Nel I-Typeface by Jasper Nijssen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award in Igrafikhi Competition Category.

IsilivaIgrafikhi· 2022

Nel I-Typeface

by Jasper Nijssen

Client: Jasper Nijssen

Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award Winner in Igrafikhi Category

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Colors

The Design

About Nel I-Typeface

Lolu hlobo lokubhala luthuthukiswa kucatshangwa ngomklami. I-Nel iwuhlobo lwesimanje olunezinketho eziningi. Inguqulo Ejwayelekile iqukethe izinhlamvu ezingosonhlamvukazi nabancane, kanye nezinye izimpawu zokuloba ezimbalwa. I-Nel Brickbuild iyinguqulo ye-stencil edlalwayo futhi i-Nel Dots iwuhlobo olunamachashazi. I-Nel futhi inesitayela esilula nesinzima esihambisana nezinguqulo ezijabulisayo. Izithonjana (ifonti yazo zonke izithonjana) bekuyilungu layo lakamuva kakhulu. Kunezinketho eziyisishiyagalolunye sezizonke zokuxuba nokufanisa ngenkathi uklama amaphrinti amahle, amaphosta, amalogo, amawebhusayithi, noma ubunikazi. Umndeni owodwa. Okwabaklami.

The Recognition

About the Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award

Nel I-Typeface iwinile uMklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award, ukwaziswa okuhloniphekile ngokungajwayelekile okunikezwa imiklamo esezingeni eliphezulu, ebukekayo nethinta kakhulu. Abawinile beSiliva yimisebenzi egqamile kakhulu nedala kakhulu ebonisa ubungcweti obuphawulekayo, italente nobuhlakani babaklami babo. Nel I-Typeface ilindeleke ukuba ibe ngumsebenzi omuhle wesibonelo, onobungcweti obuphawulekayo nezinto ezintsha ezijulile. Lo mklamo owinile uMklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award uyinto entsha ebonakala kakhulu nethakazelisayo esiza futhi isunduza imingcele yobuciko, isayensi, ukuklama nobuchwepheshe. Nel I-Typeface iyinto enomhawu omkhulu kuyo evusa izifiso, ilethe imizwa emihle futhi ivuse ukumangala nokuxakeka.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This typeface is developed with the designer in mind. Nel is a modern typeface with lots of options. The Regular version consists of UPPERCASE and lowercase letters, and quite a few other punctuation marks. The Nel Brickbuild is a playful stencil version and the Nel Dots is a dotted typeface. The Nel also has a light and heavy style with corresponding fun versions. There are nine options in total to mix and match while designing awesome prints, posters, logos, websites, or identities.
Dimensions & Packaging: All fonts are available in OTF (local) and WOFF (web) files.
Tags: font, typeface, decorative, playful, letterdesign,
Production Technology: The first sketches were doodles drawn on a lazy Sunday. Those doodles became a grid. The Regular consists of a width of three units and a height of nine units. Each unit is made up of a square of three by three subunits. The Light removes one sub-unit on either side to create a much thinner line and the Heavy adds a sub-unit. The fun, display styles are playful twists designed upon this base.
Design Challenge: The whole Nel is based on the same grid, and design choices. So the design process of the letters went quite smoothly. This was strengthened by the fact that some letters share quite a few similarities (the b > d > p > q). Some are harder to fit in (the k and x). The main challenge was is defining the whitespace between the letters (kerning). The space needs to be different between every letter to look the same. There are quite a few combinations, so this takes a lot of time and effort.
Research: -
Inspiration: During the "mixing and matching" of a few typefaces, the question arose: Wouldn't it be nice for a typeface to have a regular style for the body text and some eccentric, fun versions for headers or high-lighted text? This typeface would make it possible to use different styles and still be coherent.
Project Duration: The main part of this project finished in January 2019 and is available on MyFonts.com. Although once in a while it gets an update. For example: Icons (an all icon font) has been added this February.
Operation Flow: One of the hardest parts of designing a coherent layout is choosing which fonts to use. Nel solves this problem. All styles have their own characteristics, but they're all based on the same design choices. So all options can be mixed and matched with ease. Icons (the all icon font) has an extra. It's possible to combine glyphs. Example: When you type the capital i and 3, there's a bus and a silhouette. When you type the number sign (above the 3) instead of a 3, the human is inside the bus.
Image Credits: All images: Designer Jasper Nijssen, Visuals WBP Nel, 2022.