Acid Grotesk
FOLCH · Josep Puy · 2019
A rounded geometric grotesque with nine weights and matching italics, drawn for Acid House Barcelona's identity and engineered thoroughly enough – 224 languages, 507 characters, OpenType alternates – to carry well beyond it.
About
Acid Grotesk pairs a clean grotesque structure with smooth rounded vertices and generous open counters, producing a face that reads as confident and approachable without tipping into novelty. Designed by Josep Puy at Folch, it draws on the visual culture of acid house music while functioning as a proper text and display typeface across the full weight range. OpenType stylistic alternates – including an exaggerated 's', inverted 'y' tail, and smiley face glyph – add cultural specificity without undermining the utility of the underlying system.
Classification
A grotesque sans-serif drawing on geometric conventions while injecting warmth through rounded vertices, large open counters, and a generous x-height. Fine-weight accents and symbols contrast against the regular stroke weight – a system-level detail that adds coherence. Stylistic alternates include an exaggerated snake-like 's', an inverted 'y' tail, and a smiley face glyph; functional enough for text, characterful enough for display.