Dead History
Emigre · P. Scott Makela · 1990
P. Scott Makela's 1990 hybrid display face that fuses serif and rounded sans-serif letterforms into a single, deliberately discordant design.
About
Dead History was created by splicing two existing typefaces – the classical serif Centennial and the rounded sans VAG Rounded – into one coherent yet contradictory design. The result captures the deconstructivist spirit of early-1990s graphic culture, rejecting typographic purity in favour of deliberate tension. Available in Roman and Bold, it remains one of the defining typefaces of the Emigre era.
Classification
Dead History is a deliberately hybrid display face that splices elements of two distinct typeface traditions – the serif (Centennial) and the sans-serif (VAG Rounded) – into a single design. This deconstructionist approach places it firmly in the display category as a postmodern artefact.