Open styles. Store Norske Funksjon (2021). A display colour geometric solid font, based on a lettering alphabet by Erich Mollowitz that was featured in Moderne Vindusreklame [Modern Window Advertisement] (1933, Knut Schjefstad in 1933), an instructional book on shop front decoration. Knut Schjefstad (1905-1943) is best known for playing the long neck banjo in Norway's first jazz orchestra Sixpence. Store Norske Ja (2021). A sans typeface that started out as a revival of Akzidenz Grotesk. Store Norske Samvirke (2020) is an all-caps typeface based on the lettering found on the Oslo Samvirkelag store in the Kampen city district. Store Norske Neon (2020-2021) is a remix of the Metall Standardbokstaver alphabet used by the sign makers at Neon Electric Limited AS, which was operational in the 1950s. Neon Electric was one of the main neon sign suppliers in Norway. They created signage for big events and important buildings, like the signs for the Oslo 1952 Winter Olympics and the Deichmanske Bibliotek [Oslo's Main Public Library]. Store Norske Bygg (2020-2021) is a monospaced typeface based on a lettering found on the offices of Frimann Bye & Winsvold A, a mortar and construction supplier in Oslo, in the 1920s and 1930s. Store Norske Tango (2016-2021). A geometric typeface that sprung out of Arve Båtevik's MA diploma at ECAL in Lausanne. The project was based on Intertype Vogue (1930), the American response to the geometric wave in Europe in the 1920s. Store Norske Tango builds on Vogue's naiveté, according to Arve. It is more rude and playful, as it focuses on pure geometric shapes, with almost no optical correction. Most letters are nearly monolinear. The typeface has old school hyper slanted italics, often found in early sans serifs, offering two options for the degrees of tilt. Store Norske Magi (2021). A sans family. Store Norske Graut (2021). A wonderful rounded sans family that includes a Mono style. Store Norske Skandia (2021). Arve explains its roots: Store Norske Skandia is a remix of "Skiltskrift", a typeface made for the redesign of Norwegian National Railway (NSB) in 1977. In 1973, Knut Skuland became the director of NSB. The company's communication was eclectic, and he wanted to unify their visual identity. They first bought the rights to use the British Rail identity. Skuland spoke with the director of the Danish National Railways who had bought the same identity some years before. The Danish director convinced Skuland of the impact the identity would have on Norway's visual culture. Skuland then decided to put together a team to reshape the British Rail identity, to fit the Norwegian environment and frame of mind. He commissioned industrial designer Odd Thorsen, art historian and Alf 130e, and designers John Engen, Knut Harlem, Paul Brand, Ruedi a Porta and Arild Eugen Johansen. They redesigned everything from the trains and uniforms to the type and colours. Paul Brand collaborated with a paint factory in Nittedal, to produce a colour blue that would be dark enough to contrast the white type, but still bright enough to be perceived as blue in dark Norwegian lighting conditions. The typeface is similar to the British Rail Alphabet in weight, but is a lot softer and more geometric. Unfortunately, many of the people involved in the project have passed away. I have spoken with John Engen, Halvor Thorsen (son of Odd), Paul Brand, Ruedi a Porta and Arild Eugen Johansen and none of them have any clear answers to who actually designed the typeface. But if there ever was a Norwegian grotesk from the modernist era, this is it. The original typeface was a single bold cut made for signage, and for the rest of the identity they used Helvetica. I have extrapolated on the "Skiltskrift" design, and made it into a small family of three weights, with matching italics. Store Norske Baguette (2022). A primitive all caps sans based on several old French signage typefaces. Store Norske Stempel (2022). After an alphabet used for certain texts on old Norwegian license plates (See also Store Norske Jernskrift.) Store Norske Jernskrift (2022). Store Norske Jernskrift is a typeface based on the numbers found on old Norwegian number plates. He explains: On the 17th of january 1929, new regulations for car number plates took effect in Norway. They were referred to as Vertikal Jernskrift [vertical iron letters]. The design is similar to local hand painted roadsigns of the era. Most, if not all, were produced at Christiania Chablon & Stempelfabrikk (G. Enderle, 1904-1933) and Mignon Chablon & Stempelfabrikk (Jallik Johnsen, Wilh Olsen, 1931-1958). Personal site.	EXTERNAL LINKS Store Norske Skriftkompani Behance page MyFonts search Monotype search Fontspring search Google search INTERNAL LINKS Type designers ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Experimental type ⦿ The Norwegian type scene ⦿ Type design in Switzerland ⦿ Prismatic typefaces ⦿ Commercial fonts (small outfits) ⦿ Map/Travel dingbats ⦿ Type design and constructivism ⦿ Multicolor typefaces ⦿ Geometric solid typefaces ⦿ Akzidenz Grotesk ⦿ Neon tube or faux neon typefaces ⦿ Monospaced fonts ⦿