Thorben

Druidic Display

Published in 2020

Jonny Gibson

4 weights

v0.01

Basic Latin only

The legend of Thorben Odinson is a story for another time... But his end, is the beginning of our typeface.

Sometimes a typeface will be born from a clear and obvious source, Thorben is not that typeface. It's more of an inspiration-hybrid, pulling aspects from multiple sources and combining them into something that strangely seems to work (or not – depending on your point of view). Like the nebulous kingdom he ruled, this typeface is something of a cloudy concoction.

What started as a redrawing of some old carvings (on a castle wall in deepest, darkest Suffolk), is now something entirely different. Part Nouveau curves and Celtic script, topped with a few sprinkles of modernism, darkness and quirky ideas – Thorben absorbs it all, creating a display face that feels antiquated and modern at the same time.

However, this kind of approach can take its toll on a project. A lack of clear direction and definition has made settling on final forms, rule sets and consistent features more hassle than a D&D Barbarian with Exhaustion. As a result – Thorben is still a work in progress, and to be honest, we still have no clear end in mind. Will we add lowercase letters? How about accents and diacritics?

The future of Thorben (the typeface) is hazy and ill-defined.

Seems appropriate.