The ITC Kobalt™ design was borne of historic parents, but it is not mired in the stodgy past. If you are looking for a friendly type design that virtually jumps off the page, this three-weight family just might be the perfect choice.
Drawn by Leslie Cabarga, the Kobalt family pays typographic homage to the 1920s and 30s. The Bold and Black designs are inspired by European poster lettering from the Art Deco era. Kobalt Kartoon is a much more frivolous and playful design. There is a smidgen of Kabel and a pinch of Berlin Sans in the trio, but Cabarga has added his own sense of humor to the mix. The result is decidedly on a more human scale than most Art Deco designs. From the bouncing baseline of Kobalt Kartoon to the playful lowercase in Kobalt Bold and the geometric caricatures of Kobalt Black, each of these three faces has a distinct personality.
Cabarga is not only an accomplished typeface designer; he is also an illustrator, a graphic and book designer and a lettering artist. In addition, he is the author of over 30 books on a variety of design subjects. His diversity of talents is probably the result of both nature and nurture. Cabarga’s father is a successful designer, lettering artist and art director; the young Leslie was involved with his father’s work when most kids were still playing on swings. At twelve he was cutting color overlays for his father, and, at fourteen, his first comic strips were published in several of New York’s underground newspapers.
While not locked into a particular style or genre of lettering, Cabarga’s typefaces are imbued with a retro feel. “The fonts I’m designing usually start with some historical fragments. My interest in developing and refining them for current use is about reviving terrific lost alphabets and spreading the gospel of great type design.”
The ITC Kobalt family is a great example of Cabarga’s mission - as well as being a suite of delightfully distinctive designs.
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