Medley

The starting point of the typeface Medley was a trip to Vietnam and a resulting curiosity about the prolific use of Cooper Black for street signage there—an archetypical American typeface. Foreign conflicts and colonisation are deeply entangled in the history of Vietnam which results in a very multi-facetted visual culture. The typeface Medley is an unlikely hybrid and synthesis of these varying references; French Art Deco and Russian Constructivism comes across in the geometric construction of the letters, while the typeface’s soft serifs are derived from Vietnamese calligraphy (Thư pháp) whose terminals tend to thicken and pool. The “medley” of these styles—including my own subconscious Danish influence—results in a typeface that points East as well as West and finds its home in both contexts. With its decorative and playful characteristics, Medley is mainly suitable for large text-sizes while maintaining good legibility in smaller sizes as well.