Tiphares
Pathfinders · Octavio Pardo · 2018
A research-informed semi-serif neo-grotesque by Octavio Pardo, developed during a PhD at the Royal Danish Academy and shaped by contemporary legibility studies for wayfinding, interfaces and information-dense environments.
About
Drawing on the compact, tense curves and generous apertures of late-90s German grotesques – Fago, Meta, Info – Tiphares distributes serifs selectively across lowercase letterforms to add surface area to frequently misread characters, while keeping the overall footprint contained. It is partially duplexed, with specific glyphs sharing fixed widths across weights to simplify the layout of complex alphanumeric tables. A Soft variant and a Grade axis address halation in digital contexts, influenced by David Berlow's work on variable font axes.
Classification
Tiphares sits between sans-serif and serif, describing itself as a semi-serif neo-grotesque. Lowercase letterforms carry selectively placed serifs informed by legibility research, while uppercase characters remain essentially sans-serif, placing it closer to TheMix than Rotis. The underlying structure is a neo-grotesque in the tradition of late-90s German designs such as Fago, Meta and Info.